Positively Privia for Proposal Preparation
February 28, 2014
Positively Privia for Proposal Preparation
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Privia Enterprise
Overall Satisfaction
Privia is used across the organization for collaboration and proposal preparation. Privia solved version control problems, provided the opportunity for remote collaboration, and enabled multiple reviewers to comment on documents at the same time.
- Use as a review tool (Privia's 'comment' feature). Privia allows multiple users to make comments on a single document at the same time. Unlike Word's track changes, the Privia comment tool allows users to make in-line or general comments on a document. No merging of comments required!
- Permissions at the user, file, folder, and workspace levels. With the click of a mouse, it's easy to restrict users' ability to edit, or even view, specific files and file folders. Workspace-level permissions allow administrators to restrict user access to only those projects they are working on.
- Compatibility and pipeline management. Privia's web interface provides pipeline management capabilities, and interfaces with sites like GovWin, allowing users to import opportunity data with the click of a mouse button. That same opportunity data can then be used to launch an opportunity-specific workspace for document management and proposal development.
- Privia's 'behind the scenes' process designer capabilities allow administrators to build workflows complete with decision points, rollback points, and the ability to assign users to tasks.
- When using the pure web version of Privia (that is, without installing the thick client on a PC), the comment feature is null and void. This is because without the thick client installed, the pure web platform cannot interact with MS Office products. This creates hassles during reviews when users show up with a laptop and don't have permissions to install software.
- Increased employee efficiency is #1. For example, without having to manage cumbersome piles of separate, track changes comments and revisions, Privia saves time and money in the review process.
- Improved reporting. Privia's web interface and pipeline management capabilities allow for generation of customizable reports to garner greater visibility and insight into business development activities.
- Overall the product is a bit expensive and robust for some smaller businesses, though the functionality is definitely worth the cost.
SharePoint is Privia's #1 competitor. SharePoint is customizable, and provides much of the same version control that Privia provides. What SharePoint cannot do is allow multiple reviewers to comment on the same file at the same time with all comments collocated for author revisions. SharePoint's ability to be customized is also a downfall of the product - there is rarely a standard look and feel from one company to another. With Privia, the simple layout and folder structures are easy to navigate, and varies little from company to company. Another downfall of using SharePoint is the cumbersome number of 'pop up' windows one has to navigate in order to open a single file. As a document repository or shared drive ensuring version control, SharePoint is better. For proposal management and collaboration activities, Privia takes the cake
Product Usage
20 - Proposal development, proposal coordination, business development, C-level executives
1 - Proposal manager serves as Privia administrator, assigning user licenses and managing permissions. This is an easy software to manage - no special skills are required,
- Proposal Management
- Business Development
- Pipeline Management
- Document Repository
- More robust process workflows to ensure accountability
Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
One of our team members was having trouble accessing Privia. I ran through the basic troubleshooting steps I knew of, and ended up reaching out to Privia support for help. They went above and beyond the call of duty and reached out directly to the user, called him on the phone, and even went as far as to remote in to his machine and walk the user step-by-step through the login process. They could have just send a generic email or troubleshooting steps and made the user figure it out on their own, but they didn't. The Privia support techs genuinely care about your productivity and satisfaction with the product.