Microsoft Project Server vs. Planisware

Microsoft Project Server I believe is best for any organization from small to large. As I mentioned, it is a little pricey so I would do research into alternative software and depending on your needs maybe look at all options, competing software. This is a tool with a learning curve and some may not be able to easily navigate this software. There isn't really great training, resources available for this tool however there are some free YouTube tutorial videos. This is great for cross company, department project management, sharing, managing of projects and timelines.

Incentivized

While not expensive, it is better suited to larger organizations since the requirement for an administrator is not easily maintained at lower user counts. Although the more a site uses it "out of the box" without configuration, the less the requirement for a system administrator.

Incentivized

• Project planning: tasks assignments, resources allocation, progress and cost tracking. The Server version is the natural extension of the Microsoft Project standalone.
• Provides one place to manage all projects, accessible by everyone in the team. This opens the plan updates to team members as well(on their tasks), as opposed to being done only by the project manager.
• Reporting and visualization - resources utilization, timeline etc
• The integration with the Microsoft Project standalone: if you don't like the web version, you can download the latest and work locally. When done just sync it back to the server.

Incentivized

• Apply resource algorithms to timelines
• Enterprise wide and scalable

Incentivized

• Resource loading and leveling extremely complicated within the tool
• Software makes incorrect assumptions and changes without user knowledge
• Inconsistencies within the tool make it hard to predict & troubleshoot

Incentivized

• Organization is still growing and needs to adapt to a rising volume of client needs for consulting, training, core development.
• Major part of corporate oversight is from Europe and is still adapting to US work requirements, responsiveness, communication channels.

Incentivized

We don't have to worry about maintenance, upgrades, or compatibility issues. All the capabilities we need are there, and are easily customizable.

Per Microsoft, Project Online provides more value long-term by reducing infrastructure cost and increase feature release cycle time

One of the key advantages of Microsoft Project Server (MSPS) is its ecosystem. It gels very well with SharePoint, Office, Office 365. The support from Microsoft is also a key driver and they are very experienced and many ways to resolve issues. Also, Microsoft has bridged the gap of cloud offering from other competitors by providing Project Online. It is an offering through Office 365 which is very lean and low maintenance.

Incentivized

I wasn't involved in the selection of Planisware.

Incentivized

• We've been able to reduce the number of staff in our PMO by utilising the Project Server data in Power BI, reducing the need for manual reporting.
• Being able to forecast utilization in the product allows us to accurately estimate resource needs to ensure optimum staff levels.

Incentivized

• This is always hard to gauge since we don't have metrics for "did nothing" to compare against. An old Business Roundtable white paper indicated that a 10% reduction in expense could be attained, but I don't think a general statement like that applies to any specific organization unless they can say their Project Management Maturity level is low.

Incentivized