Company Background
In 1995, three Oregon State University computer science professors, Margaret Burnett PhD, Martin Erwig PhD and Greg Rothermel PhD, recognized an extensive and largely untapped market for spreadsheet error detection tools.
Intrigued by the idea that spreadsheets are a programming language – meaning that users are essentially untrained programmers – they sought to bring software quality control concepts into the spreadsheet domain. By studying actual human behavior, they developed technology to allow average users to build and use spreadsheets with exceedingly more confidence and accuracy.
Microsoft Excel makes it very easy for people to create spreadsheets, however, this same accessibility and ease of use makes it difficult for companies to impose quality controls on spreadsheets. RedRover products help users evaluate spreadsheets as they are being created, providing exactly the kind of information that programmers rely on to build error-free applications. From the most basic errors to the most complex, these software engineering concepts apply easily to spreadsheets, alerting users to inconsistencies to help them hunt down the true source of an error.
After more than ten years of spreadsheet and user behavior research, Professors Burnett, Erwig and Rothermel co-founded RedRover Software Inc. to create and market productivity solutions for all levels of spreadsheet users. RedRover Audit, released in February 2008, is the company’s first commercial product.
The RedRover Vision
In order for companies to be assured that the spreadsheets used to make important business decisions are accurate, organizations need solutions that help users create and validate the integrity of spreadsheets while they are in the spreadsheet as well as solutions that help the enterprise enforce spreadsheet best practices and quality controls to reduce risk and exposure.
The mission of RedRover Software Inc. is to develop user-friendly and non-invasive solutions to eminently improve and preserve the integrity of all spreadsheets across an enterprise while reducing the person hours vetting the basis of critical business decisions.