How to turn an Excel spreadsheet into a web app

New tech start-up Vixo has launched a new way to share, edit and collate data over the net that can be used for everything from creating a simple expenses system through to a mini call-centre application.

Scottish start-up Vixo has created a web-based service that allows businesses to share data and get data updated over the internet. With Vixo businesses can create secure spreadsheets that can be updated by multiple users over the internet, without the need for the users to have access to Excel or have any knowledge of Visual Basic or Excel macros.

The problem that most businesses have with sending spreadsheets over email or via the internet is an inability to control the spreadsheet once it's out of the business network For example with an Excel spreadsheet, once it's sent as an attachment or shared over DropBox it's an impossible task to collect data from it, without either collating data by hand or by getting someone to write a Visual Basic script to aggregate the data.

With Vixo businesses can collect and collate data from multiple users without users overwriting or destroying data, and finally you can audit the data and set security levels for individual users. So any changes to documents can be tracked and attributed.

Vixo also has additional features that allow users to create applications with the service including;

• Web-based outbound call-centres.
• Staff rota system that shows who does what where
• Online phone directories that can be maintained by the staff themselves
• Web expense systems

Because Vixo is web-based, any code used to create the applications are hidden from the end-user – unlike Excel which effectively gives that intellectual property away – and makes it possible for a business to create a secure application using Vixo which can then be resold.