I spent the day researching customers project management options today and the results were interesting. Right now there seems to be a notion that the web is good and the desktop is bad. Perhaps it's a reaction to Microsoft's desktop dominance, a desire for something new or just a knee-jerk reaction to business as usual. Whatever the case, those small numbers that Software as a Service (SaaS) charge per month really add up over the long haul-- even the not-so-long haul.
The three solutions: IntelliGantt Plus, MS Project Server 2007 and eProject PPM6. First off, in all fairness, IntelliGantt Plus has the fewest features of the three. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing as IntelliGantt Plus also doesn't include features only a rocket scientist can understand. IGP (as we call it) is designed to be useful and usable. We're not so worried about the high-falootin cube transformation of critical path chains for resource levelling as we are about getting everyone on the team communicating and reporting progress.
If you need the high-end features, then by all means look at MS Project Server and eProject. However, if your needs are more down-to-earth and your goal is adoption, then IntelliGantt Plus is very powerful indeed.
But on to the comparison (if you can't wait, go here). We chose two common, generic cases: 1) a 10 user group and 2) a 100 user group. For IGP and MSP we proposed a general ratio of 1 client application for the project manager for every 9 users. Thus the 10 user group has one PM tool and 9 users accessing and updating the project. The 100 user group has 10 PM tools and 90 users. For eProject, we couldn't really make that distinction, so everyone is treated as an equal user.
These two groups (10 user and 100 user) represent two interesting plots on a curve that demonstrate most of all that Saas might not scale, economically the way most people think it does, and that MS Project Server 2007 actually looks very reasonable next to eProject as the number of users increase. Neither, however, approaches the economical solution if IntelliGantt Plus.
Why? Because we don't make it complicated. No databases, no Client Access Licenses, no server components (well, actually one that supports our SharePoint Template feature). We work with out-of-the-box SharePoint Services (WSS 2.0 and MOSS 3.0) that actually ship with Windows Server 2003-- for free! We still need to flesh out the benefit comparison, but as you can see, there are a lot of compelling IntelliGantt features.
However, in straight number terms, the IntelliGantt Plus solution for a 10 person group costs roughly $60 per person for one year. By comparison, eProject costs $45 per person per month! Furthermore, while the IntelliGantt Plus costs per year go down in year two (because the license has been paid for and the only out-of-pocket expenses are support and software assurance), the eProject costs march on at $45 per month. This means after 3 years, the eProject solution is about 20 times the cost of IntelliGantt Plus. Software as a Service indeed.
MS Project Server 2007 is more of a hybrid solution, similar to IntelliGantt Plus. However, where IntelliGantt Plus makes use of existing SharePoint services, Project Server introduces its own server in addition to using SharePoint. Because of this configuration, the 10 person group using eProject actually comes out a bit ahead in year one compared to Project Server. However, once again after the initial license is purchased, eProject turns out to be more after years two and three are included since Project Server CALs turn out to be less than $45 per month. Of course, IntelliGantt Plus is still 10 times less than the cost of a Project Server 2007 solution.
This illustrates where we believe the market lies for IntelliGantt Plus-- or as we say 'bigger than a spreadsheet and smaller than the enterprise.' Once you get in to managing a group of people, does it make sense to jump right in to enterprise class solutions? They do not economically, and I don't believe they do in terms of productivity and usability either.
MS Project Server 2007 and eProject PPM6 are great solutions for enterprises, but make no mistake, that is what they are built for. As such, IntelliGantt is happy to work with them (certainly in MS Project's case), but also provide tangible value to the market between the single user project manager and the thousand-person workforce.
And its not like we skimp on features. For instance, we work very well off-line, thank you. Multi-Level undo? Check. Multi-Project view? That too. Automatic backup and restore points? Yes. Task based permissions. Yes again. The ability to drag a summary task and watch the gantt update in real time all the ramifications? I think that's just us. The ability to use alternate collaboration platforms like Groove, Amazon S3 or even a simple File Server? Definitely IntelliGantt :).
