OpenProj goes big

"The inflection point has been reached in the adoption of open source software, and Projity is working closely with the industry leaders in accelerating this trend," said Marc O'Brien, CEO of Projity, according to Open Source magazine.

He announced recently that over 25 000 copies of OpenProj - a free, open source replacement of Microsoft Project and other commercial project management software solutions - have been downloaded in the first week since launching.

OpenProj offers an alternative for the 28 million users of Microsoft Project and saves users the

$1 000 licence fee. It is available on Linux, Unix, Mac or Windows.

R Vishvanathan, VP of IT & Innovation at Bharti Telecom, spoke on the need for proper planning and anticipating unforeseen risks at the recently-held Integrated Project Management workshop at the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Delhi, says MBAUniverse.

Vishvanathan spoke about the requirement of defining a project: how a project is planned, how it is reviewed and how information is communicated within a team.

"The session enlightened the students on the importance of proper project planning and management, and how MBAs fit in the project management role in general and the software industry in particular. Overall, it was a great learning experience for wannabe project managers and gave them 'the insider perspective' about the IT industry," said FMS.

ProActive Software's flagship product 'ProWorkflow' has frequently won when compared to, or evaluated, alongside the world's biggest products in the project management software space, according to WebWire.

ProActive Software CEO Julian Stone says ProWorkflow is gaining more sales momentum in the global industry.

"While there are government and private organisations willing to help software companies establish networks and relationships in foreign markets, it should be - and is - possible to build offshore sales through smart use of technology without this assistance," Stone says.

Project management, a key to business growth and development across the globe, is still a naive concept in the Middle East, where only 30% to 40% of companies are aware of the benefits of this basic business tool, compared with 95% in the US, according to MenaFN.com.

Syed Ali Hassan, senior consultant with Collaboration Management and Control Solutions (CMCS), believes that cost effectiveness, efficiency and productivity are directly linked to project management.

"Project management is still a new concept in this part of the world and gradually things are moving in the right direction, as more and more organisations, including the public sector, are implementing the latest tools."