Related:

Why we can’t quit Excel

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46159703

What can challenge them? Google Sheets is nice for basic things but it somehow feels awkward to use a browser based app once things get complicated. Excel has the benefit of having a browser version and a desktop version. And it takes enormous resources to build something like excel - only to be unable to compete with Microsoft’s sales machine. There’s no way a new company is created to challenge them.