We are proud to announce the upcoming V4.0 new version of XSBS sometimes this year. It is currently under assessment.
We wish introducing a major idea consisting in keeping it as simple as possible, however preserving the powerfull features offered in XSBS as of today.
In short:
1- UI will be simplified, users accessing XSBS directly from Excel and not anymore launching XSBS Application from XSBS Home component first. Although HOME was graceful, it was causing misunderstanding and complexity with our customer internal network administration. In other words, a users willing to use an XSBS application will open Excel and then select the XSBS application to run, using the XSBS Ribbon that will control actions around XSBS.
2- Developement of new XSBS application will also streamlined. XSBS Studio will not be required to developped new XSBS applications. We are changing our XSBS Kernel to allow this simplification. Of course XSBS still proposes a large set of functions usable in Excel formulas and VBA coding. Action and specific ribbons will be created using standard microsoft tools instead.
3- New feature will allow our customers to have supplementary databases usable with their XSBS application. These DB to be hosted our our platform where today we manage XSBS user administration or on their own one.
Why such additionnal database?
When XSBS retreives and saves data also in SAP, this is going through SAP connection that are pretty slow, although we always consider performances. SAP communications are too slow. On the other hand it is often important to save XSBS application results on a permanent support, however doing so in SAP means ABAP tables and developments which is not allowed by our customer SAP compliance policies.
With this new feature we will be able to proposed advanced application which read data from SAP as of today features, perform any action like planning, forecasting ... and save in the XSBS database those intermediate results. These data are accessible by multiple users. At some point in business process XSBS application are able to send results back to SAP using our XSBS features as per current version.
Examples of applications using XSBS database.
3.1- Forecasting application, reading acutals sales from SAP, saving into XSBS database pending user to calculate a forecast, review it over the month and finally saving results as Planned Independent Requirements in SAP thank to XSBS BAPI calling.
3.2- Supply Chain Planning collecting MD04 data from SAP, then helping planner to manage planning exception over a weekly cycle and save finally Planned Production Orders in SAP
3.3- Budget planning. This is a long process that often requires simulations, comparisons. Where except Excel can a business do this to a reasonnable price?
4- Sharing XSBS Applications. That is the case through our XSBS server and versionning. Tomorrow this will also use our server however accessible from a simple button in our XSBS Ribbon
5- Versionning of application is kept as a base feature in XSBS so as to keep all user in synch with the XSBS application lifecycles
Conclusion
We hope delivering this soon in the coming months. Any interest please forward us your questions
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