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Microsoft Project Server vs ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Project Server offers significant ROI through time savings, effective management, and enhanced visibility, though assessment varies.
Sentiment score
7.7
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management boosts ROI by unifying teams, improving visibility, and accelerating time to market.
Microsoft Project provides significant return on investment through time savings, enhanced visibility, real-time reporting, and risk mitigation for projects.
For organizations that haven't invested in people and processes, the product is underutilized and seen as overpriced.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
Microsoft Project Server support is satisfactory but issues include slow resolution, complex documentation, and varying service quality by plan.
Sentiment score
6.7
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management offers effective support and resources, though personalized responses and response times could improve.
Their support tends to decline when not supporting cloud solutions.
It's challenging to navigate, often making it necessary to search for solutions externally.
Help forums and online resources like YouTube are helpful.
They should improve vendor compliance to align with ServiceNow's strategy.
They have knowledgeable teams across all levels.
While they have a skilled team, reaching the right resource can sometimes be a challenge.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project Server is scalable for various organization sizes, but older versions and costs may hinder adoption and navigation.
Sentiment score
7.6
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management excels in scalability and project management, widely recognized for adaptability and multi-project reliability.
The desktop version does not have scalability.
Microsoft Project Server is fully scalable and is widely used in many industries.
Scalability is critical for our clients as they deal with numerous projects and changes.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Project Server is stable, but performance varies with Nintex workflows, configuration, version, and SharePoint integration issues.
Sentiment score
8.2
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management boasts 99.9% uptime with strong stability, quick issue resolution, and high customer satisfaction.
I have never had to reach out to their support because the product works as expected.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project Server needs improvements in integration, UI, flexibility, automation, agile support, deployment, and user training resources.
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management needs upgrades in usability, cost efficiency, integration, setup simplicity, and real-time reporting performance.
Exporting data from Microsoft Project, especially Gantt charts, is overly complex and not user-friendly.
The lack of collaboration capabilities on the desktop version, unlike the cloud version, is a limitation.
Microsoft has become increasingly expensive, and there seems to be a push towards cloud solutions which can be challenging for some.
The integration of artificial intelligence is something my customer is considering for future upgrades.
It's not that the product lacks features, but rather organizations often adopt it at a maturity level beyond their capacity.
Making the product more cost-beneficial would help more organizations consider investing in it.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Project Server offers flexible licensing, with varying costs based on deployment type, user count, and enterprise plans.
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management is costly, with pricing complexity and additional fees, but offers value for larger organizations' ROI.
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs.
Microsoft's products are expensive for individuals.
Considering the infrastructure commitments to SharePoint and SQL, the implementation costs are low if already set up.
If a company is prepared to get a return on the investment, the price is worth it.
The pricing is rated six, as it's relatively low-medium compared to other solutions.
It's a bit costly currently.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project Server enhances project management with resource management, scheduling, collaboration, dashboards, and integration, simplifying navigation with familiar tools.
ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management excels in integration, user-friendly dashboards, agile project tracking, and aligning with business goals.
This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
The dashboards are amazing for data crunching and provide a project focus with upcoming predictions, including burn-up and burn-down charts.
The platform consolidates multiple offerings into one module, eliminating the need to invest in siloed applications.
Aligning the portfolio with overall strategy and goals is essential for success.
The most valuable features include managing our portfolio, getting a grip on demand in the environment, and making informed decisions about which projects would provide the greatest return.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ServiceNow Strategic Portfo...
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 6.3%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management is 12.2%, down from 14.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sean Achim - PeerSpot reviewer
Unlock comprehensive reporting and management with robust data extraction
The major advantage for me in using Microsoft Project Server is the SQL Server component. Using Power BI and SQL Server, I can extract a lot more data. The combination of Microsoft Project with Project Server and SharePoint provides a perfect solution for me. This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
Srinivasa Neelapu - PeerSpot reviewer
Strategies and goals are aligned with demands and partners, making it a strategic approach for the enterprise but the finance part needs improvement
SPM is definitely strong for project management, but its finance capabilities are not as robust. While there is a separate Financial Management product, it would be beneficial to have more out-of-the-box support for finance integrations within SPM. I’m not suggesting replacing systems like SAP for finance, but there should be better support for financial integrations. Currently, connecting to SaaS solutions is complicated, and getting into detailed financial calculations is challenging. Forecasting is manageable, but handling actual financials is not as straightforward. The finance area needs improvement, specifically making finance application integrations easier. Generic finance capabilities should be more user-friendly and integrated into SPM. Although they have started this journey, it hasn’t been fully released yet. There seems to be a roadmap, and once complete, it will be very useful. Additionally, incorporating a Q&A feature for entire strategies or project demands and enhancing text analytics within SPM would be beneficial.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?
The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
The pricing model is currently a challenge since it seems aligned to push users cloud-based. Considering the infrastructure commitments to SharePoint and SQL, the implementation costs are low if al...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
I am not convinced that the pricing model is the right one. Microsoft has become increasingly expensive, and there seems to be a push towards cloud solutions which can be challenging for some. Addi...
What do you like most about ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management?
We mainly use the solution to support operations and align our ITSM operations with our business goals. This involves coordinating between our application development, support teams, and network en...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management?
If a company is prepared to get a return on the investment, the price is worth it. ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management is ready for a future organization, but if the organization isn't ready,...
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management?
The adoption of the Common Service Data Model in an organization to leverage best practices is where the challenge lies. It's not that the product lacks features, but rather organizations often ado...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
IT Business Management, ServiceNow IT Business Management Suite, ServiceNow ITBM Suite, ServiceNow ITBM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Proximus, UNT SYSTEM, SAP SuccessFactors
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.