SQL Spreads lets your team manage master data in SQL Server directly from Excel — validation, role-based access, and change tracking, without the MDS overhead. No data migration necessary. Just connect SQL Spreads and keep managing it.
What SQL Spreads is
SQL Spreads is an Excel Add-in that connects directly to SQL Server. Read, edit, insert, and delete records in a normal spreadsheet. Changes write straight back to the database. No SQL, no VBA, no custom app to build or maintain.
The interface your team already knows — no new UI to learn.
Install the add-in, log into your SQL Server, and select your table. No consultants, no code.
Data-type validation, key lookups, and change tracking keep data clean.
Designer and Editor roles set exactly what each user can change.
Runs on your SQL Server with Windows or Azure AD security. Nothing is stored outside your databases.
SQL Spreads in 1 minute
Video placeholder
Data security
You, the Data or BI team, are in full control of how data can be updated. You define the tables, the columns, the validation rules, and the lookups.
Your business users simply open Excel and do their work, without ever touching the database directly.
How it replaces MDS
MDS bundled machinery most teams never used. SQL Spreads keeps the part that mattered — controlled, validated master-data editing on SQL Server — and drops the rest.
Product fit
For those, a platform like Profisee or Informatica is the better fit.
How it works
Install the Excel add-in and connect to your database. Load your tables into Excel in seconds.
Choose which tables, columns, and rows are editable. Add validation, lookups, and read-only fields in the Designer.
Roll out locked-down Excel documents. End users update data safely; you keep control and a full change history.
What happened to MDS
Microsoft has discontinued Master Data Services. It no longer ships in SQL Server 2025. It runs only on SQL Server 2022 and earlier — security updates only, no new features, no fixes.
Upgrade and you lose it. Stay on 2022 and you're frozen on a dead-end version. The final deadline for the service is set to 2031, after that it will be completely unusable.
Most teams use MDS for one job: keeping master and reference data clean in SQL Server. That data is still there. SQL Spreads gives you that job back — no legacy web app, no Internet Explorer dependency, no multi-week rollout.
FAQ
All editions from SQL Server 2008 through 2025, plus Azure SQL. Authentication via Windows, SQL, or Azure AD, including MFA.
Yes. The Editor role limits users to only the databases, tables, columns, and rows you allow. Change tracking records every edit, and system-versioned tables give you a full audit trail.
For day-to-day master-data maintenance — validation, lookups, controlled editing, change history — SQL Spreads covers the same ground. It does not replace full enterprise MDM such as match/merge, golden records, or multi-domain governance. If you need those, we'll point you to the right tool.
Most teams are live within an hour. No consultants or coding required.
Yes. Every user who creates or edits SQL Spreads documents needs a license. See the pricing page for details.
Leave a bloated system behind and get an easy-to-use Excel Add-in instead. Your master data is still in SQL Server. Download SQL Spreads, connect to your database, and have your team managing it again in minutes. The free trial is the full product — run it against your own data.
14-day free trial. No credit card required.
Questions about replacing MDS? Talk to our team.
