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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor

    Score9 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    The Lightning Conductor is a content aggregation tool for Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Teams. Users can build rich, modern content reports based upon SharePoint lists, SharePoint Search, Microsoft Graph or Microsoft 365 Groups. Content can be aggregated from lists and libraries, and other applications such as Planner, To Do, OneDrive, and Teams.

    $2,200

    per year per installation

    SmartSuite

    Score10 out of 10
    N/ASmartSuite provides a collaborative Work Management platform that enables teams to plan, track and manage workflows - whether it be a project, an ongoing process or routine everyday tasks. SmartSuite helps coordinate people and work across all levels of an organization to ensure that team members have the information they need to accomplish the work that matters most. Team members can create a workflow, or choose from over 200 templates that can be tailored to their exact needs.

    $10

    per month per user

    Pricing
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Editions & Modules
    Lightning Conductor WSP
    From 1950
    per year One WFE
    Lightning Conductor Enterprise Edition
    POA
    per year Four or more WFE
    Lightning Conductor Online
    From 2200
    per year per installation
    Lightning Conductor Plus (Includes Data Viewer)
    From 2500
    per year per installation
    Lightning Conductor Online Enterprise Edition (>10,000 users)
    POA
    per year per installation
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPrices stated are minimum per installation for "stock" products. $2.20 per user/year on top of base price. Enterprise editions can be amended to suit business needs if deemed necessary, additional costs incurred and TBD. All packages include free technical support. Free upgrades available to latest versions of tool as they are released. (online version)—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Considered Both Products
    Lightning Tools
    No answer on this topic
    SmartSuite
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    18 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    18 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    18 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    18 Answers
    Features
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor and SmartSuite
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
    8.6
    2 Ratings
    11% above category average
    SmartSuite
    9.1
    18 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Task Management8.82 Ratings9.218 Ratings
    Search8.42 Ratings00 Ratings
    Resource Management00 Ratings9.117 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.114 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings9.117 Ratings
    Team Collaboration00 Ratings9.218 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings9.118 Ratings
    Document Management00 Ratings9.117 Ratings
    Email integration00 Ratings9.117 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings9.017 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings9.214 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management00 Ratings9.016 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings9.215 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor and SmartSuite
    Feature
    Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor
    -
    Ratings
    SmartSuite
    9.2
    15 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Quotes/estimates00 Ratings9.214 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting00 Ratings9.114 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software00 Ratings9.29 Ratings
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    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
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    Medium-sized Companies
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    Score9.8 out of 10
    KanbanFlow
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Business Edition 7000 (discontinued)
    Score9 out of 10
    Microsoft To Do
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    9.2
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Lightning Tools Lightning ConductorSmartSuite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Lightning Tools
    Having experience of SharePoint On Premise and also SharePoint Online, there isn't an out of the box app/webpart that enables you to 'roll up content' from a variety of source's (in my case SP Lists, but there are many other data sources it works with) across site collections with an easy to use and intuitive interface which is what Lightning tools excels at.
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    It is best suited to be a google alternative for a google drive due to its multiple functions. Can add action items, upload multiple types of files and assign people responsibilities and tasks. It combines resource platform abilities with project management functionality in order to unite all your needs in one area.
    Read full review
    Pros
    Lightning Tools
    • Aggregate documents across SharePoint site & libraries
    • Filtering for owner/person responsible & due dates
    • Ease of end-user filtering on columns
    • Color-coding & other formatting
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    • SmartSuite is a good collaboration tool
    • The capabilities of the platform are immense
    • The customization features allow users to set up the report type and view it exactly as they want
    • The choice of the fields to be used in the records and reports is really wide
    Read full review
    Cons
    Lightning Tools
    • Mobile Friendly
    • Calendar/Gantt views
    • Complex/Custom Logic
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    • A little better home screen, which is already in the works!
    • Better experience in the my work panel, which is also in the works already!
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    SmartSuite
    I have a great expereance
    Read full review
    Usability
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    SmartSuite
    The product is usability friendly, easy to use, flexible and has all functions I need for my purposes
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Lightning Tools
    The Lightning Tools support team responds quickly, and team members are very friendly and helpful.
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    They have a great tutorial and a lot of hits during the work process
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Lightning Tools
    No answers on this topic
    SmartSuite
    That's easy. Just try
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Lightning Tools
    I haven't found another product to compare this one to. Only in SharePoint Online which has a similar App 'Highlight Webpart' ... it's far too complicated to set up and requires learning yet another language and exporting and importing via PowerShell to get any real results that would be useful.
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    For our team, SmartSuite contains all features that we need. Before we use Asana, Trello and tried to use Airtable. But all of these management systems did not satisfy us. Then we started using SmartSuite, got to know all the possibilities and decided to switch to it
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Lightning Tools
    • Policies easier to portray
    Read full review
    SmartSuite
    • We have to spend less time on checking where the project is at
    • We can have less PM's in the business
    • Our clients are happier thus leading to more business
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Lightning Tools Lightning Conductor Screenshots

