I can totally appreciate that some applications, that are required for ones business, may not run on Linux and therefore moving to linux is too hard or not even an option.
As for using simple spreadsheets, well no, I use multiple sheets in a spreadsheet each referencing eachother and some get rather complicated. One sheet queries an SQL database and one prints to pdf directly. The power is there and it works.
I also concede that the millions of distributions out there can be a massive pain for any user to try a choose one. I suspect the overcomplicated selection may drive some people away from the Linux world. I've been through many and found mint to be bloody good, in fact it has come leaps and bounds over the past few years.
Fundamentally, I don't like MS, however, without it I would not have a job. My company writes software which runs on MS only and moving it to Linux is no small task.
Every tool for it's job and an O/S is certainly no different. Choose what is right for you, or at least get help choosing. Don't go MS if you don't have to but don't be forced into linux if there is a bunch of work required to get your apps going.