SaaS-Based Tools Lower Barriers To PPM Success

As CIOs face pressure to "do more with less," project portfolio management (PPM) — with its promises of productivity and better allocation of precious budget dollars — has surged in popularity. It's no surprise that PPM is moving off of the spreadsheet and into commercial applications — but the cost and implementation of these solutions are hurdles to many IT shops. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions have emerged as a viable option that boasts many benefits: lower cost, faster implementation, quicker time-to-value, no need for infrastructure investment or maintenance, and lower risk of adoption failure. This delivery model is gaining attention in North American and European enterprises. This applies in the growing PPM market as well: Established on-premise PPM vendors are launching their own SaaS versions, and smaller pure-play SaaS vendors are targeting small and midsize opportunities, with some even targeting enterprise opportunities. Forrester researched three of the "original" SaaS PPM vendors and spoke with their customers to find out what options are available and determine if a SaaS solution might be a viable option for firms.