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Some further thoughts from ClusterSeven
Ralph Baxter, Director of Marketing and Strategy, ClusterSeven
- How do ClusterSeven see the market for spreadsheet data management developing in 2007
- From our initial client base in five global investment banks we are seeing a rapid widening of interest across the financial services industry. This is being driven by increasing regulator focus – the FSA are now include spreadsheet control questions as part of their standard audit. It is also being driven by a need to bring greater efficiency to manual processes that have been put in place to address controls for Sarbanes-Oxley. This need is also being registered as a new consultancy requirement by the major professional services firms such as Protiviti and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
- How do ClusterSeven view the introduction of Excel Services?
- Excel Services is a major step forward by Microsoft in terms of recognising and addressing the enterprise needs from Excel – as distinct from the ‘one size fits all’ approach to previous Office products. It is perhaps the first time that IT professionals (as against just the business user) are becoming aware of the strategic value of Excel within their business infrastructure. Since ClusterSeven is focused on exposing and managing this dependence it is of great help to have Microsoft pushing the strategic information dimension of Excel.
- What plans do ClusterSeven have for incorporating Excel Services and what will this mean for your clients
- The most important aspect of Excel Services for ClusterSeven is the move toward improved information sharing through the introduction of html publishing of selective spreadsheet content. ClusterSeven will provide the integrity assurance for this information, ensuring that subscribers can be confident that this information has passed all validation tests before they consume it.
- What other major developments are planned for 2007
- Compatibility with Excel 2007 and Sharepoint 2007 will deliver a range of new functionality beyond the adoption of the newest Microsoft technology. Most important will be the option for clients to adopt Sharepoint as as a secure repository for their spreadsheets. ClusterSeven will continue to act as a CCTV camera on these repositories (just as it does on native file servers) whilst maintaining its standpoint of avoiding any impact on user experience such as functionality, performance or latency issues. Beyond this, ClusterSeven will be extending its workflow capability by hooking into the new Windows Workflow Foundation.
Ralph Baxter, Director of Marketing and Strategy, ClusterSeven