5 Things to Look for in Cloud Software

Cloud software is a tough nut to crack. There are literally thousands of cloud applications vying for your business. Who should you talk to and who should you send packing?

5 Things to Look for in Cloud Software

There are many important things to consider when purchasing cloud software to run your business. The 5 things to look for in cloud software products are role-based permissions, configuration options, enforced workflows, accountability and scalability.

First, the software needs to support role-based permissions. The simple fact that the average user does not need access to all functions and configuration settings requires role-based permissions. Role-based permissions within the product should not limit productivity or visibility, but should preserve data integrity and protect organizational processes and controls from tampering. Furthermore, separating responsibilities can protect your organization from unnecessary liability and help maintain compliance with best practices and legal requirements.

When evaluating the configuration options offered by software, make sure you can accomplish your primary goals with out-of-the-box functionality. Implementing highly configurable software may seem daunting when facing implementation, but this investment in time and money is well worth the savings when compared to expensive software customizations down the road. Mature products often provide the flexibility to adapt to many organizations processes because they have been time-tested by many users in different environments. Organizations should leverage this experience for significant cost savings.

The software you buy should allow administrators to set enforced workflows that prevent your team from skipping steps in your process. Enforced workflows also contribute to producing consistent work and products that continually meet your standards.

The fourth thing to look for in a cloud software application is accountability. To hold your team accountable software should have excellent communication and reporting tools. The communication tools should be easy to use and should archive and organize correspondence for future reference. Reporting should provide management with actionable intelligence regarding breakdowns and root causes.

The final thing to look for in a cloud software product is scalability. To be a scalable cloud application, licensing should be flexible, training should be readily available, all information should be in one system and the software should be able to integrate with other systems.

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Project Management Software Overload

Great strategies for separating the wheat from the chaff and moving past Project Management Software Overload.

Project Management Software Overload

Ever been tasked to find the right Project Management Software? If so, you probably realize how ridiculously broad the category is. Project Management Software could mean anything from Basecamp to AtTask, or Microsoft Project to ProjecTools. This is Project Management Software Overload. To illustrate my point; on Wikipedia there are ~150 entries under “Comparison of project management software.” Which leads us to the subject of this post – how does one separate the wheat from the chaff? My answer – by correctly defining the words “project”, “management”, and “software” for your organization.
So let’s begin:

  1. We need to define “project.” If the project is simple, a simple application getting everyone on the same page and tracking input/change will be enough (think Asana, Basecamp, Trello). What about IT Project Management though? Totally different. Complex capital construction or EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) project? Once again, there’s an entirely different set of criteria that should be considered. These complex construction project solutions require significantly more powerful software to manage all of the moving parts. Even after defining the project though (for this post: EPC projects), one is left with a staggering array of software options. Which leads us to the second criteria – defining “manage.”
  2. too many project management software optionsWe need to define “manage.” What part of the project is most important to you? Simple projects have fewer moving parts and stakeholders – they’re relatively simple to manage and you may be able to manage many aspects of the project with relative ease. But if we’re talking EPC projects you must be much more deliberate; there is Scheduling, Document Management and Collaboration, Cost Control, Procurement, Engineering and Commissioning, and often there are multiple projects going on simultaneously (PPM). Of course these aspects are all important and different organizations place emphasis on different parts of project management – complicating the issue even further. Luckily there are tools that manage multiple pieces of these complex projects, but even the most comprehensive tools can’t tackle everything coherently. For instance, ProjecTools is arguably the most comprehensive Project Management Software tool (for EPC and Oil and Gas projects) covering Document Management and Collaboration, Cost Control, Procurement, and Engineering and Commissioning. That said, we realize there are other aspects of project management (scheduling especially), and rather than try to re-invent the wheel – we believe integration is stronger that competition (we integrate with scheduling leaders like Primavera). So now, if you’ve defined what you want to manage – we only need to decide what “software” means to you.
  3. We need to define “software.” To be clear, we’re not interested in the technical definition of “software”, instead I’m working to define the category of things that are typically described as software. Let’s start with the basics: deployment options, purchase options, how it’s supported, and standalone or integrated.
    1. Deployment options are a point of contention, but the writing is on the wall: cloud is here to stay (see my presentation on the subject at PMI here).
    2. On purchasing – is it a CapEx or OpEx and can you fit it in your department’s budget? If you’re buying traditional on-premise software or deploying a private cloud, you’re looking at a significant capital expenditure and a significantly prolonged installation/implementation. On-premise can mean as much as a 10X increase in budget, the addition of IT support personnel, a decrease in redundancy, and 3-4X increase in the implementation timeline (which means less project-oriented work gets done). Good luck (and I’m not the only one who feels this way).
    3. How’s it supported? Having someone standing by to take your calls and correctly handle and escalate issues is something that really, really matters. Like anything, you may not realize how much it matters until you really need the support, but don’t dismiss this when you define what software means to you. And please don’t confuse “maintenance plans” for support; a maintenance plan is a poorly-disguised profit-generating mechanism – while support is designed to help clients and customers when they need it.
    4. Standalone or integrated? Everyone is talking about Big Data, but what they’re finding is Big Data Silos. Collecting data is an exercise in futility if it sits within a single application and isn’t used across the organization to make better decisions. Whether your chose multiple “best-in-class” systems and integrate them, or choose a comprehensive solution – you should understand the importance of integrated systems. At ProjecTools we fall into the “comprehensive solution” bucket but we also integrate with other applications to offer our clients a better control and decision-making platform and that’s important. Why is integration important? Because integration saves double-entry, preserves data integrity, allows for better decision-making, increases adoption rates, and leads to dramatically increased success in deployment and operation. But just because a company claims their software products are “integrated” doesn’t mean it was built together – be wary of larger vendors that “integrate” multiple products through acquisition of (once) entirely separate companies.

