Pros & Cons Microsoft Project Online
You need to handle your projects online, so you’re looking at all of your alternatives, including Microsoft Project online (MS Online). So, how do you make your decision?
If you’ve ever used Microsoft Project, you’re aware of its great planning skills as well as it’s numerous, well… hassles.
For one reason, MPP files are difficult to transfer because they are too huge to send via email and can only be seen if you have MS Project installed (and not many people do.) It’s also fairly costly, and it frequently necessitates utilizing it in conjunction with Microsoft Project Server and/or Sharepoint, which necessitates license renewals, huge installation expenses, and ongoing maintenance and management fees.
Finally, despite the several new MS Project online versions, you will still require additional licenses! Confusing.
What you need is to be able to use the features of MS Project Online, without all its frustrations. In this article, we’ll show you how to do that.
What Is Project Online?
You may be familiar with Microsoft Project, which is now branded as Microsoft Project Professional, but Project Online is a very different beast.
Project Online is a Microsoft Project Plan 3 and Project Plan 5 subscription-based cloud-based project portfolio management (PPM) software built on the Microsoft Sharepoint platform. Project Online should not be confused with Microsoft Project Professional, Project Server, Project for the Web, or the Project Online desktop client.
Is Project Online the Same as Microsoft Project?
Project Online is a stand-alone service with fewer features than the desktop-based Microsoft Project Professional. MS Online and Project for the Web, both online solutions, lack some of the features that Project Professional possesses.
Is MS Project online Free?
It is not possible to use MS Project Online for free. To have a fully working Project Online, you’ll need to pay an annual commitment of $55 per user/month, as well as numerous additional separate Microsoft product subscriptions.
Is Project Online Included in Office 365?
Office 365 doesn’t include any online or desktop version of Microsoft Project. You’ll need to pay for a subscription to use MS Online.
Pros and Cons of MS Online
The online tool is quite strong, and it’s an excellent choice for organizations that already use Microsoft products like Microsoft Teams, MS Project Server, Microsoft Planner, and Sharepoint. Adding a little fee for online updates to their desktop tools is a great way for these teams to get their Microsoft Project plans online. Project Online, on the other hand, has significant flaws.
To begin, Project Online’s biggest disadvantage is that you should purchase a variety of add-ons and licenses separately in order to enjoy all of its features. You’ll need Power BI, Microsoft Teams, Power Apps, and Azure Boards, for example. Because the file sizes are so large, you’ll also require Sharepoint integrations, which is a file-sharing portal for all Microsoft files.
Your team members will also need Project Online Essentials or a Project Plan 1 subscription to conduct a few basic Project Online features like submitting timesheets and changing tasks if you wish to use Project Online to manage your projects.
As you can see, there are a lot of different plans and pricing structures from which to choose. There are a variety of products to choose from. Do you require MS Project Online with Project Pro for Office 365 or Project Server, or simply Planner, another Office add-on?
On top of all that, you may have a Mac computer, which just doesn’t seem to be compatible with any version of MS Project online.
MS Project Online for Mac
If you went to Microsoft’s website, you’d think there are no Mac alternatives. It’s as if they’ve imagined a world without Apple and are hoping that we’ll accept their story despite the fact that we or our team may be utilizing an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook.
As much as Microsoft would like to think of itself as a monolith dominating the world of computers, it’s not. Projects are complicated and often have various teams, including IT, designers, graphic people and more. Some use Windows PCs, others Macs. What’s needed is a bridge software that can carry the work seamlessly between teams.