    Screenshot of MODERN SHAREPOINT LIST ROLLUP
The Lightning Conductor is a SharePoint Content Aggregator that can be configured quickly by business users. The Lightning Conductor can be used to aggregate content from SharePoint Lists such as Tasks, Document Libraries, Contact Lists, and Custom Lists making it easy to view content in one place even if it is distributed across many sites and site collections. Key data can be highlighted using conditional formatting and data-bars as shown. Content from Search and Microsoft Graph can also be aggregated with the Lightning Conductor.Screenshot of CONTENT AGGREGATION WITHIN MICROSOFT TEAMS
The Lightning Conductor Web Part can be used within Microsoft SharePoint or Microsoft Teams. Even if content is stored within SharePoint sites, it is useful to have aggregated Documents, Tasks, Announcements, Calendars or Custom Lists from multiple sites displayed in a single handy view in Microsoft Teams. The Lightning Conductor can be added as a Teams Tab in any Microsoft Teams Channel.Screenshot of BUILDING REPORTS ON MICROSOFT GRAPH
The Lightning Conductor can be used (without code) to aggregate content from Microsoft Graph as well as Search and SharePoint Lists. This example displays Microsoft Planner Plans and Microsoft Planner Tasks where users can Add new Tasks, Assign Users to Planner Tasks, Delete Tasks, and Complete Tasks. The same can be performed on Microsoft To Do items and displayed within Modern SharePoint pages or Microsoft Teams Tabs. The Lighting Conductor can also contain multiple views of content, making it ideal to display all of your tasks from SharePoint Task lists, Microsoft To Do and Microsoft Planner in a single web part or Teams Tab.

*Microsoft Graph Reports are only available for SharePoint Online and not SharePoint 2019.Screenshot of BUILDING REPORTS ON MICROSOFT 365 GROUPS
Powered by Microsoft Graph, the Microsoft 365 Group Rollup Provider enables users to aggregate content by browsing and selecting Microsoft 365 Groups. Within Microsoft 365 Groups, you’ll be able to select entities such as Drive Items, Owners, Members, Planner Plans, Planner Tasks, Events, Posts,  Sites, Lists, and Calendars.

*Microsoft Graph Reports are only available for SharePoint Online and not SharePoint 2019.Screenshot of AGGREGATING USING SEARCH
When performance is critical, search can be used for rollups. The Lightning Conductor offers three data source configurations to get to content. Object Model (Real Time Aggregation from SharePoint Lists), Microsoft Graph (Aggregation from Graph Entities such as Planner, OneDrive, Outlook), and Search. The Search Data Source enables the aggregation of content from large SharePoint lists and libraries when performance is critical. Thousands of documents can be displayed in under a second using Search.Screenshot of HIGHLIGHTING KEY BUSINESS DATA WITHIN VIEWS
End users and Site Owners can highlight the data that is important to them, the data that they need to prioritize. Using conditional formatting, data bars, and icons, conditions can be configured to highlight the data that is most important. Icons and Data Bars can be any color or size desired. Examples include highlighting High Priority tasks, Showing data bars for the completion progress of Tasks, or indicating which tasks are assigned to any particular user.

    SmartSuite Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot