Project Server

UMT360 Blog

Gartner® 2018 Magic Quadrant™ for IIPA Recognizes UMT360 as a Visionary

For the seventh consecutive year, UMT360 is once again recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Integrated IT Portfolio Analysis Applications (IIPA). In its 2018 report, Gartner recognizes UMT360 for its completeness of vision and ability to execute. The full report can be found here (Gartner subscription required). According to the Gartner report: ...

UMT360 Named A Visionary In Gartner® 2017 Magic Quadrant™ for IIPA

UMT360 has once again been recognized as a Visionary in Gartner’s 2017 Magic Quadrant for Integrated IT Portfolio Analysis Applications (IIPA). This is the sixth consecutive year that UMT360 has been recognized by Gartner for its completeness of vision and ability to execute. The full report can be found here (Gartner subscription required). According to ...

Using Dependencies & Validations for Project Online/Server Fields

I was recently teaching a class for UMT360 Administrators, and as I was covering the feature Dependencies and Validations for Project Server Fields, one of my students in the class exclaimed in a eureka moment, “I didn’t know we could do that!” So I thought, maybe others who are not aware of what their UMT360 ...

Microsoft Project Online: Display People Pickers using Javascript

I’ve heard of lots of folks having issues displaying a People Picker in a Project Server web part. Well, good news, there’s a fix that I found recently in this article by James Boman, Use SharePoint people pickers on Project Server or Online PDPs. The trick is using a JavaScript code snippet that allows you ...

New Pricing & Options For Microsoft PPM Cloud

Microsoft recently announced new pricing for its Project Cloud PPM platform. As with any pricing change, how this new plan may impact your organization depends on your particular situation. Let’s first take a look at the facts, which will help provide a clearer idea of what it could mean to you. All current available plans will eventually ...

Microsoft PPM Platforms: The Fact And The Fiction

“Decades-old fables about Microsoft Project’s lack of capabilities bear little resemblance to today’s reality.” We’ve all heard the age-old myths about the moon being made of cheese or fantastic creatures patrolling murky depths or hairy giants haunting the Pacific Northwest. With experience comes the wisdom to recognize which is truth and which isn’t. Yet, some of us do still ...

Looking to do more in 2016?

The end of the year is a time to connect with loved ones, celebrate the holidays, and make resolutions for the New Year. For PMO leaders, it’s also the perfect time to take a step back and assess the effectiveness of the processes you use to manage project and program investments, while also assessing their ...

Is Robust Benefits Realization Finally In Reach?

Part 5 in a series on how to extend the value of Microsoft Project Online & Project Server…By now we know how important good business cases are to ensuring good project and program selection. A business case helps the organization determine the relative value of investments, and are also used to evaluate and prioritize competing initiatives. But ...

Creating A Dynamic Planning Framework & Taking Corrective Action

Part 4 in a series on how to extend the value of Microsoft Project Online & Project Server…OK, so we’ve seen how to easy it is to integrate financials into our PPM process. We’ve recognized the importance of building robust business cases. We’ve realized that time wasted on manual reporting can be spent on more strategic activities. ...

It’s Time To Automate Status Reporting & Variance Analysis

Part 3 in a series on how to extend the value of Microsoft Project Online & Project Server…One the banes of today’s Project Management professionals is status reporting. It’s an important component of any PPM process. But it’s often a logistical nightmare that typically involves manual processes that suck valuable time away from more strategic activities. Data ...

Better Portfolios Begin with Better Business Cases

Part 2 in a series on how to extend the value of Microsoft Project Online & Project Server…An organization’s portfolio of projects is really a collection of strategic investments. And these investments are of course made with the expectation that they will drive better business results. Too often, not enough is done on the front-end of the ...

Why It’s Important To Integrate Investment Planning & Controls

Part 1 in a series on how to extend the value of Microsoft Project Online & Project Server… The growing pressures on today’s PMO require that they deliver more than just strong tactical project management skills. To support these strategic demands, project management professionals need increased visibility. They need direct access to information that helps guide better ...

The Winds of Digital Change Are Howling

This year’s Gartner PPM Summit was held just outside of Dallas, TX, in early June. One of the highlights of the event was the standing room-only presentation by UMT360 client Frank LaRocca about how PMOs need to adjust their methods to adapt to a changing business environment. The wild local weather that passed through the area just ...

