The Sky’s the Limit:Project Management in the Cloud

Presented byIT Evolution, Inc.

PMI-Delaware Valley ChapterJune 21, 2012

• Philadelphia-area IT management consulting practice

• Business and technology alignment• Strategic and operational guidance

?

?

Network

Storage

Computation

Computation

Virtualization

+Resource sharing

New economic modelfor computing

Virtualization

Cheaper computing

Computingas a service

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)• Platform as a Service (PaaS)• Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Software as a Service (SaaS)

2000 2005 2010

SaaSRevenueGrowth

Why should PMscare about the cloud?

Centralized resources, available anywhere

From this... ...to this

Less IT involvement required...

Cheaper? Usually

• Subscription model• Pay as you go

• Save on the cost of on-premises installation, administration, maintenance, etc.

• Transform capital expense to operating expense

Innovation in support of value

• Social media in the enterprise

• Capabilities that bridge the “digital divide” between big and small

• Flourishing ecosystem of more choices, more flexibility

Why look to cloud solutions?

• Improve PM processes by leveraging best-of-breed tools

• Address challenges of virtual teams• Exploit faster deployment of a solution than

an on-premises approach• Exploit cloud economics to get high-value

tools – especially for independent consultants or small service providers

Two ways to set up a cloud app

Sign up for an existing commercial cloud application

Set up a cloud server, then install and run an open source application

Key SaaS Categories for PM

• Planning/Scheduling• Collaboration• Requirements• Productivity• Utilities and tools• Integrated suites

A big and growing list...

@task24SevenOfficeApptivoAtTaskBinfire.comCoPDaptivSolutionQ EclipseHiTaskHuddle.comInsight (formerly Encamp)

iShareKiwi Manager(?)LiquidPlannerMinglePMChampion's PM ProcessesProject InsightProjectHandProjectinsight.netTodoMatrix ProfessionalRocketsoftware.comSmartsheet.com

TaskBinTeamworkTenwrox.comTOPdesk WrikeZoho Projects

tip o’ the iceberg

Daptiv

LiquidPlanner

Integrated Suite

Integrated Suite

Accompa

Requirements

Requirements

Requirements

MindMeister

Utilities and Tools

Inside every silver lining...

Risk in the cloud

• Security• Privacy• Access control• Vendor continuity

• Data ownership• Data retention,

enterprise knowledge accumulation

• Data lossOutages

Mitigate security risk

• Verify HTTPS/SSL for data communication• Verify access control (authentication) and

permissions (authorization)– Will IT require integration with enterprise controls?– Will admin role be filled by you instead of IT?

• Confirm your intellectual property is not browsable or findable by outsiders

Mitigate data risk

• Avoid “rogue” deployments• Make sure cloud data is exportable• Determine how to preserve “organizational

process assets” when cloud is involved• Verify vendor’s backup and disaster recovery

commitments, including periodic testing• Verify vendor’s redundancy and resource

distribution

Flying into the cloud

• Don’t be hasty! Do your research.• Use social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to learn

about a product from its existing users.• Test with a sandbox or pilot before a full rollout.• Review “Terms of Use” carefully.• Listen to your IT department.• Apply ongoing diligence, not just at beginning.

Lists of PM SaaS toolsThe Task and Project Management Software List - Lists and reviews of the best online and Windows softwarehttp://www.taskmerlin.com/task-project-management-software-list.aspx

16 Project Management Tools That Make Juggling Easy - SitePointhttp://www.sitepoint.com/16-project-management-tools-that-make-juggling-easy/

Best Agile-Scrum-Kanban Tools » Agile Scouthttp://agilescout.com/top-agile-tools/best-agile-tools/

Hosted SAAS Project Management/Team Collaboration Tools | PM-Sherpahttp://pm-sherpa.com/attributes/hostedsaas/

Thank you!

http://itevcorp.com