We use this solution for reports for our project and program management.
Senior Manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to use, stable, and has good scheduling but the deployment could be simplified
Pros and Cons
- "The scheduling and the customization are very powerful."
- "It should be more agile and more flexible when it comes to customization."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
It is easy to use.
The scheduling and the customization are very powerful.
What needs improvement?
Reporting is an area that needs to be worked on. It needs improvement.
It should be more agile and more flexible when it comes to customization.
The deployment could be easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have five to seven years of experience in Microsoft Project Server.
We are using the on-premises version but have also explored the Cloud version.
We are using version 2019.
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Microsoft Project Server
November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Project Server is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable but is very expensive.
We have approximately 50 users in our company who are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
We have not contacted Microsoft technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It is not an easy deployment.
Once it is done it's good, but Microsoft Project Server is not easy to deploy.
It took approximately two weeks.
We have a team of three people to maintain this solution. They are made up of administrators and project managers.
What about the implementation team?
We hired a professional consultant who was experienced to help us with the installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a licensing cost.
What other advice do I have?
I would definitely recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.
I would rate Microsoft Project Server a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Vice President of Sales at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Useful management, simple to install, and has good support
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is good."
- "The cost could be lower."
What is our primary use case?
We are not providing this solution, we use it.
Microsoft Project Server helps us to manage our project plan.
What is most valuable?
It's a great tool for helping us manage our project's plan.
What needs improvement?
The cost could be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Microsoft Project Server for more than 15 years.
I believe that we are working with the most recent version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Project Server is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
It's not my area of expertise at the company because I'm not a project manager, but our project manager and BMO team, as well as the rest of the team, use it.
In our company, we have more than ten people who use this solution.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have experience with Microsoft Dynamics Business Central.
We use SQL, Azure SQL, and Windows Server.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
From what I understand, it doesn't take a lot of time to deploy.
This solution will be deployed and maintained by a team of 15 or more people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's not subscription-based, we purchased the on-premises version.
Everything can always be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
We do not work for Microsoft. We are a company partner for Microsoft.
For anyone who is working in project management, I would recommend this solution.
I don't have a lot of experience but I know this solution.
I would rate Microsoft Project Server a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Project Server
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Project Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Hardware Development Manager with 51-200 employees
Helps manage interactions and resource-leveling across multiple projects
Pros and Cons
- "The key things are managing interactions, resource allocation, resource-leveling (enterprise) and as a collaborative tool, because we use it across multiple projects at a time."
What is our primary use case?
It performs very well. It's something I'm very familiar with. We use it for project management of hardware and software projects.
How has it helped my organization?
Traditionally, Microsoft Project has only been stand-alone, and we've never used it on a Web basis. Now we use it on a Web basis. It's been absolutely great in that sense, of being collaborative and also for resource-leveling, so that people can see at an instant just where everything is.
What is most valuable?
The key things are
- managing interactions
- resource allocation
- resource-leveling, enterprise
and as a collaborative tool, because we use it across multiple projects at a time.
What needs improvement?
I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is quite good. The only issue I have had in the past is if our internet connection is pretty slow, but that can happen for any package. Other than that, it's fairly good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Very good. We haven't reached the limit yet, and we're using multiple projects across many sites. So it seems to scale quite well.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are on online support, but we don't use it that often. We used it on two occasions, mainly to assist in setting up particular scenarios or to trace a bug or problem with the Web server.
The support was good and we have a direct connection with our support service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've always used Project to some extent, but it was more stand-alone rather than enterprise. Now we're on an enterprise scheme, it's much more helpful because we've got a global 3D view of projects.
There are several criteria I look for when selecting a vendor:
- ease of use
- expandability
- resource-leveling
- cost of ownership, obviously
- support needed.
They're the key things.
How was the initial setup?
Very simple. I was reasonably familiar with Project in the first instance, but because we're using it online, Web-based, rather than an on-prem, it was minimal setup from our point of view.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Smartsheet, I think we looked at that. We looked at JIRA in the early phase, but that wasn't portfolio. It was just the normal JIRA bug tracking. We do use that in the company, but not for project management necessarily, more just task tracking.
What other advice do I have?
Research it thoroughly and try to match benefits, rather than just buying features.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PMO Professional at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The centralization of all projects baselines in Project Server gave us control over the process.
What is most valuable?
- Ease of use.
- Adaptability.
- Stability.
How has it helped my organization?
- The centralization of all projects baselines in Project Server gave us control over the process. Additionally, we unified the information into just one source to report indicators, progress, milestones, and much more.
- Microsoft Project Server gave us an easy way to list and classify our projects, creating great views for a high quantity of information with the Project Web Application.
- We can now define our own project indicators and performance KPI’s, according to our project process. During the last 4 years we have used Project Server to save more than 400 baselines.
What needs improvement?
I think that "earned value calculation" could be improved, and also the relationship between time and cost, that sometimes does not allow adjustments during execution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used this for 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I did not ecnounter any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were no scalability issues. We have more than 400 projects on our Project Server database, and everything works fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support was adequate.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use any previous solution.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was hard work, but I wasn't involved.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Scope your needs carefully, in order to get exactly what you want.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate alternatives.
What other advice do I have?
I wasn’t involved during implementation.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Project Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Easy to expand with good stability and a very nice user interface
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is scalable and easy to expand."
