How BES Works

Users simply define what regions of their spreadsheet data they want to share - much like the Print Area command of Excel. Through BES, they then set up whom they want to share with, and how the collaboration & consolidation of data should take place. This includes: whose data rolls up to whom, and what the access control should be for each group of users for the shared rows & columns. BES does the rest—automatically. This means BES can be deployed in days, not months.

And, since existing spreadsheets can be used without modification, you can continue using the familiar Excel interface for data entry, modification, analysis & reporting on the desktop. When you are ready to submit or receive changes with others, all you need is an HTML (or HTTPS) internet connection. All updates are automatically versioned, so you have a complete audit trail of all changes made by users & backend systems to the shared range of data. This also means you can leverage Excel’s powerful data analysis capabilities for change management.

Use Existing Spreadsheets
In this salary planning example, a range of cells is selected from within Excel just like "Print Area." This range of data literally creates the shared tabular database on the BES Server including data values, formulas-- even embedded documents. Once created, multiple users can work on the same range of data at the same time inside Excel on their desktop.



Two-Way Cell-Level Collaboration from Inside Excel
Users collaborate over the shared range of data using a BES Template which provides process buttons for submitting/refreshing changes and seeing change reports. Users can see only see their rows and columns of data or the entire shared range. For example, it can be set up such that department managers only see their employees and that the "Department" column is read only. As users make changes, they click on "submit" and "refresh" to share changes with other users. Changes to cells are indicated using Excel comments which show the most recent data value and the new one. Since BES captures an audit trail of all changes, you can look at a history of all changes for a given cell or row at the click of a button - right from inside Excel.