People have tried to improve on that big grid of cells since VisiCalc in 1979. Considering it's the weakest part, it has been remarkably difficult to find something better.
As someone that spent years being buried in complex spreadsheets for hours a day (and supported and trained others who spent literally 12 hours a day building models), I can't think of a better combination of functionality, capability, and usability than that big grid of cells.
As someone that spent years being buried in complex spreadsheets for hours a day (and supported and trained others who spent literally 12 hours a day building models), I can't think of a better combination of functionality, capability, and usability than that big grid of cells.