Microsoft Project 2002 extends into the enterprise arena

Today`s business executives face tight economic times and they want a better grasp of what`s driving costs throughout an organisation. Project 2002, due for release later this year, raises the bar on collaboration and extends Microsoft project management technology into the enterprise arena.

This software gives businesses insight into how resources are being used and provides the modelling tools needed for `what-if` analysis so they can understand the best way to deploy resources across various projects.

"We`re introducing a family of products with Project 2002 including a powerful new server product called Microsoft Project Server 2002," explains Tracy McKinon, product marketing manager at Microsoft South Africa.

"By introducing a server product we`re enabling customers to manage a single, central pool of resources across all the projects in their enterprise. Now that Microsoft`s core platform products such as Windows Servers and Microsoft SQL server have evolved into enterprise platforms we wanted to capitalise on those platforms to build the next generation of project management solutions that customers demand for the enterprise."

The new portfolio modelling tools of Microsoft Project Server make it easier for executives or key stakeholders to look across all their projects and check status, track costs and model how they can rebalance resources to more effectively deliver on their top priorities.

"Microsoft developed a family of products to provide customers with the flexibility to pick the right set of functionality for their specific needs and because Project 2002 is to be a key part of complex enterprise solutions, we needed to provide more than a one-size-fits-all approach," says McKinon.

Project 2002 will enable companies to make project management a critical business application across their enterprise as the product`s enterprise capabilities combined with a value-based pricing model will make enterprise project management more affordable.