Software is a key part of our day-to-day work as actuaries. From themoment we sit down at our desks we are using e-mail, spreadsheets,databases and a host of other packages. Yet despite its importance,relatively little time is spent discussing how software is used andwhat problems are associated with any particular package.
In the remainder, we consider each of the main types of software in turn:

• Spreadsheets and add-ins
• Statistical packages
• Databases
• Programming languages
• Specialized actuarial software
• Other software

Finally, we present our conclusions and suggestions for further work.

A. Spreadsheets and add-ins
There are two ways in which the functionality of Excel (or otherspreadsheets) can be extended. First, the user can use a programminglanguage included in the spreadsheet package to write their ownfunctions. The language included in Excel is Excel/VBA (Visual Basicfor Applications). Second, various add-ins are available, that providespecial purpose functions that can be used in formulae or performactions. Some widely available add-ins include:

Excel Analysis Toolpakis supplied as part of Excel. It provides a number of data analysisfunctions, including various statistical functions and random numbergeneration.

@Risk and Crystal Ball enable Monte Carlo simulation

XLStat provides specialist statistical functions.

In addition, many of the specialist models (actuarial and other)come with Excel addins that facilitate interactions between Excel andthe models, either for analysing the results or inputting data orparameters.

Excel is clearly both ubiquitous and popular. However, there maywell be a significant proportion of actuarial users who are not awareof its limitations as far as statistical functions and random numbersare concerned. This is worrying, as Excel is extensively used forstatistical analysis. Many of the users are worried about thedifficulties of controlling spreadsheets, and run into problems whenthey are handling large data sets. Excel is often seen as a universaltool, suitable for more or less any purpose, instead of the swiss armyknife it more closely resembles. It is possible to do most analysesusing Excel, but there are often more suitable tools available.

Source: Actuarial Software Discussion : Summary of “Actuaries excel: but what about their software?”