Businesses, large and small, unquestionably juggle numerous projects, plans, tasks, and people. Having a solution can help them keep everything organized while planning and running projects in an accurate, predictable, and profitable way.
The benefits of project management software are boundless. Not long ago, project management tools were symbolized by a pencil, a sheet of paper, and a methodology.
Project managers of a certain vintage may find themselves, as I sometimes do, reflecting on the old days – as in a bygone era when rotary phones ruled the earth, when personal computers were neither very personal nor computed all that much, and when online project management tools were little more than clunky giant charts and an extraordinarily annoying animated paperclip offering un-asked for advice.
While it’s fun to wax nostalgically and imagine that things were better “back then,” some things are much better now. Take cloud-based project management tools, for example. It’s a better world apart from the old fashioned stuff, and here are some reasons why:
Accessibility
Online project management tools demolish time, space, and geographical barriers while allowing distributed project team members to access the project wherever their mobile life takes them – in the air, on the beach, you name it.
Cost
Online project management tools offer inexpensive per-user licensing. Businesses of all sizes can get on board without investing in massive (and often prohibitive) up-front software or infrastructure costs.
Flexibility
An online project management tool is designed to fit an organization’s needs as those needs change. There’s no need to guess how many software licenses to buy.
Support
Online project management allows users to contact the experts who created the software first, vs. trying to get answers from an overworked and under-resourced in-house IT department.
Speed
Online project management tools can be up and running in minutes. Not weeks, days, or even hours. But minutes. (And yes, some wizards out there can get set up in seconds, too.)
Integration
Online project management tools integrate easily with other products, such as Salesforce, Intact, GoogleDocs, Zendesk, etc. Having project management software that plays well with others is enough to tear any project manager’s eye.
Updates
Online project management tools are designed to be updated as new; enhanced versions are released. So the dreaded “nobody can use the software today because we’re updating the project management version” memo that you may have been forced to send out can be shredded — permanently.
When you add it all up like this, the benefits of online project management tools compared to conventional project management software are so immense that the comparison almost seems unfair. It’s like comparing a smartphone with a rotary phone. Sure, they’re both phones. But the former can land a plane, while the latter can dial a number, albeit very slowly.
So yes, while you’ll still fondly remember some things from days gone by, there are others that you will be happy to welcome into your professional world. Online project management tools are definitely at the top of that list.
