Clarity vs Microsoft Project

August 10, 2023 | Author: Adam Levine
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Clarity
Speed up your digital transformation with Clarity, the leading investment-planning solution for the enterprise. Instead of traditional project management, we help you transition to digital product management, where you manage value streams to counter market disruptions, maximize enterprise resources, and pivot with fluctuating customer demands.
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Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is a project management software program developed and sold by Microsoft which is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads. The application creates critical path schedules, and critical chain and event chain methodology third-party add-ons are also available. Schedules can be resource leveled, and chains are visualized in a Gantt chart.
Clarity and Microsoft Project are both project management software tools that help organizations plan, track, and manage their projects effectively, but they have distinct differences in terms of features, complexity, and target audience.

Clarity is a user-friendly and intuitive project management tool that offers simplified project planning, task management, and collaboration features. It focuses on providing a clear overview of project timelines, tasks, and resources, making it suitable for small to mid-sized teams or individuals who need a straightforward project management solution. Clarity emphasizes simplicity and ease of use, making it accessible to users with varying levels of project management expertise.

Microsoft Project, on the other hand, is a comprehensive and powerful project management tool designed for complex projects and enterprise-level organizations. It offers advanced features for project scheduling, resource management, budgeting, and reporting. Microsoft Project provides a rich set of functionalities and customization options, making it ideal for large-scale projects, multi-team collaborations, and organizations that require in-depth project planning and analysis.

See also: Top 10 Project Portfolio Management software
Clarity vs Microsoft Project in our news:

2021. Clarity 15.9 improves UX and external content integration



As part of an ongoing partnership with Broadcom, CA has introduced Clarity 15.9 for both on-premise and SaaS customers. This latest release builds upon the added value that the new user experience (UX) brings to our esteemed customers. With this new version, users can now utilize channels to seamlessly incorporate external content, such as Power BI, into their investment views. Channels enable the embedding of content from external sources, including external sites, applications, or Classic PPM context-sensitive investment reports, directly within Clarity. Users can interact with the embedded content and make well-informed business decisions without having to navigate away from Clarity. Additionally, this update includes various enhancements, such as the ability to approve or return multiple timesheets in bulk, improvements to custom objects via API, the addition of Goal attributes to Roadmap Items, and the ability to view the Goal for each investment. In the Staff module, users can now view actuals, estimate to complete, usage, remaining allocation, and remaining availability as time-scaled values. The inclusion of Days as a metric in the staffing overview further enhances the functionality of Resource Management, making it a valuable addition to the platform.


2019. Microsoft Project becomes user-friendly


Microsoft Project may be renowned as the most famous and legendary project management software, but it can hardly be described as simple and user-friendly, especially when compared to many of the new cloud services available, such as Asana, Basecamp, Trello, or Wrike. Recognizing this, Microsoft has undertaken a massive redesign of the system. As you can observe in the presentation video, the focus is on simplicity, aiming for a user experience so intuitive that even a child could navigate it. However, the developers have also successfully incorporated several new features, including a kanban board, resource management, budget analysis, and time and expense tracking. Furthermore, Microsoft Project is now available as a subscription service, with a cost of $10 per month per user.


2018. Broadcom acquires CA Technologies for $18.9B



Semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom has reached an agreement to acquire CA Technologies for $18.9 billion. The acquisition of CA Technologies, a renowned provider of cloud-based and traditional enterprise software, presents an opportunity for Broadcom to diversify its business offerings. CA Technologies is globally recognized as a leader in mainframe and enterprise software, delivering solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to develop, manage, and secure complex IT environments, ultimately driving productivity and competitiveness. With a strong focus on business-to-business (B2B) software, CA Technologies offers a comprehensive product portfolio that includes project portfolio management (Clarity), Agile software development, DevOps, and computer security software. These solutions cater to various technology landscapes, including mainframe, distributed computing, cloud computing, and mobile devices. Operating in 40 countries, CA Technologies boasts an extensive patent portfolio, currently holding over 1,500 patents worldwide with more than 950 patents pending.


2016. Microsoft unveiles Project Server 2016, inpired by Cloud



Microsoft has made an announcement regarding the general availability of Project Server 2016, a solution that brings significant project and portfolio management (PPM) benefits to our on-premises customers. According to Microsoft, Project Server is engineered to perform and scale just like their cloud service, as it is built using the same underlying code. In terms of functionality, the release of Project Server 2016 shares many similarities with its 2013 predecessor. However, it introduces enhancements in resource management, such as the inclusion of resource engagements with heat map displays, and improves the transparency between project planning and line planning. Additionally, the Resource Plan feature has been removed from the Project Web App interface, as it is now integrated into Microsoft Project 2016. Microsoft has also introduced a content pack for Power BI Dashboards, which seamlessly integrates with their cloud-based Project Online offering.


2012. Microsoft Project and SharePoint will join Office 365



Together with SharePoint 2013 (probably in early 2013) Microsoft will release its project management system Microsoft Project 2013. These two systems have become inseparable, because SharePoint is used as a collaboration layer under the administrative component of MS Project. With the new version, this integration will become even tighter. You'll be able to start a new project by creating a simple page with a task list and calendar in SharePoint, and only when you need more close control over the project you'll be able to turn on this project management in the MS Project. But of course, the main news about Project 2013 is appearance of the online version Project Online, that will be available in the Office 365 cloud. And, (like in case with new SharePoint Online), developers will be able to create their own add-ons and even sell them via Office marketplace. ***


2009. Project 2010 to become a part of Sharepoint



Today at the MS Project Conference in Phoenix Microsoft previewed the next generation of its project management system MS Project 2010. And the new version is quite interesting. It's generally known, that the main lack of MS Project is that it's not suitable for collaboration. Common users never understood its interface, and it never provided collaborative tools. Microsoft fixed this problem in its own way. First, MS Project will work only on top of SharePoint 2010 Server and will be integrated in it. So users will be able to create a project site (with Gantt Chart and task list) and easily share it in Sharepoint. Second, Project 2010 will be connected to Exchange Server and all the project tasks will be available in Outlook, Outlook Web Access and Outlook Exchange for Mobile. ***


2008. CA launches SaaS project portfolio management suite

CA has introduced on-demand versions of its Clarity Project and Portfolio Manager (PPM), Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Manager, and Instant Recovery tools, which are all immediately available. Jules Ehrlich, the general manager at CA's On Demand division, highlighted the key advantages of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): rapid and straightforward deployment, an appealing financial model, and seamless upgrades. While Clarity PPM On Demand has been accessible to customers since April, its official announcement took place during the recent show. The Chicago Department of Health is an early adopter of Clarity PPM On Demand. Pricing for Clarity PPM On Demand starts at $18 (£12) per user, with variations based on the number of users and contract duration. According to Ehrlich, the price can increase up to $100 per user, with more favorable deals available for longer-term commitments. On the other hand, GRC Manager On Demand is priced at $500 per user. Clarity PPM supports user counts ranging from 50 to 50,000, providing flexibility to organizations of various sizes.

Author: Adam Levine
Adam is an expert in project management, collaboration and productivity technologies, team management, and motivation. With an extensive background working at prestigious companies such as Microsoft and Accenture, Adam's in-depth knowledge and experience in the field make him a sought-after professional. Currently, he has ventured into entrepreneurship, owning a thriving consulting and training agency where he imparts invaluable insights and practical strategies to individuals and organizations, empowering them to achieve their goals and maximize their potential. You can contact Adam via email adam@liventerprise.com