Managing Projects in the Cloud Simply Makes Sense

 

Salesforce has done a great job of carrying the torch for SaaS solutions. In fact, I can't think of anyone I know that uses an on-premises CRM software anymore. With the global nature of many projects and project teams today, working in the cloud makes collaboration much less problematic. With that in mind, I thought I'd give you a few of my opinions as to why I'm a fan of SaaS in general and the idea of project management "in the could" in particular:

1. It's relatively easy and inexpensive to enter: Not too long ago I spoke with the PMO director of a very large international organization in the middle of an implementation of SaaS project management software. He expressed frustration at a previous three-year-long unsuccessful installation of a legacy project management software that claimed to offer business process expertise. The inherent complexity of many legacy solutions make implementation and adoption lengthy and difficult. His consternation is shared by many who don't have the time or resources to accommodate an expensive, multi-year implementation process.
2. Pay-as-you-go vs. pay-through-the-nose: Because SaaS software is typically subscription based, organizations can pay for the software when they use it, and access it via the Internet, rather than going through the expensive process of installing software on individual machines or purchasing expensive and costly-to-maintain servers to keep their systems up and running.
3. Cloud-based project management solutions make real-time collaboration possible: Although all SaaS products aren't created equal, taking project data from the desktop and putting it in a centralized location gives project managers and teams access to all the data relevant to their projects. Although some SaaS vendors do this better than others, this is the first step to real-time collaboration.
4. SaaS software empowers everyone—it isn't only for the enterprise: There will always be mega-organizations who insist on spending millions of dollars on legacy applications, but SaaS allows organizations with much smaller budgets to take advantage of the latest (and in my opinion, some of the best) project management technology available. In fact, most SaaS solutions, by their very nature, are committed to a robust schedule of continual update and improvement. It's part of the culture.

This isn't an all-inclusive list, but for organizations that want affordable access to the latest technology, SaaS project management software is a terrific option. Is your project management solution in the cloud?