Comparison
DecisionOS vs Excel and slide decks
Spreadsheets and slide decks are a fine starting point for small decisions. They break down the moment multiple stakeholders, compliance scopes and weighted criteria enter the picture. DecisionOS replaces the spreadsheet-plus-deck pattern with one structured workflow that keeps criteria, evidence, stakeholders and risks in a single auditable artefact.
TL;DR
Spreadsheets work until the second stakeholder shows up.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | DecisionOS | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Single source of truth | One memo, versioned and shareable | Multiple files in email threads, often out of sync |
| Criteria weighting | Built-in weighted scoring with live total | Hand-rolled formulas that break on edit |
| Dealbreakers vs scored criteria | Explicit separation, knock-out logic | Mixed into the same score grid |
| Evidence per claim | Source captured per data point, with honesty flags | Footnotes or unsourced cells |
| Stakeholder briefs | Per-role brief generated from the same source | New slide deck per audience, manually kept in sync |
| Readiness signal | Quantified Readiness Score (>70 signals audit readiness) | Gut feel |
| Audit trail | Versioned, timestamped, exportable | Whichever copy was last emailed |
| Compliance mapping | NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, SOC 2 pre-mapped | Custom cells per project |
Choose DecisionOS when
- ✓More than three stakeholders touch the decision.
- ✓The decision is auditable under NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001 or SOC 2.
- ✓You expect to defend the decision 12+ months later.
- ✓The decision is part of a recurring pattern (EDR, IAM, cloud, ERP).
Stick with Excel when
- ·Informal decisions between two options with no compliance scope.
- ·Personal or team-internal tooling with no external exposure.
- ·One-off trade-off analysis with no re-use value.
How DecisionOS is different
A spreadsheet is a grid. A slide deck is a narrative. A decision memo is an object of record. DecisionOS treats the decision itself as the primary object, with criteria, evidence, stakeholders and risks as its structured attributes. That allows per-role briefs, readiness scoring and audit export to be derived automatically instead of manually re-produced per audience.
Questions we get about this
Can I import my existing spreadsheet into DecisionOS?
Vendor lists, criteria and cost data can be imported during onboarding. DecisionOS does not force a rewrite of your prior work; it structures it.
What happens to the Excel files once we adopt DecisionOS?
Most teams keep Excel for ad-hoc one-off analysis and move recurring decision patterns into DecisionOS. Export to PDF is always available for stakeholders who expect a document.
Where is DecisionOS hosted?
Entirely in the EU (Hetzner, Nuremberg, Germany). No application data leaves the European Union. Analytics is self-hosted and cookie-free. A data processing agreement per Art. 28 GDPR is in place with the hosting provider.
How do I evaluate DecisionOS for my next decision?
Book a 30-minute demo at nexalign.io/book. During the demo the team walks a real decision end-to-end using a scenario close to yours (EDR, IAM, sovereign cloud, ERP, whichever fits).