- "We think that calculations are not working correctly, and there is a need to enter data a couple of times in order to give the correct calculations."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution to track milestones on our project.
What is most valuable?
The user interface is very good.
The product is very stable.
The solution is scalable and easy to expand.
What needs improvement?
We noticed that there are some problems or issues working with it. We are finding some workarounds to avoid them. We are not totally satisfied with that solution.
It is related to the calculation of project duration, working hours, and so on. We think that calculations are not working correctly, and there is a need to enter data a couple of times in order to give the correct calculations.
I'm not sure if there are any missing features. I can't recall feeling as if something is lacking.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with the solution for about one year now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution runs smoothly. It's quite stable and reliable. We don't really see bugs or glitches. There aren't crashes and it doesn't freeze. We have been able to operate it without issues. It's been good in that sense.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the product is quite good. If you need to scale it, you can do so. It shouldn't be a problem.
How are customer service and technical support?
It is not my responsibility to contact technical support. I don't have experience with them. We have internal IT and their responsibility is to support the solution and to maintain everything. If there were issues, it would fall to them to contact technical support for the most part. Therefore, I can't directly speak to the solution's technical support response or capabilities.
How was the initial setup?
I didn't do the installation by myself. My colleague from our company did it instead of me. I'm not sure if the process is straightforward or difficult and I cannot speak to how long deployment took.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I don't have any experience with the pricing or licensing of the solution. I'm not sure what the costs are. It's not a part of my job to worry about the licensing.
What other advice do I have?
I don't have experience with other project management tools. Maybe there are some better solutions, however, I'm not sure what those solutions are.
I would recommend Microsoft Project to other organizations.
In general, I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten. We've been largely happy with the product.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Affordable and easy to use with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's ease of use is its most valuable aspect."
- "It would be useful if the solution allowed us to share files or project schedules. You may get that with the cloud version. However, it's not available on the on-premises versions."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution purely for project management.
Basically, we use it to do project plans or schedules for our smaller or medium-sized projects.
What is most valuable?
The solution's ease of use is its most valuable aspect.
The initial setup is straightforward.
The solution is very affordable.
What needs improvement?
For the way we use the solution, it's fine. I can't think of anything specifically that I'd like to have improved now.
It would be useful if the solution allowed us to share files or project schedules. You may get that with the cloud version. However, it's not available on the on-premises versions.
It would be nice if there was a low cost version of the enterprise version, so something in between what we have now and enterprise. It would be perfect for those that don't want to go enterprise but still want to have the sharing project files capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for quite a number of years. It's been about ten years at this point, in my estimation.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I believe the scalability is limited. A company wouldn't be able to expand it easily. You need to go to the next version, which is enterprise or cloud-based.
At our organization, we have five to seven people using the solution. It's mostly to do project schedules, so they are all consultants.
It's not that widely used. We probably will not look at using the current version much wider than it is. We'll probably go with a cloud-based version or enterprise version the next time we need to upgrade.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is okay. We've been satisfied with their level of service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We didn't previously use a different solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex. The implementation itself is straightforward.
For us, our setup isn't that fancy. It is just a single laptop deployment and we just deployed the solution to a couple of laptops. There was no complexity whatsoever. The enterprise version may be more complex to set up.
You only need one person to manage the deployment process. In order to maintain it, you would only need one person who wouldn't need to even be on it full time.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the implementation ourselves. We didn't need a consultant or integrator to assist us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We're Microsoft customers. We don't have a business relationship with the company.
The solution is only a single cost per seat. There isn't a monthly or yearly subscription. It's only a few hundred dollars. It's pretty inexpensive.
There aren't any costs in addition to the standard fees.
What other advice do I have?
We're using the latest version of the solution.
It's such a good product for running the modules.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten due to the fact that it does have some limitations. Otherwise, it's perfect.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Project Control Specialist at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The Resource Manager Feature is Good. It is Very Direct and Keeps Track of the Resource Usage.
Pros and Cons
- "It is a scalable solution. We have been able to manage larger scale projects easily using this solution."
- "It may be considered expensive."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is as a portfolio of projects. It helps us keep track of the private projects.
How has it helped my organization?
It enables us to view all of our projects, and that is really great. We can see how we are doing right now. It improved the resource management of the organization.
What is most valuable?
The Resource Manager feature is a good. It is very direct and keeps track of the resource usage. Also, Project Server gives you the whole idea of the project size. It is mainly used for looking up a project that you want to get the total view of the entirety of the project.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. We have been able to manage larger scale projects easily using this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have previous experience with Algera.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It may be considered expensive, but it has features that cannot be bought by other rivals, so cost does not matter.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Sr Technical Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
It has improved the structured PMO process and implementation.
What is most valuable?
The project management, scheduling and resource management features are most valuable to us.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved the structured PMO process and implementation in our organization.
What needs improvement?
The stability and performance in enterprise-grade farm implementations needs to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the current version for the last four months. The old versions I have used for around six years, i.e., 2010 and 2013.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There are issues with bugs and things break, when the scale is increased.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We encountered scalability issues, i.e., the features were breaking.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would give the technical support a 8/10 rating.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using a different technology.
How was the initial setup?
The setup process requires technical operations.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You should buy as much as is necessary.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did not evaluate other options but we have used other similar tools.
What other advice do I have?
Planning and expertise is required.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We're strategic partnets.
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Updated: November 2024
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