Unlike the other tools we compare ourselves with, Rollstack isn't a design tool or a slide editor. It's a reporting automation platform: it takes charts and tables from your BI tools, warehouse or spreadsheets and keeps them up to date inside PowerPoint and Google Slides decks, then sends them out on a schedule. For large analytics teams with an established BI stack, it does that job well. slideAcross with dataLayers automates the same packs - but the pack is a live presentation, not a file. The story is written for every chart, and anyone can drill into their own numbers in the meeting, without going back to a dashboard.
Presentation Philosophy: Automated Files vs Slides You Can Question
Rollstack's output is a finished deck: the charts are refreshed, the summaries are written, and the file lands in PowerPoint, Google Slides, a PDF or an inbox. That saves analysts hours of copying and pasting. But once the meeting starts, the deck is static. When someone asks "what about the North?" or "is this a blip or a trend?", the answer lives back in the BI tool - usually as a follow-up action.
slideAcross is the presentation itself. A dataLayers pack opens with the branded, rehearsed headline, and every chart underneath it can be drilled into while you present: click a bar, or say "drill into the North" and "show this over time". Each level comes with its own fresh story - what changed, how it compares and the trend - so the question gets answered in the room.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | slideAcross | Rollstack |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A presentation platform with live data built in | A reporting automation layer that feeds PowerPoint, Google Slides and documents |
| Data sources | Excel and CSV (every tab is read), live Google Sheets, Excel in OneDrive or SharePoint, or a file at a web address | BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker, Metabase and more), warehouses (Snowflake, Databricks), Excel and Google Sheets |
| BI tool needed? | No - built for organisations whose numbers live in spreadsheets | Built to sit on top of an existing BI and data stack |
| Where you present | In slideAcross, with layered, non-linear navigation | In PowerPoint or Google Slides, or as a PDF or email |
| Drill down while presenting | Click a chart, or say "drill into London" - new insights are generated for every level | Charts and tables are static in the deck; follow-up questions go back to the BI tool |
| Written insights | A plain-English story for every chart and every drill level, from a built-in engine (same numbers in, same words out) or your organisation's chosen AI | AI-generated summaries and takeaways from your synced data |
| Finding what drives results | The correlation engine tests every input against an output, showing the return for 10% more of each, and how many weeks until it shows | Insights from AI data agents, guided by your instructions |
| Scheduled refresh and distribution | Yes - packs rebuild on your schedule and are sent to the people, departments or organisation you choose | Yes - on demand or on schedule, delivered to stakeholders |
| A version for every audience | One deck for the whole organisation; department permissions mean everyone drills into only their own data | A separate deck generated for every client, region or team from one template |
| Point-in-time packs | Every pack keeps the numbers it was built with, so everyone scrutinises the same figures | Each generated deck is a snapshot, with version history and audit trail |
| Beyond data slides | A full presentation tool: layered navigation, AI slide generation while editing or live, voice control | Relies on PowerPoint or Google Slides for everything else |
| Governance | Permissions by department and team, no data by default for administrators, connected accounts stay personal | SOC 2 Type II, SSO, row-based access controls and audit logs |
| Pricing | dataLayers comes with Pro Plus: £24.50 per month (exc. VAT) including 4 viewer/commenters, with a free first month | Enterprise-oriented; third-party listings put the entry plan at around $999 per month at the time of writing |
| Best Use Cases | Board packs, company updates, QBRs, training and attainment reviews - anywhere the audience will ask questions | High-volume reporting from an enterprise BI stack into existing PowerPoint and Google Slides templates |
When Someone Asks "What About My Team?"
Rollstack's answer to different audiences is more decks: one template can produce a version for every client, region or team. That works well when each audience reads their own pack on their own. It works less well in the meeting where the CEO presents the headline and every regional director wants to see what it means for them.
slideAcross handles that with one deck. The headline is presented once, and permissions built on your departments and teams decide who can drill into what - the CEO sees the whole picture, each director sees their own region, and no more. Everyone is looking at the same pack, fixed at the same moment, so the meeting is spent on decisions rather than on working out whose numbers are right.
The Story, Not Just the Summary
Both products write the narrative for you. Rollstack's AI produces executive summaries and takeaways for the deck it generates. slideAcross writes a story for every chart - and writes a new one each time you drill, comparing against the average, against everyone else, and against earlier periods such as the same period last year.
You also choose how it's written. The built-in language engine gives the same words for the same numbers, every time, and never invents a figure. If you'd rather, your organisation's chosen AI can write the summaries instead.
And slideAcross goes a step further with the correlation engine. Ask "what is most likely to drive sales?" and every input you hold is tested against your sales at once, then plotted on a single driver map: which inputs your sales really follow, the return for 10% more of each, and how many weeks before results show. Only strong, statistically tested links are flagged, and you're told when there's too little data for a firm answer.
Set-up and Cost
Rollstack is built for organisations that already have a BI tool or warehouse, an analytics team to build the charts, and the budget for enterprise reporting software. If that's you, its depth of integrations is a real strength.
If your numbers live in spreadsheets, dataLayers gives you the drill-downs, the trends and the story without a BI project, a data team or a warehouse. Upload Excel or CSV, or connect a live Google Sheet or an Excel file in OneDrive or SharePoint - dates, measures, categories and ID columns are recognised for you - and your first branded, self-updating pack can be ready the same day.
Final Thoughts
Rollstack is a strong choice for enterprise analytics teams who need to push BI charts into large numbers of PowerPoint and Google Slides decks. But the decks it produces are still files: polished, up to date, and silent when the questions start.
For leaders, sales and account teams, trainers and educators who want the pack to answer back - with the story written for every level, one deck for every audience, and no BI stack required - slideAcross with dataLayers is the more responsive alternative.