| November 9, 2009 | | | | project teams work well together. There are |
| There has never been a time where a foot | | | | many different levels of team collaboration. There |
| forward in business has been more vital. Efficiency | | | | are big teams that are broken up into smaller |
| is most certainly the key to maintaining a | | | | teams; then there are teams that cross |
| successful business, and through the use of IT | | | | boundaries within organizations; and lastly there |
| solutions, project portfolio management, a key | | | | are teams that cross boundaries across |
| component in business, can be made easy. | | | | organizations. And it is a well established fact that |
| For the data center manager dealing with budget | | | | communication is one of the core factors of |
| cuts, IT process improvement projects can get | | | | project success or failure. SaaS applications are |
| derailed for being too expensive or of lesser | | | | designed from scratch to operate securely over |
| importance. Additionally as a result of a down | | | | the web, which means that teams within and |
| economy, IT budgets are being slashed, with the | | | | across different organizational boundaries can |
| predictability that heads have been cut and | | | | easily access the PPM applications and information |
| non-critical projects have been put on hold or | | | | from anywhere at any time. |
| cancelled. In this environment, some management | | | | SaaS implementations involve virtually no technical |
| teams have elected to cut funding for process | | | | component to the implementation, minimizing any |
| improvement initiatives, including IT project and | | | | risks. However the technical aspect of any |
| portfolio management services efforts, which can | | | | software implementation is only part of the risk. |
| place them at a disadvantage both during the | | | | Two other big risk areas are in business process |
| downturn and especially during the recovery. | | | | change and end user adoption. SaaS applications |
| What management needs to understand is that | | | | are designed to be highly configurable, which |
| having effective and efficient processes aids IT | | | | makes them more adaptive to the needs of |
| during a downturn and readies organizations for | | | | unique business processes. In other words, users |
| when the economy improves. Efficient and | | | | don't have to write code to automate business |
| effective processes are needed not just to | | | | processes. Finally, the SaaS business model |
| control costs and risks, but also for IT to | | | | depends on end user adoption for financial |
| consistently deliver services that meet the needs | | | | success. That translates into a laser focus on the |
| of the business now and in the future. | | | | user experience, which in turn leads to greater |
| The fundamental doctrine of PPM such as visibility | | | | adoption. |
| and centralization of data will continue to drive | | | | PCG understands that while the economy has |
| value, but there is a new trend is emerging as | | | | limited many companies’ financial ability to |
| PPM transitions from powerful concept to | | | | invest in IT, most are still charged with cutting |
| real-world practice. | | | | costs and doing more with less. |
| PPM applications have fundamentally altered the | | | | PPM is becoming an increasingly obvious choice for |
| project landscape. By integrating project | | | | organizations faced with shrinking budgets and |
| information in one place, PPM changes how | | | | customers that demand more for their |
| organizations approve, plan and deliver projects. | | | | investments. PPM enables the process of aligning |
| From a bottom line perspective, PPM enables | | | | project portfolios with strategic objectives, so |
| organizations to improve their return on project | | | | that companies will be able to react more easily |
| investments. | | | | to rapidly changing competitive environments. At |
| Project Consulting Group (PCG), a | | | | the same time, IT can be seen as an agent for |
| Minneapolis-based project and portfolio | | | | positive change and not simply a cost center. |
| management consulting firms, has found that | | | | PCG also sees companies today adopting an |
| SaaS continues to move from interesting to | | | | innovative model to streamline IT processes called |
| viable to a competitive threat. PPM solutions are | | | | Project Delivery On-Demand. The model is |
| ideally suited to run as SaaS applications. There | | | | designed to deliver a range of PPM implementation |
| are several reasons why SaaS is so well suited | | | | options which dramatically reduce investment risk |
| for PPM, including rapid deployment; team | | | | and overcome budget constraints associated with |
| collaboration; reduced risk of failure; tighter vendor | | | | getting started and achieving the highest quality, |
| customer relationships; reduced cost of | | | | quantitative PPM decision making capability. |
| implementation and support. But perhaps the | | | | Project Delivery On-Demand is considered a |
| biggest reason is the rapid innovation cycle. It's at | | | | comprehensive outsourcing service model that |
| least twice as fast to deliver innovations to | | | | provides a proven framework for assimilating |
| customers in a SaaS model, and as a result PPM | | | | people, process, technology and culture resulting in |
| using a SaaS model is evolving rapidly. | | | | cost reductions and an improved capability to |
| PCG found that PPM as a SaaS solution has | | | | execute on strategic growth objectives. |
| allowed for a new trend to emerge where there | | | | The need to achieve a cost savings has |
| is no risk involved for the user. It embraces | | | | historically been a key factor in outsourcing any |
| new methodology that results in PPM with no risk | | | | peripheral service or capability. In addition, |
| and is allowing organizations large and small to | | | | outsourcing enables an organization to focus its |
| resume their IT projects that have been put on | | | | limited resources on its primary activities. |
| hold or eliminated entirely due to budget | | | | Traditional "on premise" PPM applications are |
| constraints and simply just not having enough | | | | expensive and they consume valuable resources. |
| sustainable funding. | | | | Upfront license fees can be substantial, and the |
| The deployment of PPM as a SaaS application can | | | | costs of implementation, support and upgrades |
| be one alternative to leverage an | | | | can be daunting. Implementing Project Delivery |
| organization’s resource constraints because | | | | On-Demand and offering the PPM as a SaaS |
| Saas solutions have little to no technical | | | | application is not only less expensive; it allows |
| implementation (servers, data bases, etc) and get | | | | organizations to focus their limited resources on |
| up and running in next to no time. With a PPM | | | | more pressing objectives. |
| Saas application, the provisioning of new hardware | | | | PPM has emerged in recent years as a next |
| and software is incremental and highly efficient, | | | | generation practice that builds on the disciplines of |
| and means that there will be less overhead to | | | | project management and program management. |
| support a customer. Perhaps even more | | | | With an enterprise wide perspective, PPM |
| importantly, the human resources required to | | | | incorporates other techniques and practices and |
| implement and run any PPM Saas application would | | | | fundamentally changes the ability of an |
| already in place, trained and could be leveraged. | | | | organization to manage projects as investments |
| What this translates to is that once you decide to | | | | that should have a predictable return. This new |
| implement, the entire technical aspect of the | | | | discipline requires a new set of tools and |
| implementation should take just a few minutes. | | | | technologies, technologies that are leveraging |
| Additionally with a no risk model, the responsibility | | | | SaaS as a delivery model for PPM. Additionally it |
| of funding the IT project falls on the service | | | | seems that innovation cycles are accelerated, |
| provider with payback over an extended period. | | | | which means that PPM capabilities are improving at |
| A key factor in the success of any | | | | rate that is significantly faster than traditional |
| comprehensive IT project is making sure the | | | | on-premise delivered software. |