Mashup FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Excel

What are some of the ways we can address the security issues and concerns related to enterprise mashups that leverage external data sources?
Are you putting Excel in the cloud, when you say repository? Where is this Repository? Google Docs, SharePoint?
Is there a dynamic link so that when Excel updates the mashup gets the new list?
Where can I get the mashup plugin for excel?
Do we see mashups moving towards the flexibility & convenience of pivot tables to Excel? Is there an application that quickly assembles these disparate data sources?
In the case of Excel sheets spread all over the department/organization, do you install servers in individual desktops?
How can Mashups be applied to Excel sheets that are on desktop? What is the approach to putting an Excel workbook on the web?
What if the Excel sheets are in some low config desktop.. How do you fetch it?
How do you address data quality used in mashups? End users can misinterpret results.
Can I use unstructured data and a type of input for a mashup?
Did you do any data scrubbing from the legacy sources?
Can you only pull live data in via XLS files, or from SOA, JDBC, API, etc. and if you can, how?
What is the deliverable to the client? A mashup? Mashlet? I'm trying to understand how the application dev process changes in a mashup architecture.
Can you please review what the outcome are of the mashup? RSS / GRID / CHART anything else? .. HTML?
Is a Visual Studio plugin also available?
How the Mashups are being handled for different devices display capacity (PC, iPhone, Blackberries, etc)?
Could you try and differentiate the mashups from traditional portlets?
How do you assess the accuracy or reliability of the source data. How do you know you aren't being fed false data? What ESB security are you using.
Regarding ‘api enabler’...are you using the browser source or more of a screen scrap for creating an external website API?
The value (and potential risk) of disparate information sources may be larger than the sum of the parts. (your competitive analysis pattern) Are there any design patterns (or tools) for service providers to understand how their information is being used (in perhaps anticipated ways).
What about how reliable an external resource can be if it's not under your control? What if Google suddenly changes their api or interface or eliminates it?
Are enterprise Mashups portable to different web/application/mashup servers?
Does Presto integrate into other portal platoforms, e.g. Webcenter?
There are some benefits to portals e.g. governance. Do you see portals as a way to deliver mashups?
How does this compare in construct and operation to the Portal/Portlet style of web page composition.
Can we mashup two different databases...like SQLServer and Siebel ? I mean is it dependent on a particular technology?
Can Presto create mashups with unstructured data (i.e. word doc checked into a SharePoint site)?
Excel "apps" that is scalable, maintainable and secure could be built with MOSS (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server) deployment and give the power to end user. Why should we embrace Mashup?
How are mashups different from dashboards that have been around for a while?
Mashups seem well suited for information centric / lightweight BI applications, but how do these solutions evolve over time or provide enterprise capabilities for inclusion of more complex business logic, or support for business processes, rules, event processing, etc.
I don't understand the BI, we know that excel is THE solution used by the business users to do their job. I have difficulties to see mashups helping in any way?!?
Can you only pull live data in via XLS files, or from SOA, JDBC, API, etc. and if you can, how?
What level of SOA maturity is required as a prerequisite for effective enterprise mashups?