Project and program managers can select among a fair number of both traditional and web based project management tools that feature all the same core functionality but offer various advantages (and disadvantages) to users. Despite the ongoing dispute over the essential characteristics of project management and how it differs from program management, all reliable software tools in the field of project management are developed using certain principles that are applied in both project and program management, with a fast-growing number of software vendors providing web based and online solutions.
Most web based and standalone project management applications feature similar basic functionality, thus comparing an application that runs on the users' computer and another, which is designed to run on a remote server, rarely results in finding any significant differences in terms of productivity, speed, etc. Of course, on-premises software is supposed to run faster than applications running on a remote computer, as most web based applications; nevertheless the emergence of more capable computers gradually eliminates this advantage.
As a whole, both classic and online applications should cover a variety of processes involved in project management such as estimation, resource allocation and scheduling, budget management, collaboration tools, and documentation management utilities. In theory, a web based application would deal more efficiently with large databases often used in project management due to taking advantage of faster processor speed and more advanced hardware utilized in server-based hardware solution, allowing the software to run faster. On the other hand, modern-day personal computers, more likely business-class PCs, provide productivity comparable to that of server-based solutions, thus running a web based project management tool or a standalone application is making only slight difference.
A major disadvantage of web based solutions is considered their inability to run offline, and their dependency on a remote system to run certain elements of the software. However, the number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) project management solutions is growing at a tremendous rate and the business of software vendors offering web based and SaaS solutions does not seem to be largely affected by concerns related to lost Internet connectivity.
Actually, the great debate whether to use web based or on-premise project management solutions is more about security concerns rather than fears related to the online availability and reliability of such applications. A fair number of enterprises apply security policies that do not allow their applications or databases to be run on third-party systems, therefore limiting the number of prospect customers of web based project management software.
Nevertheless, recent reports suggest that corporations are gradually moving toward a more open approach to corporate security and confidentiality policies, opening the door for more widespread adoption of web based and online solutions. Support and maintenance costs of sophisticated systems and storage devices required to deal with large and complex projects force businesses to look for solutions elsewhere; namely, to implement web based and online systems that offer fully functional project management solutions.
To conclude, web based applications are still lagging behind on-premise software but many market analysts expect the implementation rate of web based project management application to grow markedly within a reasonable period, with the two kinds of software providing fairly the same overall functionality and productivity.
Most web based and standalone project management applications feature similar basic functionality, thus comparing an application that runs on the users' computer and another, which is designed to run on a remote server, rarely results in finding any significant differences in terms of productivity, speed, etc. Of course, on-premises software is supposed to run faster than applications running on a remote computer, as most web based applications; nevertheless the emergence of more capable computers gradually eliminates this advantage.
As a whole, both classic and online applications should cover a variety of processes involved in project management such as estimation, resource allocation and scheduling, budget management, collaboration tools, and documentation management utilities. In theory, a web based application would deal more efficiently with large databases often used in project management due to taking advantage of faster processor speed and more advanced hardware utilized in server-based hardware solution, allowing the software to run faster. On the other hand, modern-day personal computers, more likely business-class PCs, provide productivity comparable to that of server-based solutions, thus running a web based project management tool or a standalone application is making only slight difference.
A major disadvantage of web based solutions is considered their inability to run offline, and their dependency on a remote system to run certain elements of the software. However, the number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) project management solutions is growing at a tremendous rate and the business of software vendors offering web based and SaaS solutions does not seem to be largely affected by concerns related to lost Internet connectivity.
Actually, the great debate whether to use web based or on-premise project management solutions is more about security concerns rather than fears related to the online availability and reliability of such applications. A fair number of enterprises apply security policies that do not allow their applications or databases to be run on third-party systems, therefore limiting the number of prospect customers of web based project management software.
Nevertheless, recent reports suggest that corporations are gradually moving toward a more open approach to corporate security and confidentiality policies, opening the door for more widespread adoption of web based and online solutions. Support and maintenance costs of sophisticated systems and storage devices required to deal with large and complex projects force businesses to look for solutions elsewhere; namely, to implement web based and online systems that offer fully functional project management solutions.
To conclude, web based applications are still lagging behind on-premise software but many market analysts expect the implementation rate of web based project management application to grow markedly within a reasonable period, with the two kinds of software providing fairly the same overall functionality and productivity.
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