Thousands of  people might know well about Excel, they play it as a daily tool in their work. However, the datas between each single Excel are normally unable to repeat, exchange and share theirselves automatically. If we consider Excel as brick, then a house will not be built without laying bricks. The appearance of BC Excel Server is to figure out the issue of how to build the house by laying the disheveled bricks. Nevertheless, there are plenty of voice in the space about what exactly that monster is? Is it another type of spreadsheet or a kind of BI (Business Intelligence) analysis tool or database or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), OA (Office Automation) etc? The answer is negative. Excel Server is similar as that is a platform and EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) based on the spreadsheet Excel that enables people to manage their data by building their own MIS (Management Information System) such as ERP, OA, CRM. Hence, there is no strict definition about Excel Server. It seems to be like a develop tool but it is also able to deal with the spreadsheet and visually manage the system develop by itself. Excel Server delivers a rich set of integrated combo that enable the users to do more with their data such as query, search, synchronize, report, and analyze in the MIS they had made.  To conclusion, BC Excel Server might be consider as a frame of the house that has integrated the laying brick where its inner system will support and maintain the house running as well. With all of the service BC Excel Server provide, it is easy to load a proposal to the people by BC that everyone is able to be an software engineer

 How does BC Excel Server work?

The BC Excel Server aims to establish a “DIY(Do It Yourself)” relation with the terminal user. With his strong feature of information management, it is also called “ make by you and use by you”. Hence, there is a cycle relationship during your development and use.   

Cycle of Excel Server

Normally, A software development process is a structure imposed on the development of a software product. There is a concept that BC Excel Server is a development platform as well as an information management system. To explain the work process, the pure Waterfall processes model has been employed. In the pure Waterfall processes of software development, there are five basic processes: requirements, design, implementation, evaluation, maintenance. The Excel Server is actually the platform that play the role of implementation, evaluation, maintenance. However, there is no any code need to build in the implementation process. Meanwhile, the system, which is built via Excel Server will run on itself as well. The Excel Server has provide a managing server interface to supervise the system for the administrator. Therefore, it is a integrated systematic structure for user to get their own MIS once they successfully made.

Architecture of BC Excel Server

With the independent structure of using both inner system and outer system, Excel Server could might meet the requirement of creditable system reliability, availability, and serviceability. The three items are enhanced by features that include auto-development model and repeatable experiment model.

System reliability

There is a normal concept of a reliable system provides the foundation for both external reporting and internal operations. The increased reliance on third-party service providers has made the definition and assessment of a reliable system increasingly important to users. A system cannot be deemed reliable if it is not secure, so the concepts of security and reliability are intrinsically linked. To compare with the other develop system or environment, the reliability is in the double working standard.

System Availability

Refers to the ability of the user community to access the system, whether to submit new work, update or alter existing work, or collect the results of previous work. If a user cannot access the system, it is said to be unavailable. Usually, system Availability is calculated by modeling the system as an interconnection of parts in series and parallel.

  Who is suitable for using Excel Server?

The BC Excel Server aims to establish a “DIY(Do It Yourself)” relation with the terminal user. Thereby The BC Excel Server is for those people who want to be seized of their own MIS which is able to build by themselves. It is also suitable for those who want to make the prompt development and get the independent application.

The main features of BC Excel Server has been given below:

Templates Template is the key feature for the user to develop system in BC Excel Server. Per template can be a logic module or a simple form that connect with the other logic.

Work flow  A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, work of a simple or complex mechanism, work of a group of persons. Workflow may be seen as any abstraction of real work, segregated in work share, work split or whatever types of ordering. Excel Server enable users to define their own work flow that is suitable for their system logic. It is a bright point in Excel Server

External data import to put the external data to the figure out Excel Server provide the interface to import the external data, the compatible database would be SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Access. It is convenient for user to connect their existent works to Excel Server.

LDAP logon LDAP ( Lightweight Directory Access Protocol ) is an an application protocol for querying and modifying directory services running over TCP/IP.  Excel Server is also provided a common interface to connect with the LDAP service.

Data fetch Data fetcher refers to a set of sequential query rules, it can qualified data or records from variously joined data tables. It world returen the results to the corresponded table cells according to default or customized filling criteria. It is able to make Excel Server templateds to use any report data or records freely within the information system.

B/S and C/S model In enterprise edition of Excel Server, there are B/s both C/S model for user to build their remote management system. An Internet Explore would be the similar function that roll in a ducth fram of the client

Input Criteria In the Intermediate Business Modeling or Advanced Business Modeling user profile,user can group inputs to form a set of inputs known as an input criterion. Each input criterion defines a particular combination of inputs that can start a process, task, or other element. There are five types of input criteria which has been defined in Excel server, however, the Excel Server is due to give the hand to the users to define it therisleves.

Backup and restore database The backing up and restoring databases and transaction logs is a way that Excel Server provides to protect from data loss. The backup operation creates a copy of a database. This copy can be used to restore the database if the media failure occurs or if the database is somehow damaged.

SMS information centre To support the “message to operate report”, Excel Server provide the function so called “SMS information centre” for user to make the contact when of their absence etc.

Email information centre Excel Server is not just the inner system to any orgnisation. Indeed, it would be load down the reaching the contact among the users who is far away from the target virtual machine. Hence, without any question, Excel Server enable to establish the email manage system to users

Task plan   Excel server is a flexible monser that simple enable user to achieve the concept of their puncher. To simplize the the auto-work, the key point in Excel Server is to define the task by user own, where would be leisure.

 Offline Report  offline is successfully meeting the physics needs of the organization. It is also be in the comp of saving space and time effect. The normal reaction in Excel Server would be download the template and upload it.

In BC's Excel Server, there is a slight kit difference between enterprise edition and standard edition. User is set to pick up the function that is load to their inner management. For the system, which is base on the LAN or WAN would be the key excuse to empoly the edition of Excel Server. The table for match each part of the contents is below

                                                              Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition

1.1  What is the attraction of BC Excel Server?

A)       Flexible and Allodial. BC Excel Server designed to be an integration platform for you to develop and manage your own information system. You will have more flexible and allodial concept connect to your own system whatever it is an OA or ERP or any other MIS. The flexible and carefully designed authorization and authentication make business process run in a highly secure environment, and adaptable to future organization structural changes.

B)       No professional IT knowledge and backgroud are required for using Excel Server to build the information system for your own business.

C)       Reducing MIS developing cost.

                                                                  Compare with the other system

D)       Smartly leverages the friendly and efficient MS Excel user interface, and the powerful data management capability of MS SQL Server.

E)       Users define business logic, design data report templates, and process business data all in MS Excel, which lowers the learning curve and the maintenance costs of the whole system.

F)       The business data and logic is centrally stored and managed in MS SQL Server.

G)     Powerful workflow support, which makes Excel Server a perfect EAI platform. Each work item on the workflow chain is data-driven, and closely integrated into the overall business process. The real-time progress of the workflow processing can be traced and monitored at any time.

H)     All data sources can be inter-connected and referenced within and across the organization boundary, securing the data integrity for the whole enterprise.

I)       The "data fetcher" and "data writer" make data cross-referencing an easy task, and minimize the data redundancy and maintenance cost.

J)        Can process business logic and data directly on the Web, making the organization's business extensible to every place where an Internet connection is available.

K)       Supports cluster-based deployment and centralized system administration.