If you're intrigued, then check out the numbers for yourself. If you want to see IntelliGantt in action, check out our 15 day trial today and see what IntelliGantt can do for you.
Showing posts with label Comparison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comparison. Show all posts
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Comparing MS Project and TeamDirection Project
Now that we've released TeamDirection Project, it's time to answer the elephant in the room: How does TeamDirection Project compare to Microsoft Project?
Well, we do pair a task grid on the left with a gantt chart on the right. And I personally think TeamDirection Project is much prettier. But really, our focus is on the small to medium business, 5 - 50 employees, that would like an easy way to structure, schedule and share projects in a team environment.
When you don't have limitless resources, you need the right tool for the job. You can't give everyone a scalpel and expect surgery to be successful. You don't give everyone the tiller and expect docking to be smooth. Any non-trivial project requires a group of people to interact, do their part and communicate their issues as efficiently as possible.
That's what TeamDirection brings.
Microsoft Project is a great product. You can plan canals, nuclear reactors and hospitals with it. You have an array of tools at your disposal: resource pools, 10 or more working shifts per day, PERT and WBS structures, critical path analysis and a gazillion more features a skilled project manager wants, and might even need.
We think that's great. But the ability to level resources, find critical paths and adjust level of effort is lost on the person who is just making an image for the website. They only need to report when they're done, attach the image for people to see and comment how it synthesizes Bauhaus post-modernism and consumer durable gooods.
TeamDirection bridges these two worlds. It lets the project manager have all the power, and it lets the team members execute their tasks, see and connect with their team members online to resolve issues and report progress.
One product can't make everyone happy. But one product can bridge the divide between planning and execution, allow users the tools that fit their needs and focus on sharing information-- among the team, and with just a little bit of direction.
TeamDirection.
Well, we do pair a task grid on the left with a gantt chart on the right. And I personally think TeamDirection Project is much prettier. But really, our focus is on the small to medium business, 5 - 50 employees, that would like an easy way to structure, schedule and share projects in a team environment.
When you don't have limitless resources, you need the right tool for the job. You can't give everyone a scalpel and expect surgery to be successful. You don't give everyone the tiller and expect docking to be smooth. Any non-trivial project requires a group of people to interact, do their part and communicate their issues as efficiently as possible.
That's what TeamDirection brings.
Microsoft Project is a great product. You can plan canals, nuclear reactors and hospitals with it. You have an array of tools at your disposal: resource pools, 10 or more working shifts per day, PERT and WBS structures, critical path analysis and a gazillion more features a skilled project manager wants, and might even need.
We think that's great. But the ability to level resources, find critical paths and adjust level of effort is lost on the person who is just making an image for the website. They only need to report when they're done, attach the image for people to see and comment how it synthesizes Bauhaus post-modernism and consumer durable gooods.
TeamDirection bridges these two worlds. It lets the project manager have all the power, and it lets the team members execute their tasks, see and connect with their team members online to resolve issues and report progress.
One product can't make everyone happy. But one product can bridge the divide between planning and execution, allow users the tools that fit their needs and focus on sharing information-- among the team, and with just a little bit of direction.
TeamDirection.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Comparing BaseCamp and TeamDirection Project
The other day, Online Degree left a comment asking me if there are other project management software solutions I would recommend. Usually people are loathe to compare their products with potential competition since a) its basically impossible to be objective and b) nobody wants to give the competition free pr. However, Online Degree also said "You seem to be very knowledgeable about project management software," and flattery still works for me. And in truth, we do look at the competition because everyone has good ideas. Furthermore, proper product strategy requires you to know what's going on. So, let me break a taboo and compare BaseCamp with TeamDirection Project.
BaseCamp is a 100% web based application that runs on most browsers. While this is a challenging environment for products solving moderate to high complexity problems, BaseCamp carries it off with aplomb. I admire the group and their accomplishments in bringing richness to the web browser environment. The greatest advantage a web app enjoys over a desktop app is the guarantee that every user is running the same version.