If you’ve followed this post so far, your needs in Project Management Software should be fairly clear. By defining what you mean by “project”, “management” and “software” you will be better equipped to make a purchasing decision, specifically as it relates to complex capital construction and EPC project management. Of course we’d love to answer any additional questions you have – feel free to send them to me personally.

ProjecTools Product Information

  • 817

ProjecTools Client Spotlight

September 24th, 2015|0 Comments

ProjecTools Client Spotlight "I don't see how companies can manage projects like [...]

  • 568

Standard Project Management Features

September 2nd, 2015|0 Comments

ProjecTools subscriptions provide valuable standard features that support projects. ProjecTools standard features are available to each user to complement core application functions and business processes. Utilize the modules below to increase top-down visibility, communication, accountability

  • 545

Security and Reliability

September 1st, 2015|0 Comments

Users need a secure, reliable environment to access project information and perform work. All applications and client data resides in a private cloud network with data replication and failover to geographically diverse datacenter equipment. ProjecTools provides 99.5% Network Availability

  • 492

Construction Project Management Services

August 31st, 2015|0 Comments

ProjecTeams is proven for flexible on-site or remote project deployments. Each ProjecTeam specialist has deep work history with a career of improving project execution, information management processes, with tools that make projects efficient, timely, and profitable.

ProjecTools Resources

  • 1872

Spreadsheets and Email as Project Management Tools

March 9th, 2017|0 Comments

Projects have too many moving parts and too many players to be trusting critical data to spreadsheets and emails. You need a spreadsheet reduction strategy.

  • 1811

Project Management Assessment

November 15th, 2016|0 Comments

Project Management Assessment Assess your project management practices against the best project execution teams in the Capital Construction, [...]

  • 1716
  • Review & Approvals

Document Management Software ROI

October 5th, 2016|0 Comments

Document management is massively important for engineering and construction projects. Take the approach and use the tools that add the most value.

  • 1357

Aligning Document Control and Cost Control

February 15th, 2016|0 Comments

Align Document Control with Cost Control and create seamless progress and earned value reports to stay on budget and improve cash flows.

ProjecTools Videos, Demos, and Webinars

  • 1519
  • Review and Approvals

Optimizing Review and Approval Processes for Engineering

October 14th, 2021|0 Comments

Let’s talk about review and approvals, and closed-loop systems, and how to execute the review and approval processes for engineering and commercial...

  • 1567
  • Document Management

The Keys to Successful Document Management

November 23rd, 2020|0 Comments

Let's talk specifically about document management software, and the key factors for clean and organized documentation, accessibility, finding a system...

  • 1716
  • Review & Approvals

Document Management Software ROI

October 5th, 2016|0 Comments

Document management is massively important for engineering and construction projects. Take the approach and use the tools that add the most value.

  • 1631

Document Distribution and Access for EPC and Construction

August 24th, 2016|0 Comments

Global projects have global teams that need to be in the loop. Cloud technology takes the pain out of giving teams on demand access to project data.

ProjecTools Software Support

ProjecTools Software Support

Quality support can be a life saver. We get that, so e have a talented staff of support professionals that are ready to respond to client requests 24/7. It doesn’t matter if users email, call, text, or skype – the ProjecTools Support Team is ready to respond and solve in a timely fashion.

Email support@projectools.com to get in touch with a ProjecTools Software Support.

ProjecTools Software Support Team gives world-class technical assistance and personalized guidance to help you quickly resolve issues, optimize the effectiveness of your project management teams and tools, and maximize business impact. With a staff of highly skilled and dedicated support professionals, ProjecTools is dedicated to your satisfaction and helping you achieve the highest levels of efficiency and the pinnacle of success.