Through a new application that streamlines access to data, the London Stock Exchange has cut the time it takes to respond to inquiries from its members. The solution is an Office Business Application (OBA) designed for use by the London Stock Exchange’s primary account managers, or PAMs, who manage the accounts of the hundreds of clients that are the exchange’s members.

A central element of the system is called the PAM Dashboard, and it is a Web-based intranet solution that relies on Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Excel Services in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 to display Excel workbooks and allow users to work with them within the SharePoint Server 2007 environment.

Prior to the implementation of the PAM Dashboard, data was spread through multiple data sources throughout the LSE.

“When our clients have questions, we want to respond to them with the best possible answers, but that involved us checking numerous databases and data sources to come up with the correct answers,” says Nicola Lynch, head of client management for the LSE. “Depending on the complexity of the question, the answer could take from a couple of hours to a couple of days to analyze and deliver.”

The PAM Dashboard is linked to a central data warehouse in which data is turned into online analytical processing (OLAP) cubes. Information in the cubes is updated every three minutes and delivered to the PAM Dashboard.

Excel Services in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 allows PAMs to display and work with Excel workbooks within Office SharePoint Server 2007. PAMs use it to create customized views of information by client. Information on client-specific views of data can be collected in minutes, cutting the time it took previously to gather data and respond to queries.

“Because of Excel Services, these views can be distributed effectively and efficiently across the whole of our primary account manager community,” notes Robin Paine, chief technology officer of the LSE. “Excel Services simply replicates the functionality of [Office] Excel 2007 on the desktop so that it can be used on the dashboard. So building custom views, client templates, and other features is as simple as using Excel 2007 itself.”

The initial implementation of the PAM Dashboard provided PAMs with three tables and six graphs to analyze trading performance.

“We are planning to ultimately provide a wider range of tables and graphs, which will be available from a gallery of templates,” says Iain Spicer, a business consultant to the exchange who was involved in the development of the dashboard. “Each PAM will have his or her own Web page and be able to drag-and-drop a graph or table from the gallery into their Web page, displaying pertinent information for client analysis.”