How BCP Works

You define what region or regions of spreadsheet data you want to share - much like the Print Area command of Excel. The initial version of collaborative data can also come from existing queries against backend systems which are currently used for dumping reports to spreadsheets. Utilizing BCP's Enterprise 2.0 technology, you 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. BCP does the rest—automatically. This means BCP can be deployed in days, not months.

And, since BCP users a spreadsheet as its "web form" user interface, you continue using the familiar Excel user 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 BCP Server including data values, formulas-- even embedded documents. BCP's Enterprise 2.0 technology has eliminated the cumbersome field record length definition and schema setup process associated with traditional database applications. 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 BCP 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 BCP 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.