Setting Up Excel Services in SharePoint 2010 for Testing
May 1, 2012
By J’son Cannelos, Partner/Principal Architect
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is here to stay. According to global360.com, 67% of companies participating in a recent survey reporting deploying SharePoint in an enterprise environment. Managing document workflows and attaching content to business processes were reported as the highest priorities were given as reasons for using SharePoint. At the same time, Microsoft Office Excel is the de-facto tool for data analysis and enablement. Everyone from the company CEO on down to the accountant uses Excel today for examining their present situation and forecasting the future. Could web enabling Excel via SharePoint be far behind?
Excel Services has been around since SharePoint 2007; however it’s made a big leap in SharePoint 2010. A good write up on Excel Services for SharePoint 2010 is located here (yep, you even get Slicers!):
The service allows Excel spreadsheets to be presented in a web browser using a slick Excel-like interface. External data connections, workbook calculations, user defined functions, and charts are supported out of the box for a true near desktop experience. Business stakeholders love and need Excel? Check. They need to access Excel workbooks and reports anytime, anywhere, even on a computer without Microsoft Office? Check!