In their report on the 2015 project management (PM) software marketplace, software review experts Software Advice, found that among first-time buyers of a Glasscubes-style solution, the three most important drivers for the move away from manual methods (such as email and office suites like Microsoft Office) were the need for better organisation, the streamlining of processes, and transparency for project tracking.

In each case, it's easy to understand the attraction of a sophisticated suite of project management tools that offers a considerable leap forward for a company looking to make efficient its processes, save costs, and encourage innovative thinking among its staff, yet is currently limited by the traditional methods of developing and executing projects.

Let's take a look at those three areas of business collaboration pushing people into becoming first-time PM software users.

Organisation

In terms of organisation, a central repository for information and documents means that, as well as easy, instant access to all aspects of the project for authorised project members, tasks are simple to assign, with the delegation process and established roles highly visible throughout.

Furthermore, the move away from email towards workspaces for collaboration and file sharing means that conversations and the key pieces of information therein are easily traced, files are version-controlled, and actions are no longer duplicated by different members of staff.

Process streamlining and automization

In addition to the greater efficiency generated as a result of the benefits already mentioned, task time tracking calculates ongoing project costs and timings for accurate, objective record keeping.

Equally, shared calendars allow for synchronisation with clients, and milestones can be set at the initial phase of a project for reminders and key dates.

Transparency of status and progress

Accurate mapping of a project's progress is an essential feature of successful PM, and the top 3 requested PM functions according to the Software Advice Report were reporting and analytics (with reporting and dashboards considered the most important features within that area), project planning (with deadlines and milestones the top requested functions), and time and expense tracking.

All of these features and functions are built into the best available PM and collaboration software solutions.

In view of this insight into what company executives, business owners and their project managers are looking for, the opportunity for an SME to take a painless but dramatic step forward in its PM capability would explain the report's other finding that there is an ongoing climb in the number of those first-time software buyers.

Glasscubes is user-friendly collaboration software for businesses. Connect everyone that you work with in an online workspace which improves the way you share files, manage projects and communicate with each other. For more information please contact us by calling +44 (0)20 3274 2310 or email us at enquiries@glasscubes.com.