It’s time for the PMO to focus on the big picture

No, the UMT360 team didn’t come up with the theme for this year’s Gartner PPM & IT Governance Summit. But we certainly could have. Because from our perspective, the event’s theme — Thriving on Digital Chaos: Innovation, Agility and Collaboration — sounds exactly like what we’ve been telling our clients for years now. It’s time for an Enterprise PMO. We’ve long ...

Managing Investments – That’s Your Real Project!

We met a lot of folks at the Microsoft Ignite Conference in Chicago last week. And while everyone we spoke with had unique and specific challenges, one common thread ran through our conversations. Most organizations we spoke with used Microsoft Project Online or Project Server as their PPM tool, yet still wanted a more efficient and effective way to manage their projects. ...

Things Will Be Heating Up At Ignite Next Week!

Close to 20,000 people will gather in Chicago for Microsoft Ignite during the first week of May. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there, but we’re particularly interested in connecting with anyone who manages or depends on Microsoft Project Online and Project Server. If that sounds like you, and you’re planning on attending Ignite, please ...

Calling All Strategic PMOs (And Those Looking to Become One)

Back in July, we ran a successful webinar discussing what it takes to create a strategic PMO. The webcast, led by Carl Souchereau, formerly of TransAlta and now Project Director at SNC Lavalin, provided practical advice around mastering the important yet tactical aspects of project management as well as taking strategic responsibility for managing the ...

The Power of Regular Portfolio Reviews and Dynamic Reallocation

During a recent UMT360 webinar covering How to Become a Strategic PMO (see archive here), we found that only 1% have regular dynamic reallocation reviews via automated processes. Another 39% have regular reviews, but require manual, time-intensive efforts to collect and standardize data. UMT360’s message to PPM practitioners is that this is their opportunity to take ...

What is Portfolio Management?

Ask ten people to define portfolio management and you’ll likely receive ten different answers. Of the various definitions, most will focus on some sort of aggregate reporting across portfolios or highlight alignment of spend with strategic priorities and selecting the optimal project portfolio under varying budget constraints. I believe firmly that neither definition aptly describes ...

UMT360 Named Microsoft 2014 Partner of the Year Finalist

UMT360 is pleased to be named a finalist in Microsoft’s 2014 Partner of the Year Awards which celebrate top Microsoft partners that solve customer challenges with creative technology solutions.  Microsoft received more than 3200 nominations for the 46 awards.  UMT360 has been named either a winner or finalist in the Partner of the Year Awards ...

UMT360 Seamlessly Extends Project Server

Built on SharePoint, UMT360 is the only Enterprise Portfolio Management solution offering seamless integration with Project Server. Our customers who also use Project Server have found that UMT360 is helping them get more from their PPM. “We wanted one source of information; we wanted a common language; we wanted to be global; and we wanted ...

Adopting a Dual Investment System

When it comes to aligning investments with company strategy, organizations need to take a hard look at their existing system for managing investments.  The current business operating system includes products and services, and capabilities such as processes and assets.  What’s needed is an additional investment system capable of addressing both rapid change and challenges created ...

UMT360 Provides a Better View of Project Financials

Fortune 500 manufacturer of agricultural and farming equipment, AGCO, was having trouble base-lining their portfolio every year. The issues associated with identifying just what they had in their portfolio sent the company in search of an enterprise PPM solution. For portfolio management, they had been relying on what amounted to an Excel dump of the ...

What’s Driving Benefits Realization?

Today’s businesses are moving away from a focus on measuring project results and towards a focus on business benefits.  Senior managers want to know how investments align with business metrics and will impact the business.   There’s a lot of discussion about organizations instituting benefits realization tools to ensure investments deliver real business value.   As organizations ...

Three Hurdles to Benefits Realization

A recent UMT360 webinar on Project and Portfolio Financial Controls for Project Server included discussion of the need for a benefits realization framework.  It’s a topic of intense interest as businesses focus on getting the most out of their investments. Executives want to be assured that they’re getting 100% of the benefits promised and that ...

Project & Portfolio Financial Controls for Microsoft Project Server

In March, UMT360’s Chief Product and Marketing Officer Ben Chamberlain presented a webinar showing Project Server customers how UMT360 can help them gain complete financial intelligence across their project portfolios and increase ROI.   Ben discussed how UMT360 helps eliminate the need for Excel and standardizes investment governance controls across the PPM lifecycle, streamlines capital planning, ...

