Kiss Microsoft Project Goodbye

This product has a very nice, very Web 2.0 user interface, but what I like best about it that most users will never see the UI: managers can set up projects on the Clarizen site, but people responsible for delivering on those projects never have to use it.

The product sends e-mail queries that users can update directly, bypassing the main site and the $50 monthly per-user fee as well.

Projects@Work Cool Tools

Updated project management software is designed for users of varying project management experience.

Clarizen has released version 2.0 of its on-demand project execution software, including a revamped UI and budget planning and Excel export capabilities. Launched commercially in October 2007, Clarizen was recently selected for the Microsoft Startup Accelerator program.

Clarizen allows users to track all of their projects in one place, with timelines and milestones of other teams visible alongside their own work. External users such as suppliers and customers can be invited by team members to view project items to which they are specifically involved. Collaboration capabilities include instant discussion and document sharing.

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Web-Enable Microsoft Project
with New Version of Clarizen's PM Software

Clarizen offers a lot to tempt experienced project managers.

With Clarizen you can divide project milestones into submilestones and tasks into subtasks, and you can have important alerts repeatedly e-mailed daily. Team members can add notes or discuss the project; send e-mail messages regarding the project as a whole, a milestone, or a task to the entire team or to one or more individuals; and find project information online.

Reporting features are excellent, too, allowing you to gauge the percentage completion of key project tasks.

The Clarizen product has a lot to offer current users of Project as well as those who would prefer an online tool. In a way, Clarizen web-enables Microsoft Project by allowing for the import of Project files into the online software.

The SMB market is wide open for Clarizen right now, as they're one of only a few companies offering a powerful and practical solution to the segment.

Coming out with 50 paying customers from a free beta is remarkable.
It's great to see the impact that the beta and the user community has had on driving functionality in the final product - Clarizen is clearly poised to lead this high growth market.

Business leaders are seeing a growing need to empower all members of project teams to become more informed, active and decisive collaborators within the organization and with external partners.

Clarizen's on- demand project management solution addresses this business requirement by providing team members with access to up-to-date task and exception information as well as best practice templates for all of their projects in a single environment.

Clarizen’s project management solution is unique in its on project execution rather than just planning and in its focus on users who are not necessarily professional project managers. Clarizen is the only solution truly enabling the entire team to be part of the project by allowing users to easily and effectively report their progress simply by using email.

Clarizen’s SaaS business model offers unique advantages, allowing businesses to focus on successfully managing their projects instead of worrying about software or hardware installations. It is essentially collaborative as it allows all users to access information and knowledge anytime, anywhere – not only within a single organization but also facilitates secure collaboration with partners and customers.

Clarizen is certainly taking the lead in its ease of use and the power it gives team to execute their projects to successful completion.

"[Clarizen] is powerful enough to tackle even complicated SMB projects, but well designed, with a web interface that is second to none. It really looks great when you see it, and it's very intuitive." 

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"Think about using the software, not getting the software ready so that you can use it. Clarizen doesn't require you to install anything, and being on the web, your small team can log-in and start using it right away."

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"Clarizen is a good solution and one of the best examples of the powerful web applications available these days. As a small business your choices aren't limited anymore to affordable, yet rudimentary tools."

Clarizen's purpose is rather profound: make a PM software that employees will not hate. Sounds simple, right? It's not.

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Clarizen approaches this problem smartly, incorporating a wiki-like feature that allows a community of workers to easily edit and advance the same project, with various levels of privileges, and observe their progress on a cool graphical timeline.

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You can even email the system to make changes, just like you'd email your intern to pawn off some work. It doesn't get any more economical than that.

Clarizen has built an impressive feature-packed application to make even the most convoluted projects seem streamlined.

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[Clarizen] has clearly devoted substantial time and effort to building a smart, full-featured product. Further kudos to Clarizen for not attempting to charm the blogosphere with free accounts. Its software is a sophisticated project management solution that merits a price tag.

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With 45 employees, over 100 design partners participating in the development process, and funding from stalwart Benchmark Capital, the road ahead looks promising.

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Read the Guidewire report on Clarizen