There is low hanging fruit in the problems to solve though. For example, finding and highlighting outliers in a column. It's a relatively simple feature but yields big benefits to users.
This is why I recommend using programming based tools for data analysis. Any non-programming tool has to find a balance between the number of features offered and the complexity/ease-of-use of the tool. With programming tools, you merely have to find the right package (or build your own) which essentially results in getting the exact set of features that you need to solve your problem.
The problem is that not everyone is a programmer. A "programming" tool might be great for you, but when you show it to co-workers for them to work with, they'll inevitably ask "Can I get this in Excel?". Excel+VBA allows for customization when the "complexity/ease-of-use" balance is out of sync with your needs, but to everyone else it's still just Excel.
With this, those that can program have the option to solve the problem their way, while allowing those that don't program the means to solve the problem the way their used to.
I get a little confused about the programmer/non-programmer dichotomy. If you are capable of implementing a complex model in excel, you are probably more than capable of learning a programming language. If you are just tallying up a few numbers to throw into a report or presentation, then yeah, no need to switch. As I mentioned in another post, it probably has to do with exposure and motivation.
Check out Options: Formulas: Error checking rules. It's almost as if Microsoft has been continually developing this software for years and years and they have seen many common mistakes. ;)