Beta Group Webinar

On July 13th we conduced a webinar for our Office Cloud beta group. We will be doing a series of these to get our users know and understand the web version and how it compares it the desktop version. For those of you who missed the webinar, here’s a link to the recording. You can also review the question and answer dialog below.
The webinar was an hour long. Elizabeth Morgan, our Sr. Training Education Consultant who many of you know walked through the basic features. She has also put together a Morningstar Office Desktop to Cloud — Beta Transition Guide that you can access via the link here.
The guide maps features that you are familiar on the desktop version to the ones in the web version. We will be doing another webinar right after labor day. Expect to see an email from Elizabeth for the date and time closer to mid August.
Roadmap Update:
We are making good progress on the software. We are still tracking towards a September release for our new Client Portal and an early Q1 2018 release of the core Portfolio Accounting and Reporting capabilities within Office Cloud.

Webinar Question and Answer:
We had over a 100 participants for the webinar and received over 70 questions. Here are answers to some of the most asked questions:
Question 1: Which are the reports that will be available in Office Cloud?
- Snapshot
- Client Return Summary
- Performance Summary
- Performance by Security Type
- Client Position Summary
- Unrealized Gains/Loss
- Trade Activities
- Data management reports
- Compliance reports (like 13F)
Question 2: Will import functionality be available in Cloud?
- We will not be building the import functionality in the cloud. However, the desktop version will continue to be supported for those who would like to import data on their own.
Question 3: Will report studio be integrated into Cloud?
- Yes, we will be adding this functionality in early 2018.
Question 4: Will billing be available in Cloud?
- Yes, we are working on a new billing experience in Cloud and will be available in early 2018.
Question 5: Will Redtail be the only CRM available in Cloud?
- No, Redtail is our preferred CRM in Cloud. We do plan to integrate with other top CRM providers in mid-late 2018 such as Salesforce, Junxure, etc.
Question 6: Will I be able to differentiate Clients from Prospects and Active from Inactive Accounts like I can in the desktop version?
- Yes, this will be available by the end of August.
Question 7: Will the objects saved in the desktop version be available in the cloud version?
- Lists created in the desktop version are already available in the cloud version. We are working on transition plan for other objects such as screens, custom views, etc. More details to come.
Question 8: When do expect this cloud version will be final? Will desktop option remain or die?
- We are currently scheduled to launch Office Cloud in the first quarter of 2018. Desktop version will remain for our current users for a while. We have not set a time period to retire the desktop version at this point.
Question 9: In the future, will we be able to create clients in the cloud version?
- Yes, we are adding this functionality by October
Question 10: What will happen to existing client data in the current Morningstar version if a user does not use a third party CRM?
- Existing client data will remain in the cloud version. Also, you will be able to create new clients, households, etc. However, Cloud version will not provide full CRM functionality outside of Redtail and other integrations that we will be doing.
Question 11: Will anything I do in the beta version remain in the final cloud version?
- Yes, for example, objects such as lists that you create in the cloud version will remain in cloud when we go LIVE as well as appear in your desktop version.
Question 12: One of my biggest problems is that I’d like to search my clients or sort them by last name. Can I do either? Searching by first name, the current way, doesn’t work well.
- Yes, we heard from you and we are changing how you look for clients. You will experience a new, better way of searching for clients by September.
Question 13: Since I import data into Office Desktop, will I have to maintain both Cloud and Desktop or will we be able to eventually import data into Cloud?
- No, you will not need to maintain both cloud and desktop versions. Whatever you import on the desktop version will show up in your cloud version.
Question 14: Is there a project development timeline you can share with us for all features being added?
- Yes, there is. Please see the screenshot on the top of this post for a timeline of what’s coming and when.
Question 15: Will there be a best practice migration document prepared?
- Yes, please see the link above that talks about desktop to office transition guide
Question 16: When will transaction information be available in cloud?
- Viewing of transactions will be available in August. Editing transactions will be available by end of October
Question 17: When will batch reporting be available in cloud?
- Batch reporting feature will be available by December
Question 18: Where is the compare feature to compare funds?
- This feature is already available in Cloud, however, we are improving it currently and you should expect to see it by end of August.
We have a big release of features by end of August. Here’s an update on what you will see when you log in right after labor day:
- Create Custom Benchmarks and Model Portfolios
- Add Security Level Notes and Alerts
- Differentiate Clients and Prospects
- Compare Multiple Funds easily
- View Transactions
- Import Investment Lists
- Client Return Summary Report
- Related Research component — view Morningstar analyst’s take instantly on your client’s investments.
One other important feature we are working hard on is the impersonation feature that exists in the desktop version. We understand the importance of this feature and this is the number one priority for us to implement in the next few months. We understand that as a result of the lack of this feature a few of our beta users have not been able to access the application. I will provide an update as soon as have built this feature in the Cloud.
In addition, we have heard your feedback around navigation challenges as well as the concept of workbooks, templates and saving them. We are already in the process of improving this experience for you. Also, you will see a dashboard in the very near future which a lot of you have asked about. We are excited to hear back from you after seeing these updates.
That’s all for now. We hope to see you at our next webinar and look forward to hearing your feedback on Office Cloud.

