Enterprise project management (EPM) software offers businesses the features they need to competently manage both small and complex projects at an enterprise level. The app helps you to look at projects from a strategic viewpoint and offers an option for executives to prioritize projects and assign resources accordingly. Plus, they can decide how a project can fit into company goals and long-term objectives. Show moreEPM software vendors focus on streamlining all connected projects in order to boost effectiveness. Common features of EPM software include file sharing, internal messaging, calendars, and project portfolio management (PPM). The leading enterprise project management platform in our database is currently monday.com, but you can also find out details about the other highly rated products in this category by reading our in-depth reviews on them. Show less
In order to prepare this ranking of best Enterprise Project Management Software we have researched 216 trending systems currently available on the market, contrasting their features, ease of implementation, customer service, available integrations and mobile device support using our patented SmartScoreTM rating algorithm. This ranking has been created by Jenny Chang, our software expert dedicated to the Enterprise Project Management Software category.
Selecting a suitable project management software for enterprises can be a hard task given the numerous good quality platforms available in the market. This buyer’s guide aims to help you by providing an overview of the features to look for and the factors to consider as you go about the selection of the best Enterprise Project Management system.
Top enterprise project management software providers offer a free trial or demo of their product to enable users to try out the features free of cost and do a comparison of different tools. This will help you to gauge how useful the online product can be for your company. We recommend you register for the free trials of our Clarizen reviews and Projectplace which have received the highest SmartScore rankings in the Project Management software category, and to choose the best Enterprise Project Management software for your business. Signing up for a free trial also allows your team members to get a feel of the solution. This way, once you decide on a platform, they are already slightly familiar with it and would require little training.
The following are common types of EPM software:
Project Portfolio Management (PPM): PPM is the main feature in EPM software. This module helps you to schedule and allocate your company’s resources optimally to achieve financial and operational goals. Firms that handle multiple projects need to have the ability to balance and centralize the projects and for this PPM is essential. Portfolio managers in large organizations spend most of their time on PPM systems. However, this tool needs consistent maintenance to remain effective and viable.
File Sharing: You should be able to allow users to upload and share files from within the EPM solution. Team members should be able to view and edit files to streamline information transfer. Sophisticated file sharing features include audit trails and permission settings to ensure sensitive information is kept organized and secure. If you have many employees working in the field, opt for a cloud-based solution that extends file sharing to mobile devices without limitations on location. But if data security is important to you, go for an on-premise solution even though it may have limited file sharing features.
Video Conferencing/Internal Messaging: Few vendors include video conferencing in their EPM offering. Some solutions include internal video conferencing which you can use for remote communication, but this feature is more costly than note-taking modules and internal messaging. Another tool that facilitates easy communication and collaboration is internal messaging within the EPM solution.
Calendar: Good quality EPM systems include a projects calendar that offers a monthly view of project deliverables and active projects. Some sophisticated calendar modules offer advanced features such as task individualization, resource assignment, and progress completion. Some EPM solutions allow users to create individual calendars for each team member. You can remove unnecessary data from these calendars so that team members can easily view upcoming tasks and deadlines.
Dashboards: Customizable dashboards enable you to analyze important project information. You can filter out needless data to easily access vital information. Simple dashboards can be used to view a breakdown of available resources, while more complex dashboards can be used for analysis of project value.
Mobile Access: Cloud-based EPM solutions offer mobile apps and access. This enables employees to access the system and update information from any location.
Integrations: The EPM system should easily integrate with the other business apps you use such as Microsoft Office, Skype, and Dropbox as well as with advanced applications like CRMs. This allows users to update files and attach relevant contact data to projects.
Security: Data security is an important factor and you should ensure the vendor offers measures such as profile authentication, file encryption, data backup/recovery, and secure data centers. You should be able to control the access level for each team member based on their role.
Time Tracking: With a well-rounded EPM, teams can log how much time they spend on certain tasks. This way, they can determine whether they are efficient enough and are reaching their productivity goals.
Expense Monitoring: A project can be successful only if the team finishes it on time and within budget. To that end, an EPM provides expense monitoring tools. This enables users to compare their planned budgets with their actual expenditures to see if they are right on the mark.
Our enterprise project management software reviews show that these programs offer the following benefits:
The cost of enterprise project management software can vary depending on the number of functionalities an organization wants to access. Plus, there are vendors that offer free packages with the option to upgrade to a paid subscription later on.
