Hosted project, portfolio management in demand
As businesses tighten their belts in response to the recession, they're turning to project and portfolio management software to help them identify which IT projects are mission critical and to help them execute those projects as efficiently as possible.
Increasingly, they're opting for software as a service (SaaS) versions of project management and portfolio management solutions because software as a service is cheaper and easier to deploy than traditional, on premise software, according to tech industry analysts and customers who've gone the SaaS route. (SaaS is also known as hosted or on demand offerings.)
Melinda Ballou, program director for IDC's application lifecycle management research, says demand for software as a service versions of project management and portfolio management tools was on the rise prior to the collapse of the financial services industry in the fall, and that despite the recession, she expects demand for hosted project portfolio management (PPM) solutions to continue. The market for IT project portfolio management software is expected to hit US$791.6 million in 2008, up from $679 million in 2007, according to IDC's estimates. Software as a service versions of project portfolio management solutions are a growing segment of the larger IT project portfolio management market.
"On demand PPM tools don't require a huge investment upfront to deploy and implement-both the cost and risk are significantly less," says Ballou. "In addition, companies urgently seeking to better coordinate increasingly scarce resources across projects, programs and portfolios can get the functionality benefits very quickly."
Tale of Two Companies That Used Hosted Project Management
Cost and the need to improve service were on the minds of executives at Chicago's Department of Public Health and 24-by-7, a small, Denver-based provider of telephone maintenance and installation services, when they selected hosted project management software from CA and Clarizen respectively, to help them run their businesses.
Carlo Govia, the Chicago Department of Public Health's CFO and first deputy commissioner, says his organization went with a software as a service project portfolio management solution to avoid maintaining software in-house. "It's not a cost-effective way for us to manage our infrastructure," says Govia. "We thought it was better to outsource that functionality so we can focus on the core health services we provide."
Indeed, the Chicago Department of Public Health will begin using CA's Clarity PPM On Demand solution in early 2009, to measure the effectiveness of the health services the department provides, to better orchestrate evacuation exercises and simulated outbreaks of chemical and biological agents, and to better manage grant money, says Govia.
"The biggest challenge we have is the large amount of unspent grant dollars at the end of the period. Because we didn't spend the money, we have to ask our funders for a carry-over request," says Govia. The problem with the Chicago Department of Public health asking funders like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if it can carry over funds from one year to
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Moving to web-based PM software
We recently moved to web-based project management software called 5pm (www.5pmweb.com). Before that we tried solutions like Sharepoint, but it's just too expensive to maintain those intranets. With web-based software we don't have to deal with it.The best thing is that there are many solutions out there right now. We tried about 10-15 before choosing 5pm. So it's a good time to shop around.
It's about the TEAM
Thanks for a very thorough and informative review of the current status of the online project management marketplace during these uncertain times.The market, as Clarizen is experiencing it, is indeed a tale of two stories, one - of budget freezes - hence no purchasing whatsoever, two - we need to be more productive with the current hiring freeze or workforce reduction, hence need to use the latest technology to make this possible. Both are heard just as frequently but the growth in sales we are experiencing at Clarizen clearly indicates that the market is ready to invest in solutions that support current operations in a way that increases employee performance and companies' overall operations.
One thing worth mentioning about Clarity vs. Clarizen is that Clarizen sells to the project team whereas Clarity sells to the PMO (Project Management Office) or to the executives seeking advanced reporting features. The current problem with Project Management is far beyond and much simpler than having better insight into project portfolio management. The problem is in the execution of projects, the lack of collaboration and visibility resulting in limited adoption and accountability of team members.
Serve the team with an easy to use and centralized solution, without sacrificing core PM functions, and you will see rapid rewards in project performance, employee satisfaction and a great way to weather the 2008 storm.
Project Awareness and Control
In response to todays business challenges DOVICO is barely keeping up with the demands from companies with control and awareness in mind. Needing to take charge of cost overuns, the ever tightening budget as well as accountability to other departments is extemely easy with DOVICO Timesheet. With the SaaS model selling for $9.75 per month, the ROI for your projects is a no brainer.Take control and be aware of your costs with DOVICO Timesheet, here is what some of my customers tell me:
"This week we went live with Dovico in our production environment with approximately 200 users, and have been receiving very positive comments on the “user friendliness” of the timesheet portion of the application. A definite improvement from our prior time tracking tool! As we are using the tool to manage all of our project costs as well as our capitalization spend".
"They set a great example for all project team members and other vendors to follow".
" ... allowed us to identify areas where we have opportunities to improve our staffing mix to resolve resource constraints. It has also allowed us to identify areas where we can improve our processes and by doing so, our efficiency and effectiveness.