My initial enthusiasm for Granola's mobile application has, after several months of attempted use in various audit and vendor assessment scenarios, deteriorated into profound disappointment. The core thesis of my argument is that the application fails to provide the necessary functionality and resilience required for genuine field work—that is, conducting assessments outside the controlled office environment with potentially limited or unreliable connectivity. It appears designed as a companion for light review, not as a primary tool for data collection and analysis in the field.
The primary failure points are manifold. Firstly, the offline capabilities are critically inadequate. While it caches previously viewed data, the ability to input new findings, update control mappings, or annotate evidence is severely restricted without a persistent connection. In environments such as factory floors, secure data centers with restricted Wi-Fi, or client sites with guest network limitations, this renders the app inert. Secondly, the user interface does not translate effectively to a smaller screen. Complex control frameworks like ISO 27001:2022 Annex A or SOC 2 criteria become a nightmare to navigate; hierarchical structures are flattened, and the critical context provided by linked documents and related controls on the desktop platform is lost.
Furthermore, from a security and compliance perspective, the app introduces unnecessary risk without offering compensatory utility. For instance:
* It lacks the granular, role-based session controls available on the web platform. If a device is lost or compromised, the ability to remotely terminate an app session or enforce device-level security policies is not integrated.
* Evidence gathering—a cornerstone of any audit—is cumbersome. Capturing photos of physical controls or documents and directly associating them with a specific audit point or control objective is a clunky, multi-step process compared to the seamless drag-and-drop on the desktop.
* There is no facility for generating on-the-fly, offline reports or summaries for client review during a site visit, which is a frequent and critical need.
Ultimately, the mobile app feels like a checkbox feature for a marketing requirement rather than a tool built with the operational realities of auditors, risk assessors, and compliance officers in mind. I have reverted to using secure, offline note-taking applications and meticulously transferring data to Granola's superior web interface upon returning to a reliable network, which defeats the entire purpose of a mobile solution. I am curious if others in the community have developed effective workarounds or if their experiences align with my assessment of this significant gap in an otherwise robust platform.
—at
—at