June 1, 2009
There’s a lot of buzz about Project 2010 because it includes some great features that improve ease of use and extend web-based capabilities. There are some good reasons to start planning your migration strategy now. Project Server 2003 users in particular, can realize substantial savings by first migrating to Project Server 2007. For example, customers that buy 2007 licenses with Subscription Advantage now will not need to purchase SharePoint Server (MOSS) licenses when they later move to 2010 (which requires MOSS).
In migrating from Project Server 2003 to 2007, it is best to test and tune the migrated 2007 environment on separate servers before moving off of 2003 production. Many customers use hosting for this. They keep their onsite 2003 environment going while testing a hosted, migrated 2007 environment. When the new environment is ready, they redirect their users to the hosted environment. So the changeover is instantaneous with minimal disruption to end users.
Our customers tell us that hosting made a huge difference in the speed and simplicity of their migration – days instead of months. They like the fact that our staff has done scores of previous migrations, so they know the best practices. And they like the fact that with our month-to-month contracts, they can start with an onsite deployment, use hosting for migration, then return to an onsite environment at any time.
If you’re using Project, it’s time to plan your next move. And, if you’re not using Project Server, check it out here (you can try it for free ).
Other interesting links:
A guide for 2003 to 2007 migration
An invitation to participate in the 2010 Airlift at the 2009 Project Conference in September
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Microsoft Enterprise Project Management | 
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Posted by projecthosts
May 22, 2009
I’ve been fielding a number of questions from our customers about this SharePoint SP2 bug because it can affect Project Server users, but hasn’t been completely explained in the postings to date.
I have had good news for Project Hosts customers …
Because we do not deploy either Service Packs OR hot fixes without thorough testing, we normally know about any bug like this well before it comes anywhere near production. If necessary, we implement workarounds that mask the problem from our users (such as the one mentioned in this Project support blog). As I write this, we’re monitoring the issue while testing SP2 and the workaround, but we don’t expect any disruption for our users.
Below is the statement from the blog of SharePoint Corporate VP Jeff Teper:
During the installation of SP2, a product expiration date is improperly activated. This means SharePoint will expire as though it was a trial installation 180 days after SP2 is deployed. The activation of the expiration date will not affect the normal function of SharePoint up until the expiration date passes. Furthermore, product expiration 180 days after SP2 installation will not affect customer’s data, configuration or application code but will render SharePoint inaccessible for end-users.
We are working to release a hotfix to automatically fix this issue. A manual work-around is currently available and involves customers re-entering their Product ID number (PID) on the Convert License Type page in Central Administration. For more information and detailed steps please read the KB article [that will be published by Sunday, May 24] at KB Article.
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Microsoft Enterprise Project Management | 
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Posted by projecthosts
May 19, 2009
An awful lot of project managers – the vast majority in my experience – started with Excel then turned to Microsoft Project. Although Excel is a great spreadsheet, it just doesn’t measure up as a professional project management tool (see video). In fact, Project has grown so popular in the last decade that even small teams and individuals have started using it.
The funny part is that most Project users are still using Excel to share project status. That’s because everyone in the organization has Excel, but not many people have Project. But sharing project information using Excel is a pain. Why? First, it means that project managers have to regularly export their projects and either email them around or post them on a central document site. Second, to see any information across projects, someone has to roll up these updates, which means they are almost always lowest-common-denominator and almost never real-time. And third, project stakeholders (or clients) invariably want to drill down to get more information – this takes time to compile, and the delayed reporting makes it difficult to spot trouble ahead.
Microsoft Project Server has great features that make sharing visibility and status – as well as documents – easy for anyone involved with the project. It’s web-based (like OWA) allowing project stakeholders and clients to see real-time project information, cross-project roll-ups, and drill-down details. Of course, we can host Project Server, but you can try it for free for 30 days and see for yourself how much richer and easier it is than Excel.
Are you using Excel to share project status? What is your experience?
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Microsoft EPM 2007, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management 2007, Microsoft Project 2007, Microsoft Project Professional 2007, Microsoft Project Server 2007 | 
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Posted by projecthosts
September 15, 2008
We are pleased to continue our string of seven consecutive quarters of growth with a strong third quarter. We have increased the number of our active hosted Microsoft EPM customers for each of the past seven quarters while the total number has grown over 100% since the beginning of 2007. We have provided hosted Microsoft EPM, CRM and MOSS services to hundreds of organizations worldwide, serving more than 20,000 users while creating a network of nearly 100 Microsoft EPM partners who resell or use our hosted EPM services.
“We’re excited about our seventh consecutive period of quarter over quarter growth. Customers are increasingly recognizing the value of our hosted EPM services and the advantages versus onsite deployment. Our strong and growing partner network is a testament to the benefit Microsoft partners recognize in our services as well,” says Scott Chapman, president of Project Hosts.
Leave a Comment » | Microsoft EPM 2007, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management 2007, Microsoft Project Portfolio Server 2007, Microsoft Project Server 2007 | Permalink
Posted by projecthosts
August 18, 2008
Project Hosts was pleased to partner with Projility on a recent webcast titled “Project Server Reporting”. The presentation focused on applications of the Microsoft EPM solution for the federal government. It also included a discussion of on demand Microsoft EPM and Project Hosts’ capabilities. To view the webcast now, click here and use the following login information:
Recording ID: KZ5ZH9
Attendee Key: cx7>2Tn\s
Leave a Comment » | Microsoft EPM 2007, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management, Microsoft Enterprise Project Management 2007, Microsoft Project 2007, Microsoft Project Portfolio Server 2007, Microsoft Project Server 2007 | Permalink
Posted by projecthosts
August 4, 2008
Microsoft recently released a new case study on one of our customers: MEDSEEK.
MEDSEEK uses hosted EPM services from Project Hosts to supply web portal and collaboration solutions to over 600 healthcare organizations nationwide. View the case study on the Microsoft web site by clicking here.
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Posted by projecthosts
June 23, 2008
Project Hosts will participate in a webcast on July 15, 2008 organized by Projility entitled “Improved Project Reporting with Microsoft Project Server”. Projility describes the event as follows:
In this highly-educational webcast, Microsoft partners Projility and Project Hosts will provide an overview of the Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) 2007 solution, and discuss how it can be used as a platform for improving project planning, collaboration, and management reporting.’
Project Hosts will discuss the benefits, service options, and market growth of on demand Microsoft Enterprise Project Management (EPM) solutions.
To learn more or to register for this webcast now, click here.
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Posted by projecthosts