TeamDirection Project is a hybrid desktop application. It does need to be installed on the desktop, but it comes with deep web service integration for both SharePoint and Groove. A simple version was released in July, but a richer version is coming in October that everyone is very excited about. It offers full integration with SharePoint and Groove Task Lists and Link Lists. This allows some users to use TeamDirection Project and other users to use browsers as everyone works on the same tasks in the same project. So to answer a question Online Degree raised, you could indeed have your Mac users work with TeamDirection Project through their Safari browsers and SharePoint.
The first thing I notice is we have similar philosophies for demystifying project management. Perhaps the best way to demistify a discipline is to make it understandable. Both products achieve this quite nicely with clear, straightforward language and well-thought out UI decisions and production. Neither product requires special training, and in fact offer the ability to be productive within 10 minutes. (One of the greatest compliments you can give any product I write is 'It's a simple product'. Products are rarely simple. If someone thinks it is, then I've done my job.) And because both projects do such a nice job of alleviating the intimidation of project management, they offer a palatable onramp for everyone who knows they should use more than a task list, but haven't.
Both products recognize the value of communication in order to execute a project successfully. But here we begin to see some tangible differences between a web app and a desktop app. Whereas BaseCamp creates a 'Messages' tool for its users, TeamDirection Project integrates with Microsoft Instant Messenger. While the BaseCamp solution will work on most browsers, the TeamDirection solution will work with most MS messengers and offers additional features like presence. This means if you have a question for a team member, you can see if he's online, send an instant message and get an instant answer. And, of course, Microsoft is improving instant messaging all the time.
Both products also recognize the value of ease of use. But again, we see what is possible with a web application versus what is possible with a desktop app. BaseCamp provides a nice way to create and update a task list, but very little to assist with scheduling, grouping and filtering. TeamDirection Project, on the other hand, has very rich scheduling, grouping and filtering support, and gets to use cpu power on your desktop to do some cool scheduling tricks. But you may not need scheduling right away; and if not, then BaseCamp is a very nice shared task list.
Finally you should ask yourself what you may need to support your projects. If you just need to share a task list with people, track progress and do simple reporting, then BaseCamp offers a compelling solution. However, if you would like to integrate your task list with any other system, then the web applications server side strength turns into a desktp liability in that your task data has very little mobility. TeamDirection Project has import, export and synchronization with MS Project (for all your reporting needs) and the ability to push, pull and synchronize data with SharePoint and Groove task lists-- nicely integrating with the MS Office system. If this sounds like a bit of a technological leap, then BaseCamp is a natural. But if this sounds like your current business requirements, then TeamDirection Project helps you get the most from your collaboration pieces.
Furthermore, TeamDirection Project is designed to facilitate the exchange of project related data across multiple systems. For example, we are also looking and integrating with MindManager in addition to MS Project. (We've received positive feedback so far.) In fact, if BaseCamp had a web services interface (which they may; I might have missed it), we would definitely look at integrating with BaseCamp much as we integrate with SharePoint and Groove. BaseCamp has an excellent task UI, better than either SharePoint's or Groove's task lists and we'd love to use it. Our basic philosophy is its your project data, you should be able to decide how best to work with it.
In the end it comes down to choice, as always. If I must rate them, then I would rate BaseCamp better in terms of getting started and working with simple task lists. And I would rate TeamDirection Project better in terms of integrating with other systems and providing more scheduling, task grouping and instant messaging functionality. But in truth, both provide you with the tools you need to create, execute and review your projects success.
BaseCamp is a monthly subscription with pricing info found here.
TeamDirection is a one-time purchase and will have two flavors:
1) TeamDirection Project
2) TeamDirection Project Plus
Most of what I've described above is the Plus version. Current pricing for TeamDirection Project can be found here.
