title: Database for use with remote Excel users
body: <p>My question is not a straightforward one but in simple terms I'm looking for suggestions on what kind of database to use with excel that can be easily accessed offline by remote users.</p>
  
  <p>I am one of around a dozen field engineers that use Excel on a daily basis for recording and reporting on a substantial amount of information. The end result I'm after is all engineers having access to data recorded by every other engineer. Recalling information is essential but not necessarily full on queries. The problem is we are all field based so not permanantly connected to a server but do have VPN access to a central server so synchronisation will be possible periodically. A few things to take into account:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>I work for a huge company with well established IT infrastructure. Getting server changes implemented will be difficult but may be possible if absolutely essential.</li>
  <li>None of the users are IT professionals so it needs to be simple to save/recall info.</li>
  <li>It will be administered by me. I'm an instrument engineer and not a software supremo. I'm no expert but I dare say I'm reasonably competent with VBA and just starting to get to grips with XML and starting to learn about SQL.</li>
  <li>It must be available offline, synchronisation will be possible and conflict resolution can be as simple as newest data wins.</li>
  <li>Excel is essential, quite a lot of complex calculations are carried out so this is not a case of poor choice data entry platform.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>I'm half expecting answers shouting mySQL but as of now I'm certainly not confident using it and the server side of things is a little daunting. As I understand it Excel is quite good with XMl and this could work as the data could be divided by customer (40-50 different files?).</p>
  
  <p>I'm a little stuck and would appreciate some knowledgeable opinion. I'm happy to clarify any points, it's a difficult situation to explain. Thanks.</p>
  
  <p>Edit: Data volume is about 15 Sheets per workbook, 2-3 workbooks per day across all users. Ballpark 50 rows per workbook. So total 100-200 rows per day, lets say max 250 rows per day.</p>