Excel and large numbers of linked files

["Ehr, Meg" <Meg -dot- Ehr -at- smartworks -dot- com>]

Just got a new project, on a pretty short timeline, and was hoping to get a
little guidance before I start.

The boss wants me to set up the structure for a series of files that will
contain specific customer account data. She wants individual files for 800
accounts (14+ data fields for each), plus a "snapshot" file showing selected
data from each of the account files. The "snapshot" file should update
automatically when data in the account files is changed, and will be
attached to a Siebel database for viewing.

The boss would like to do this in Excel, because she knows she can link the
snapshot file to Siebel. Will Excel handle this well? I haven't done
anything this big in Excel to know whether to expect problems with a
spreadsheet containing data from 800 files, and the last thing I want is for
it to choke just as we get done.

Would Access be a better choice for this? Given the volume of data, that was
my first instinct, but Boss's concern is that we wouldn't be able to update
the file linked to Siebel automatically without running a report or
something first. Is there a way to create a file that would update
automatically with data from Access, and would also link to Siebel?

Or, perhaps, is there another option that would work better (without
requiring new software -- we don't have the time or the budget)?

If there is a resource that could help answer my questions, please point me
to it -- I've been flailing around in the archives, Google, program help,
and the MS website to try to figure this out, to no avail...

Thanks all,
Meg Ehr
SMARTworks.com, Inc.

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