On that note, enterprise project management software can cost anywhere between $0 to $10+ per user per month. But if a company prefers to pay for a seat manually, vendors can also accommodate them.
The deployment types of enterprise project management software are cloud or on-premise. The difference between the two is that a cloud-based solution is less costly and requires little maintenance on the side of the company. That is because the vendor takes care of that. Meanwhile, an on-premise platform is an expensive undertaking that would take months to finish. It is unlike cloud-based tools that users can immediately employ as soon as they sign up. What’s more, the IT department of the business would have to conduct regular maintenance, especially when it comes to security.
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Picking a an apt SaaS product from the scores of good quality systems out there can be a hard task. To assist you, we have created this quick primer. Find out if the SaaS vendor offers the following advantages:
Reduced Cost: Most SaaS solutions are pay as you go, and you don’t have to worry about added investments for system maintenance or IT resources, upfront licensing fees, or in-house IT employees.
Fast Set-up Time and Minimized Risk: You should be able to implement the SaaS solution quickly and easily. Make use of the free trial to understand if the app fits your needs. If you pick a wrong program, you can bail out easily with minimum losses.
Customization and Integration: Pick a vendor that offers a wide choice of software packages and modules. You should be able to pay only for the features you use to meet the current needs of your business.
Security and Control: The system should provide robust security. Choose a provider whose databanks are more secure than those in your office to maximize the gains.
The Infrastructure: The provider should offer the needed infrastructure so that you need not host anything in-house or require the help of internal IT resources.
Web Access: Your employees should be able to access data anywhere, anytime. To assist them be productive on the go, choose a provider that offers mobile apps that are compatible with leading operating systems.
Consider all the six important factors mentioned above to pick the perfect system for your needs.
The best enterprise project management software is monday.com. It is a highly visual platform, making it attractive to users. However, its aesthetics are not what makes it popular—it is its flexibility. That is because organizations can use it for any use case and not just for enterprise project management. Because of this, they can use monday.com for other teams and needs as well.
The benefits of enterprise project management software center on control over projects. With it, you have full visibility even into the micro aspects of a project. This means that you can track every task and monitor even the most minute detail. Aside from those, you can enjoy the following benefits:
Automated budget management. Organizations can automate the allocation of budgets for certain activities to ensure that team members can proceed with their tasks with no further ado.
Automated billing. Businesses can choose to automate billing processes as well. By doing so, they can eliminate errors and reduce administrative work.
Real-time issue management. When using an enterprise project management platform, project managers can view real-time team activities. Because of that, they can step in as soon as issues arise.
Reduced downtime. Because every task is outlined in the platform, team members can proceed to the next task as soon as they are finished with their current responsibilities. This reduces downtime and even fast-tracks enterprise projects.
Project portfolio management tools, collaboration tools, and communication channels comprise the essential features of enterprise project management software.
Project portfolio management: This allows for the optimal allocation of company resources specified for the project. As such, organizations can achieve their goals without overtaxing their resources.
File sharing: Though there are file-sharing platforms around, it still helps to have a file-sharing capability within an EPM. It is time-saving, as users can simply find the documents they need within the platform.
Messaging and video calls: It may not be so common in this kind of platform, but some enterprise project management vendors do include communication tools. These enable team members to get a hold of each other in the same interface where they work.
Dashboards: Dashboards are a common feature of enterprise project management solutions. These show users the latest updates regarding their tasks or project. From there, they can deep-dive into details if they want or need to. If not, they can simply take a look at the summary to apprise themselves.
The easiest enterprise project management software to use is Wrike. It has an intuitive interface that is easy to get around. It lets users organize teams on the platform’s sideboard where they can also find ongoing projects.
Additionally, Wrike has color-coded task statuses. This way, users can be aware in one glance of the statuses of tasks. What’s more, they can see who owns a task based on the icon. Thus, there is no need to see the task details for that kind of information.
Project managers can also appreciate the Gantt chart and the workload chart of Wrike. With these, they can see how much work team members are doing and adjust timelines accordingly without moving to another window.
A good free enterprise project management software is Zoho Projects. It has the necessary project planning tools in a neat package together with collaboration tools. It enables users to create projects and break them down into bite-sized tasks to avoid overwhelming team members.
Zoho Projects also has other functionalities that help collaboration. These are instant messaging, activity feeds, forums, and Wikis.
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