2014-02-28

Overview Presentation

Microsoft Project Online is a project and portfolio management software that allows users to view all their projects and resources. It comes with SharePoint, so collaboration, content and document management features are included. It is delivered as software-as-a-service through the Office 365 service. Project professionals who have started and worked over the years with the MS Project desktop software now have the option to use the same familiar software via the web. It is similar to having Project 2013 software but using a web browser as the user interface.

Features, Benefits, Product Strengths

Project Management – Project Online uses the new Project Web App (PWA) to help users start creating, updating and managing their projects. This is made through visual tiles similar with Windows 8. It has templates available from Office.com, so users can begin faster, but they can also create their own workflows with Visio to improve control. It comes with the familiar Gantt chart with its new Task Path to highlight the most critical tasks. It also has readily available reports such as Burndown and Resource Overview but also allows users to create reports using an Excel-like interface. The Team Planner tool helps in managing risks in schedules.

Project Portfolio Management – The software has features that allow for a high level view of projects and portfolio investment. It has the Business Intelligence Center that enables users to measure data and prioritize projects that brings the greatest business value. Users can create views and dashboards real-time through SharePoint Designer and Visio to measure resource utilization so that people can be assigned and allocated strategically to projects that are of higher priority. Project managers can get updated with the team activities and ideas by syncing Project with SharePoint Online task lists.

Extended capabilities with SharePoint integration and other applications – Users can create a project site either through SharePoint or Office 365. Project documents are centralized in one place and vital correspondence captured via OneNote. Team members are updated of their tasks with SharePoint’s Newsfeed Hub. Online meetings can be held using Lync. The project site can be accessed with Windows Phone or iOS mobile devices. Features can be extended with other Office applications available at the Office online store.

 

Pricing

Project Online is available as a monthly or as a discounted annual subscription delivered through Office 365 service. However, Office 365 has its own subscription fees depending on a specific plan. Since Project can come as Standard or Professional, there is also a pricier Project Online with Project Pro for Office 365.



Social Network Presence

Twitter

Facebook

LinkedIn

Target Market

Project Online is for project managers, team members, and decision makers in businesses that need project and portfolio management software accessible through the Internet. It is ideal for those who subscribe to Office 365 and other Microsoft web applications.

Supported Languages

The online software supports the following: Arabic, Chinese (Simple, Traditional), Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, and Spanish.

Some of their Clients

Clients include Liechtenstein construction company Hilti Corporation, German marketing agency Bassier, Bergmann & Kindler, and Brazilian manufacturer Intelbras.

Testimonials

Dr. Christian Buddendick at Hilti stated that by using a cloud-based solution, they do not have to worry about maintenance, upgrades, or compatibility issues. Project Online enabled them also to identify and precisely plan for each project’s requirements.

Dr. Anders Lehr at BB&K stated that Project Online gave them time management advantage because they can run projects faster and more efficiently. That advantage will help the company create more competitive bids and win more projects.

Why Project Online

Companies that prefer Microsoft products now have an online option to choose from in managing their projects and portfolio. Project Online may have come later compared to other online PPM applications but it comes with all the power and support from Microsoft. Organizations that are Microsoft- and Office-centric now have another available tool to help their business be more productive and profitable.

Company Info

Microsoft is the owner of Project Online. It is a publicly traded multinational corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. It has its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It is known for its Windows operating system, Office productivity software and Internet Explorer browser. It has also expanded into hardware products with its Xbox console and Surface tablets. It has made its presence in the Internet with MSN portal, Bing search engine and recently with its Office 365 online suite and SharePoint collaboration application. The company is considered the largest software maker by revenue and has made several corporate acquisitions including that of Skype VOIP service.

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The post Microsoft Project Online Software Review: Overview – Features – Pricing appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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