Most of those office workers were not capable of fixing anything on the first day they used Excel. Many didn't understand it at all. The main difference isn't that Excel is super accessible and easy to use for non-technical people; it's its ubiquity, and especially that of training on its usage.
Ubiquity is important but it's not the only important factor. An excel sheet can typically be downloaded and experimented with. You can't download an ERP system and try stuff with it.
