Risk Analysis using Monte Carlo simulation in Excel for the Web, Excel for Macintosh or Excel for Windows
With the Risk Solver Add-in, created by Frontline Systems, you can perform risk analysis using Monte Carlo simulation in your spreadsheet -- with Excel for the Web (also known as Excel Online), Excel for Macintosh or Excel for Windows -- using a subset of key features from our Analytic Solver product for Excel. You can create and run simulations on tablets, phones, or anywhere a Web browser can be used. See More Analytics Apps.
Your simulation will be run in the cloud. Note that this means your model may be stored locally or in the cloud. The Risk Solver Add-in can be used in both Desktop Excel and Excel Online.
- Point and click to insert probability distributions into cells representing uncertain inputs in your model, and set their parameters.
- Choose from 10 different continuous distributions, from Beta to Weibull, and 8 discrete distributions, from Bernoulli to Poisson.
- Point and click to mark cells computing results that you want to monitor during the simulation.
Click to run and in a few seconds, you’ll have results from 1,000 Monte Carlo trials, with charts and statistics:
- Frequency and cumulative frequency histograms
- Summary statistics such as mean and standard deviation
- Percentiles
Copy statistics and percentiles into a worksheet cell range with one click. You can even step through the Monte Carlo trials and see each result calculated on your worksheet.
Risk Solver Add-in helps you go beyond what-if analysis to perform realistic risk analysis. Move from simple average-best-worst case analysis to see the full range of possible outcomes, and quantify your downside risk and upside potential. For applications in pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, finance and insurance, and manufacturing quality control, this type of risk analysis is essential.
When you click the green Simulate arrow in the Add-in, your model is queued for simulation by Frontline’s backend RASON Server, running on Windows Azure. This has two implications:
- The RASON Server has a finite capacity, as currently provisioned (and paid for) by Frontline Systems. During periods of heavy use, there may be delays in solving.
- To run your simulation, your Excel workbook must be temporarily copied to the RASON Server (this copy is deleted after solving). Read our Privacy Policy for details.
If you would like to use the Risk Solver Add-in in your organization and run RASON Server on your own server(s), please contact us. The free Risk Solver Add-in supports up to 24 uncertain inputs and 12 uncertain outputs, and 1,000 Monte Carlo trials. To run simulations with more (even thousands of) uncertain inputs and outputs, and more (even hundreds of thousands of) Monte Carlo trials, please contact us about upgrading to Analytic Solver.