What about a tool that tracks updates to shared Excel spreadsheet and replicate them in a SQL database?
And then, if somebody makes a change in the database, a trigger will update the spreadsheet
Such a two-way binding makes it possible to continue relying on spreadsheets for UX, all the while the data is not locked in there and we can also have other processes handling the data (a web app, some cron job, etc)
I don't use Excel much, but I do the analogous kinds of things with Python and Jupyter notebooks. The problem is that adding some kind of layer requires the involvement of corporate IT, which blows away the advantages of DIY'ing things.
And then, if somebody makes a change in the database, a trigger will update the spreadsheet
Such a two-way binding makes it possible to continue relying on spreadsheets for UX, all the while the data is not locked in there and we can also have other processes handling the data (a web app, some cron job, etc)
Maybe market it as an API for excel or something