System can support users working offline and synchronize submissions at a later date

Description

This functionality allows users to continue their planning and budgeting activities regardless of their internet connection and ensures that data integrity is maintained when updates are synchronized.

Example Use Case

Scenario: A team of middle and senior managers in a multinational enterprise conducts their budgeting and planning operations across multiple time zones, some of which have intermittent network coverage.

Solution: With the ability to work offline, these team members can work uninterrupted, building their plans and budgets even without an internet connection. Once they have access to the network again, any changes or updates made are synchronized with the CPM system, keeping data up-to-date, consistent, and reliable across all managerial levels.

Considerations

This requirement is what we'd consider a legacy need, meaning that most modern tools will not support this nor does it come up very often. It was big in the early 2000s before Wi-Fi and tethering was popular. However, global organizations may in very limited circumstances have this requirement, hence the inclusion.

Data integrity is a big issue with this requirement, as it necessitates taking data offline, manipulating it, and uploading it in a different form at a later date. This means exported data must be locked which can have a big impact on other users in the model. It also means that the specific offline file must stay in a rigid format to be uploaded at a later date. That means if a user adds a column, changes actuals, changes an assumption and so on, it may either refuse the upload or corrupt the system.

If you must have this requirement, make sure there is a plugin or other mechanism that locks down the offline file in such a way that the user is locked into certain fields.

Questions to Ask a Vendor

• Support for Offline Work: How does the sync process happen once the user has completed their file?
• Sync Issues: What problems should we be aware of when taking files offline for editing?
• Data Locking: If the user pulls down data for editing and locks it, can we unlock it somehow?
• File Format: Is the offline file controlled by a plug-in on the users PC or is it simply a formatted Excel file?