This document provides an overview of Microsoft's Business Connectivity Services (BCS) in SharePoint Server. BCS allows SharePoint to integrate with line-of-business systems and present external data as lists and libraries. It includes client-side and server-side services that enable accessing and interacting with external data from within SharePoint and Office clients. BCS presents external data sources as external content types that can be used to create external lists, integrate external data into searches, and populate user profiles.

1. Make SharePoint your Information
hub with Business Connectivity
Services
Brett Lonsdale

2. About Me
• Brett Lonsdale, MCTS, MCSD, MCT
– Email
brett@lightningtools.com
– Blog
www.lightningtools.com/blog
– Twitter
@brettlonsdale
• @lightningtools
– LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/brettlonsdale

3. Agenda
Business Connectivity Services Introduction
What is BCS? How does it Help?
The Services
Client Services Server Services
Putting BCS into use
SharePoint Foundations SharePoint Server

4. Business Connectivity Services Introduction
What is BCS? How does it Help?
The Services
Client Services Server Services
Putting BCS into use
SharePoint Foundations SharePoint Server

5. What is BCS?
Office 2010 SharePoint Server
SPD External
SharePoint External Enterprise User
InfoPath Word Outlook Bus field Web Parts
Workspace Lists Search Profiles
Type
VS
Out of
BDC Client Offline BDC Solution
BDC Cache ECT
Runtime
Security
Packaging
the Box
Runtime Operations UI
CRM SAP Siebel LOB

6. What’s new?
• Entities become External Content Types
– Now more than just a schema
– ECT’s describe behavior
• WCF and .NET Assembly Connectors
• External Lists
• Client Runtime
• Read/Write
• Access consumes BCS
• Tools

7. Terminology
• External Content Type – Table/View etc
• Finder Method – Returns multiple
columns/rows
• Specific Finder – Displays a row
• IDEnumerator – Used by the Enterprise
Search to enumerate the rows
• Action – URL and Parameters
• Association – Join (Relationship)

8. Problems solved by BCS
• Islands of data into 1 application
IT Extranet
Collaboration
Site
Human
Weekly Issue
Resources Tracking
Meeting
Finance

9. Business Connectivity Services Introduction
What is BCS? How does it Help?
The Services
Client Services Server Services
Putting BCS into use
SharePoint Foundations SharePoint Server

10. Server Services
• External Lists
– Backend data presented in a SharePoint style list
• InfoPath and Web Forms for Updating | Inserting data
• Business Data Web Parts
– Now Ajaxian
– Really only here for backwards compatibility or read
only scenarios
• External Data Column
– Use LOB data in Lists & Libraries
• Search
• User Profile Import

11. External Lists

12. Business Data Web Parts

13. External Data Column

14. Search

15. User Profile Import

16. Client Capabilities
• SharePoint Workspace
• Outlook
• Office Business Parts (OBPs)
– List of Items
– Single Item
• Word
• Access

17. SharePoint Workspace

18. Outlook 2010

19. Office Quick Parts

20. InfoPath

21. Business Connectivity Services Introduction
What is BCS? How does it Help?
The Services
Client Services Server Services
Putting BCS into use
SharePoint Foundations SharePoint Server

22. Tools
• SharePoint Designer
– No code solution
– Create External Content Types
– Configure the connection to the Datasource
– Define Methods
– Simple Associations
• Visual Studio
– Code solution
– Mashups of Datasources
– Complex Associations
– Output a .NET Assembly

23. SharePoint Designer

24. Visual Studio 2010 Pro

25. Object Model
• Namespaces
– Microsoft.BusinessData.Infrastructure;
– Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel;
– Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel.Collectio
ns;
– Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime;
• iEntity = External Content Type
• iMetaDataCatalog = Catalog of ECT’s

26. Custom

27. Business Connectivity Services Introduction
What is BCS? How does it Help?
The Services
Client Services Server Services
Putting BCS into use
SharePoint Foundations SharePoint Server

29. @LightningTools
@BrettLonsdale