When an entity, such as a business, academic, government or other organization undertakes a large project, it is desirable to have a system to manage information about the project. For example, it may be desirable to accumulate schedules, costs, and other information related to the project and to produce reports from the project-related information.
Although some project management systems are available, existing packages are limited in scope and flexibility. For example, the databases storing the project information often have limited storage or other capacities, so that the reports that may be generated using the project management systems are correspondingly limited.
Further, operationally speaking, each department, line of business or other unit of an organization may employ its own project management system. The project management system used by one unit may not be compatible with the project management system of another unit or a general project management system used by the business, or by suppliers and other vendors. Sharing data, such as schedules or lists of personnel, between levels of the company or other organization may therefore be difficult. Setting a consistent security policy across all levels of the company or other organization may also be difficult or impossible. Other problems exist.