ValleySpeak Project Server Cost Advantages
The Affordable Way to Give Your Team Access to Microsoft Project Schedule Details.
Introduction Using Microsoft Project in a group environment is a challenge. Every user must install the software onto his/her machine in order to view or change the schedule details, which becomes very expensive. Additionally, Microsoft Project is a complicated application that requires training in order to install and use efficiently. Some teams try to circumvent this by sending around Excel files to gather status updates or sending PDF files to communicate the schedule. These approaches have their own unique challenges: the project manager ends up having to integrate multiple changes back into the schedule manually and the team members are often unsure about whether they are using the most current version of the project schedule. The other option is to purchase and install the Microsoft Project Server software. Microsoft Project Server is complicated to install and use, expensive and generally too high end for many workgroups. Though feature rich, it is an enterprise software product that requires a large commitment in order to implement appropriately. All of these approaches have downsides and limitations. Fortunately,there is a much better solution: ValleySpeak Project Server. The ValleySpeak Project Server provides an affordable and easy way to use web-based access so that each team member can view and update schedules in real time. With easy installation and minimal training required, it is an ideal solution for workgroups that want to share Microsoft project schedule status with minimum hassle.
ValleySpeak Project Server - An Affordable Alternative To Licensing Microsoft Project For Each Team Member Installing Microsoft Project onto the machine of each team member can be quite expensive. Table 1 below shows a cost comparison between Microsoft Project and ValleySpeak Project Server for various team sizes. Table 1: Cost Comparison—Microsoft Project and ValleySpeak Project Server
Microsoft Project COST MICROSOFT PROJECT 1
TOTAL USERS
COST OF INSTALLATION
2
TOTAL COST
10
$5,693.00
$350.00
$6,043.00
25
$14,232.50
$875.00
$15,107.50
50
$28,465.00
$1,750.00
$30,215.00
100
$56,930.00
$3,500.00
$60,430.00
250
$1,42,325.00
$8,750.00
$151,075.0 0
ValleySpeak Project Server TOTAL USERS
COST OF LICENSE
COST OF COMPONENTS
3
TOTAL COST
10
$499.00
$678.00
$1,177.00
25
$999.00
$678.00
$1,677.00
Website: www.valleyspeak.com Contact: contact@valleyspeak.com
50
$1,799.00
$678.00
$2,477.00
100
$2,999.00
$678.00
$3,677.00
250 $6,499.00 $678.00 $7,177.00 Based on cost per user of Microsoft’s MS Office Project Standard 2003 Complete Package from CDW.com as of 4-14-2005. 1
2
Installation requires ½ hours per user at a cost of $70 per hour.
3
$678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40 GB Hard drive.
Since there is no need to acquire a separate Microsoft Project license for each user, the total cost of using the ValleySpeak Project Server is quite low. For 25 users you save about $13k, and for 100 users you save almost $57k. ValleySpeak Project Server is also easier to install and implement in a team environment because not every machine will require a copy of the application on its hard-drive. Its user interface is simple and straightforward, which also increases productivity.
ValleySpeak Project Server - Easier And Less Expensive To Implement Than Microsoft Project Server Purchasing Microsoft Project Server is the second alternative. This application is cumbersome in nature, difficult to use and expensive to implement because it requires significant expertise in order to function properly. Table 2 below provides a cost comparison between Microsoft Project Server and ValleySpeak Project Server. Table 2: Cost Comparison—Microsoft Project Server vs. ValleySpeak Project Server
Microsoft Project Server TOTAL USERS
COST OF INSTALLATION
COST OF CAL 1
2
COST OF COMPONENTS
3
TOTAL COST
10
$3,000.00
$24,000.00
$11,995.00
$38,995.00
25
$7,500.00
$24,000.00
$13,674.00
$45,174.00
50
$15,000.00
$24,000.00
$16,473.00
$55,473.00
100
$30,000.00
$24,000.00
$22,070.00
$76,070.00
250
$75,000.00
$24,000.00
$38,863.00 $137,863.00
ValleySpeak Project Server TOTAL USERS
COST OF CAL
COST OF INSTALLATION COST OF COMPONENTS 4
TOTAL COST
10
$499.00
$0.00
$678.00
$1,177.00
25
$999.00
$0.00
$678.00
$1,677.00
50
$1,799.00
$0.00
$678.00
$2,477.00
100
$2,999.00
$0.00
$678.00
$3,677.00
250
$6,499.00
$0.00
$678.00
$7,177.00
1
$300 per user for Project Server
2
Average price quoted by 4 Microsoft Value Added Resellers
3
$1199 for Windows 2000 Server, $39.95 per user for each Windows 2000 CAL, $4999 for SQL Server, $3999 for SharePoint Portal Server, $71 per user for each SharePoint Portal Website: www.valleyspeak.com Contact: contact@valleyspeak.com
Server CAL and $678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40 GB Hard drive. 4
$678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40 GB Hard drive.
For 25 users ValleySpeak Project Server provides a savings of about $43k, and for 100 users it provides a savings of over $72k. Not only does it save you a significant amount of money, but it is much easier to install and maintain and requires less training than Microsoft Project Server.
Conclusion Whether you are considering licensing Microsoft Project for each team member or going with the cumbersome and expensive Microsoft Project Server software solution, ValleySpeak Project Server is a much more affordable alternative that is easier to implement. Also, it is a more desirable solution to a company’s project management needs because ValleySpeak Project Server overcomes the limitations of Microsoft Project. Furthermore, features such as discussion groups and issue tracking are not available on Microsoft Project, but come standard with ValleySpeak Project Server. In addition, it provides 100% 2-way integration with Microsoft Project so project managers can continue to use Microsoft Project as their project management tool of choice, while at the same time giving other team members easy to use browser-based access to examine and update the project schedule.
Website: www.valleyspeak.com Contact: contact@valleyspeak.com