Keep Excel's Flexibility.
Lose the Chaos.
Excel is where service management begins, and where it gets stuck. DigitalCore gives you everything Excel can't: automatic cross-domain calculations, real-time collaboration, and a single source of truth.
The Spreadsheet Problem
Excel is where service management begins, and where it gets stuck. You start with a simple tracker, then add columns for financials, then another sheet for capacity, then a separate file for KPIs. Before long, you're managing a web of interconnected spreadsheets that break when someone edits the wrong cell.
DigitalCore gives you everything Excel can't: automatic cross-domain calculations, real-time collaboration without version conflicts, and a single source of truth that everyone can access.
The Key Difference
When you enter capacity hours in DigitalCore, labor costs flow to your P&L automatically. No VLOOKUP formulas. No manual reconciliation. No “which version is correct?” debates.
Excel vs DigitalCore: Real-World Differences
Excel
Multiple spreadsheets with broken VLOOKUP formulas
DigitalCore
Single source of truth with automatic data connections
Excel
"Which version is the latest?" debates
DigitalCore
Real-time collaboration with full audit trail
Excel
Manual reconciliation between capacity and finance
DigitalCore
Automatic capacity-to-cost calculation
Excel
Hours of pivot tables to get insights
DigitalCore
Automated variance detection and alerts
Excel
No audit trail for compliance needs
DigitalCore
Full history of every change with timestamps
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
A detailed look at capabilities. Rows marked with ★ are key differentiators.
| Capability | DigitalCore | Excel/Spreadsheets |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Management | ||
| Service-level P&L tracking | Native | Limited |
| Budget planning at engagement level | Native | Limited |
| Automatic labor cost calculation★ Key Differentiator | Native | No |
| Variance alerts (budget vs actual) | Native | No |
| P&L categories (Revenue, COGS, OpEx) | Native | Limited |
| Cost attribution by team/partner | Native | Limited |
| Performance & SLA | ||
| SLA/KPI definition & tracking | Native | Limited |
| Flexible target types (absolute, range, delta) | Native | Limited |
| Performance-to-penalty linkage | Native | No |
| Traffic-light health scoring | Native | Limited |
| Early warning alerts | Native | No |
| Capacity & Resource | ||
| Hours planning by role | Native | Limited |
| Utilization tracking | Native | Limited |
| Capacity → Finance auto-calculation★ Key Differentiator | Native | No |
| FTE derivation | Native | Limited |
| Rate card management | Native | Limited |
| Scenario & Planning | ||
| What-if scenario modeling | Native | Limited |
| Cross-domain impact preview (€, days, hours)★ Key Differentiator | Native | No |
| Scenario comparison side-by-side | Native | Limited |
| Governance workflow (draft→approve→apply) | Native | No |
| Data & Collaboration | ||
| Single source of truth | Native | No |
| Real-time collaboration | Native | Limited |
| Full audit trail | Native | No |
| Role-based access control | Native | No |
| Service Context | ||
| Engagement-centric architecture★ Key Differentiator | Native | No |
| Customer relationship context | Native | Limited |
| Contract linkage | Native | Limited |
A Day in the Life: Excel vs DigitalCore
With Excel
- 1.Open “ServiceTracker_v47_FINAL_FINAL2.xlsx”
- 2.Discover formulas are broken from last edit
- 3.Spend 30 mins fixing VLOOKUP references
- 4.Manually enter hours, then calculate costs
- 5.Copy/paste to finance sheet, hope nothing breaks
- 6.Create pivot tables for month-end report
- 7.Email to leadership, pray for no questions
Time spent: ~4 hours
With DigitalCore
- 1.Open dashboard, see current status
- 2.Enter hours in check-in workflow
- 3.Costs auto-calculate and flow to P&L
- 4.Variance alerts show what needs attention
- 5.Share dashboard link with leadership
Time spent: ~30 minutes