BaseCamp is a 100% web based application that runs on most browsers. While this is a challenging environment for products solving moderate to high complexity problems, BaseCamp carries it off with aplomb. I admire the group and their accomplishments in bringing richness to the web browser environment. The greatest advantage a web app enjoys over a desktop app is the guarantee that every user is running the same version.
TeamDirection Project is a hybrid desktop application. It does need to be installed on the desktop, but it comes with deep web service integration for both SharePoint and Groove. A simple version was released in July, but a richer version is coming in October that everyone is very excited about. It offers full integration with SharePoint and Groove Task Lists and Link Lists. This allows some users to use TeamDirection Project and other users to use browsers as everyone works on the same tasks in the same project. So to answer a question Online Degree raised, you could indeed have your Mac users work with TeamDirection Project through their Safari browsers and SharePoint.
The first thing I notice is we have similar philosophies for demystifying project management. Perhaps the best way to demistify a discipline is to make it understandable. Both products achieve this quite nicely with clear, straightforward language and well-thought out UI decisions and production. Neither product requires special training, and in fact offer the ability to be productive within 10 minutes. (One of the greatest compliments you can give any product I write is 'It's a simple product'. Products are rarely simple. If someone thinks it is, then I've done my job.) And because both projects do such a nice job of alleviating the intimidation of project management, they offer a palatable onramp for everyone who knows they should use more than a task list, but haven't.
Both products recognize the value of communication in order to execute a project successfully. But here we begin to see some tangible differences between a web app and a desktop app. Whereas BaseCamp creates a 'Messages' tool for its users, TeamDirection Project integrates with Microsoft Instant Messenger. While the BaseCamp solution will work on most browsers, the TeamDirection solution will work with most MS messengers and offers additional features like presence. This means if you have a question for a team member, you can see if he's online, send an instant message and get an instant answer. And, of course, Microsoft is improving instant messaging all the time.
Both products also recognize the value of ease of use. But again, we see what is possible with a web application versus what is possible with a desktop app. BaseCamp provides a nice way to create and update a task list, but very little to assist with scheduling, grouping and filtering. TeamDirection Project, on the other hand, has very rich scheduling, grouping and filtering support, and gets to use cpu power on your desktop to do some cool scheduling tricks. But you may not need scheduling right away; and if not, then BaseCamp is a very nice shared task list.
Finally you should ask yourself what you may need to support your projects. If you just need to share a task list with people, track progress and do simple reporting, then BaseCamp offers a compelling solution. However, if you would like to integrate your task list with any other system, then the web applications server side strength turns into a desktp liability in that your task data has very little mobility. TeamDirection Project has import, export and synchronization with MS Project (for all your reporting needs) and the ability to push, pull and synchronize data with SharePoint and Groove task lists-- nicely integrating with the MS Office system. If this sounds like a bit of a technological leap, then BaseCamp is a natural. But if this sounds like your current business requirements, then TeamDirection Project helps you get the most from your collaboration pieces.
Furthermore, TeamDirection Project is designed to facilitate the exchange of project related data across multiple systems. For example, we are also looking and integrating with MindManager in addition to MS Project. (We've received positive feedback so far.) In fact, if BaseCamp had a web services interface (which they may; I might have missed it), we would definitely look at integrating with BaseCamp much as we integrate with SharePoint and Groove. BaseCamp has an excellent task UI, better than either SharePoint's or Groove's task lists and we'd love to use it. Our basic philosophy is its your project data, you should be able to decide how best to work with it.
In the end it comes down to choice, as always. If I must rate them, then I would rate BaseCamp better in terms of getting started and working with simple task lists. And I would rate TeamDirection Project better in terms of integrating with other systems and providing more scheduling, task grouping and instant messaging functionality. But in truth, both provide you with the tools you need to create, execute and review your projects success.
BaseCamp is a monthly subscription with pricing info found here.
TeamDirection is a one-time purchase and will have two flavors:
1) TeamDirection Project
2) TeamDirection Project Plus
Most of what I've described above is the Plus version. Current pricing for TeamDirection Project can be found here.
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