Project management professionals around the world know that one piece of software is essential to their duties. Microsoft Project has many benefits and thus continues to be an integral part of your toolkit, so if you aren’t using yet, then you should consider implementing MS Project as soon as you can.
In 2017, an article was posted on Project Management that outlined the popularity of MS Project, stating that out of 200 US-based project managers, where three-quarters of respondents were small or medium-sized business, a shocking 67% continued to use Microsoft Project instead of other alternatives, like Basecamp and Trello. 20% of respondents said that they also used tools like SharePoint, Excel, Smartsheet, and so on. Most used MS Project because of the ease of integration with Office 365 over alternatives like G Suite.
In short, these companies have seen the advantages of implementing MS Project. What about your company?
Advantages of Microsoft Project
Maturity
How long have you been a Project Manager? When did you first hear about Microsoft Project? Believe it or not, the tool has been available since 1984, making it over 30 years old. Microsoft has invested time and money into making the software the best it can be over the years, and this is reflected in the quality of the product. Because project managers have adopted the software into their practices over the past twenty years or more, you will find a lot of features you didn’t know you needed.
Reliability
Although there are tons of project management tools available in stores, Microsoft Project has been developed by one of the biggest and most successful software companies in the entire world. Not only that, but the system has been worked on repeatedly, ensuring that MS Project is reliable for whatever you need it for. Additionally, third party support is now readily available.
Ease of Integration
Since Project 2010 and later updates, the software can do incredible things, such as filtering, text wrapping, zooming, scrolling, auto-completion functions, and much more. You can take the information from any MS Project file and integrate it into other products Office, including Excel, Outlook, and Word. Data can even be loaded into Microsoft’s cloud services, OneDrive and Azure.
In a job where collaboration is important, you need tools that allow you to transmit data from one person to another in record time. MS Project makes that easy. You can even delegate tasks to other people working on the same project.
In short, if you’re looking for a project management tool that is both tested and moving towards the future, then you want to get MS Project. The easy integration with other professional software makes it a fabulous addition to your professional toolkit. The breadth of features also makes in indispensable for tracking the overall progress of projects and keeping everyone moving towards the same goal. Sign up for a Microsoft Project training to get started.