An excerpt of an interesting article I came across written by Curt Finch, CEO of Journyx



According to a recent article in a leading technology magazine, the demand for project and portfolio management (PPM) solutions is rising in response to the weakened economy.  Many businesses are choosing to implement PPM solutions in order to “identify which IT projects are mission critical and to help them execute those projects as efficiently as possible.”   These customers have also found that PPM solutions offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS) are both more affordable and easier to deploy than traditional ones.



One of the problems many businesses face when choosing a PPM solution is wading through all of the functionality of complex solutions.  It can be difficult to understand what functionality a business needs, as well as how to strike the right balance without paying for things that are not needed.  When it comes to project portfolio management, most companies have two basic needs: to understand costs and profitability on a per-person, per-project basis, and to know who is going to work on which projects for the next few months.  This means that resource allocation and project status, cost and time tracking should be at the top of any PPM shopper's list.



Project portfolio management solutions are critical to organizations that manage many projects and people.  Choosing the right solution, however, can be challenging, but there are some key criteria that businesses should focus on during the selection process.



1.  How Much Does It Cost?



This is one of the first questions that any buyer asks.  What is the cost of the solution?  Do I have the budget for it?  Extremely large organizations might not worry so much about the cost of a PPM solution, but for companies in the mid-market, a high total cost of ownership can be a deal-breaker.  For this reason, it is important to compare vendor prices and offerings when looking at solutions.  Larger PPM vendors have high entry costs and it may take a considerable amount of time to see a return on investment of such costly solutions. What many organizations do not realize is that there are also strong vendors emerging in the market with competitive pricing on project portfolio management solutions.  It is worth a company's time to do its homework on all competitors in the marketplace before making a final decision.



2.  How Long Will It Take to Implement?



Often, organizations looking to purchase a PPM solution do not realize that they might spend one to two years waiting for it to be fully implemented.  This means that the financial investment you are making right now will probably not bring in an ROI for a very long time.  Savvy buyers must press vendors for real answers on what the implementation timeframe will be.  It is also a good idea to ask to speak with other clients about their implementation experiences to ensure that the vendor delivers what is promised during the sales process.