This week you learned about using external data sets, importing data and connecting to a database. Up until now we have learned about the things you can do with Excel and all of the tools and functions contained there in. One of the benefits of Excel and other applications within the MS Office Suite is the capability of inter-application compatibility. of course this is not limited to just MS Office applications. For this week's discussion board, I want you to describe the benefits of Excel as it relates to external applications.

• Why do you feel there is a need for an import and export function?
• What are some of the reasons that a company would import data from the Web? What types of data would it import?
• What are some common issues when importing data?
• How does this capability make life easier for users?