How The BCS Saved My Marriage Liam Cleary

Senior Solution Architect | SharePoint MVP

Disclaimer

• I didn’t come up with the title of this session

• If the internet fails the demos may be none existent

• If I speak too quick, I apologise

• I like PowerPoint animations!!

About Me

• Solution Architect @ SusQtech (Winchester, VA)

• SharePoint MVP since 2007

• Working with SharePoint since 2002

• Worked on all kinds of projects

• Internet

• Intranet

• Extranet

• Anything SharePoint Really

• Involved in Architecture, Deployment, Customization and Development of SharePoint

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him / her to learn by creating curiosity, they will continue the learning process as long as they live. Clay P. Bedford

I am hoping for a different kind of Curiosity today

Topics

• What is the BCS?

• Why do we have it?

• How can you use it?

• What can it do for you?

• Is it worth the effort?

• Gotchas

• DEMOS

• How did the BCS save my marriage?

What is the BCS?

• BCS Stands for Business Connectivity Services

• Middle-Tier data layer

• Consumes base SQL, WCF and core .NET Assembly

• New version of BDC that was in SharePoint 2007

• Combines old BDC technology

• Ability to surface LOB data directly into SharePoint

• Allows for basic CRUD operations

• Built in Web Parts (Enterprise Only)

Why do we have BCS?

• Vision of Microsoft for Consuming data into Presentation Platforms

• Wanted to allow users to show LOB data easily

• Allow for complex UI to be built easily from LOB data

• Allow search to expose and index LOB applications

• Single Presentation layer for all LOB data

• View of a single customer / object

• Graphical Presentation of LOB data easily

• Easy Office integration with LOB data

How do you use it?

• SharePoint Designer

• SharePoint Designer

• SharePoint Designer

• Just kidding, but seriously SharePoint Designer

• SharePoint UI once provisioned

• Visual Studio Deployed Solutions

• Custom external applications

Steps to Usage

• Ensure you have a way to access your data

• Provision BCS connectivity via SharePoint Designer

• Create Data Connections

• Create External Content Types

• Create External Lists

• Consume using OOTB Web Parts

• Custom Components

DEMO

SharePoint Designer Data Connections

SharePoint Designer External Content Type

SharePoint Designer External List

What can it do for you?

• Standardized view of external LOB Data

• List View

• Views

• Web Parts

• Search

• Custom Page actions on retrieved LOB Data

• Associate to Content Types

• Attach to documents

• List Items

• Build web based UI for LOB Data easily

DEMO Business Connectivity Web Parts

Visual Studio Solution

It is worth the effort?

• Yes, Maybe, Yes and Maybe

• Complex upfront work

• Needs to be designed correctly

• Security needs to be considered

• Rating: 7/10

• Doesn't’t quite do what it says on the box

• Current projects are using BCS exclusively to present backend Data

• Invest in Data Layer to extrapolate your data to something that BCS can consume

Gotchas!!

• Can’t just connect anything to it and expect it to work

• Write back is complicated and requires some custom development

• Filtering can be cumbersome

• Security, Security and Security, oh yeah Permissions

• User Profile Sync can be complicated with BCS

• Be careful what you search within BCS

• Anonymous Access = Manual Configuration / Deployment

• Ultimately you will need Visual Studio and know XML

How did the BCS save my marriage? • Didn’t have to write any custom code

• Easy to deploy remotely using SharePoint Designer

• Able to track my wife's spending via SharePoint and BCS

• PowerPoint presentation to wife on spending habits

• Trend analysis using Excel Services and BCS

• SharePoint Alerts setup on BCS Data – warning of spending limits reached

• Search used to find transactions

• Custom Search Actions used to drill further into data and see what the transaction was for

• Integration using jQuery to auto block spending

• Completely made up, but the reality is that simple, this could be done, as long as the data feed is available this is achievable

Real Answer was less time at work, more time at home

Thank You • Personal Email: liamcleary@msn.com

• Work: http://www.susqtech.com

• Twitter: @helloitsliam

• Blog: www.helloitsliam.com