Unlike the TProvider component, which can apply updates directly to a remote database server, TDataSetProvider applies updates to a dataset component in the same application. When working with BDE-enabled datasets, this creates an unnecessary step, because the dataset must then apply the updates to the remote database server. However, by using TDataSetProvider, you can apply updates to other datasets (client datasets or custom components derived from TDataset).
TDataSetProvider has no dependencies on the Borland Database Engine. Applications built using TDataSetProvider and client datasets or custom dataset do not need to include the BDE when they are deployed.