PPM in 2014 is All about Value

When looking at PPM in 2014, there is one dominant trend – a focus on value.  Speaking at the recent Microsoft Project Conference in Anaheim, Gartner Analyst Donna Fitzgerald told a standing room only crowd that what clients are doing today, simply isn’t good enough.  Improvement depends on an ability to deliver value. Fitzgerald used ...

Save the Date – Upcoming UMT360 Webinars on Getting More Value from Your Portfolio

Registration has just opened for two upcoming UMT360 webinars.  Register today and learn how to deliver more value for your organization. March 18th – Rationalize and Get More Business Value from Your Applications Ben Chamberlain discusses how UMT360 helps businesses rationalize operational costs and modernize their portfolios of they have the agility to successfully meet changing ...

The Evolution of Portfolio Analytics

UMT360 CEO Mike Gruia talked a bit about the history of UMT360 when he introduced Gartner’s Donna Fitzgerald recently at the Microsoft Project Conference in Anaheim.  Below is his introduction during which he discussed UMT’s history in the evolution of portfolio analytics. I’ve been fortunate to be involved with portfolio topics for the last 20 ...

Microsoft Project Server & UMT360

The  Director of Development for Microsoft’s Project Server Ludovic Hauduc was in the UMT360 offices recently and took a moment to talk about UMT360 as a Microsoft Partner and how our product is helping Project Server customers get more value from their PPM investment.  UMT360 is the only Enterprise Portfolio Management solution built on SharePoint ...

Talking Benefits Realization at the Microsoft Project Conference

In a packed session in this week’s 2014 Microsoft Project Conference in Anaheim, UMT360’s Chief Product and Marketing Officer Ben Chamberlain talked about the importance of benefits realization software and how UMT360 is helping organizations better achieve that. Industry analysts agree that there’s an issue with organizations not realizing benefits from their investments – PPM ...

Reflecting on Microsoft’s 2006 Acquisition of UMT Innovation

The UMT360 team is enjoying a great first day at the Microsoft Project Conference in Anaheim, CA.  An energetic response to this morning’s keynote presentations from the GM for Microsoft Office Jared Spataro and the Director of Development for Project Server Ludovic Hauduc. Among highlights, talk about how these are days of rapid innovation and it’s ...

UMT360 Gives Utility Financial Intelligence

Con Edison’s Director of Financial Governance Frank La Rocca is using Microsoft Project Server and UMT360 to provide financial intelligence across the company’s $2 billion portfolio.    He discussed how UMT360 is helping him optimize the capital spend and drive results during the Microsoft Project Conference in Anaheim earlier this year. He also shared his governance ...

How UMT360 Helps AGCO Capture & Track Financials

When it came time to look at ways to manage its project portfolio including a comprehensive financial lifecycle, American agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO decided to go with Microsoft Project Server and UMT.  The company’s Director of the Global Portfolio Management Office Sudanese Spence will discuss the roadmap she used to select those solutions to implement ...

It’s time to venture beyond PPM!

UMT360 is gearing up for the Microsoft Project Conference early next month in Anaheim.  Among the most anticipated UMT360 presentations is a discussion about organizations making the move from PPM to Enterprise Portfolio Management. UMT360 Chief Product and Marketing Officer Ben Chamberlain and UMT360 President Catalin Olteanu will show how UMT360 is helping our customers ...

UMT360 for Project Server Data Sheet Now Available

Built on the Microsoft SharePoint Server, UMT360 helps companies get more value from their Project Server investments.  It helps companies digitalize investment planning and controls to gain complete financial transparency across their project and program portfolios.  Check out the new UMT360 Data Sheet  – Project and Portfolio Financial Intelligence for Microsoft Project Server.  If you ...

UMT Positioned as Visionary in Gartner® IIPA Magic Quadrant™

UMT has been positioned as a Visionary in Gartner’s newly released 2013 Integrated IT Portfolio Analysis (IIPA) Magic Quadrant.  Visionaries are described as demonstrating a strong vision for innovative thinking around holistic, configurable IT portfolio management. UMT360 CEO Mike Gruia said, “we are pleased to be recognized in this report as we have worked to ...

Release Announcement: UMT360

We’re thrilled to announce the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) and General Availability (GA) of UMT 360, the latest iteration of our flagship product offering. UMT360 is the culmination of 5+ years of development that saw UMT’s product offering evolving from a financial add-on to Project Server (UMT Project Financial Server), to a comprehensive financial governance ...