When I interviewed Michael Worosz about Microsoft Office Excel 2007, we spent a few minutes talking about the Excel Services and I realized that we needed to cover that topic in much more depth. So I turned to Jeff Wierer, who is a Senior Product Manager in the Office Server division.
In this prodcast, Jeff outlines some of the reasons why there is a need to run Excel on a server, such as needing more scalability, enhanced security, and the ability to "maintain a single version of the truth". He highlights the three main components which make up Excel Services; Excel Calculation Services, Excel Web Access, and Excel Web Services.
Jeff gives an example of how Excel Services can enhance the security of important data. He details a new security right in Office 2007 called "view only". This allows an author to publish an Excel 2007 file to a SharePoint Server and specify that users are limited to viewing the file to Excel Web Access. Jeff also mentions how an author can publish JUST a chart, named range or single worksheet of a larger Excel file, so other users can't view the ENTIRE Excel workbook.
If you currently run your business on Excel ( and who doesn't these days?), this prodcast will help you understand how Excel 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Excel Services will make it easier for you to do so.
Click the links below to play audio (27:03)
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For more information on Excel Services, please visit the Microsoft website.