Top 10: Work management software

2018. Work management software provider Asana gets $50M



Asana, a platform utilized by teams and individuals to plan and monitor work projects, has secured an additional $50 million in funding, resulting in a valuation of $1.5 billion. The funding will be allocated towards international expansion and product enhancement. Asana has been actively focusing on global growth, with half of its new sales already originating from outside the United States. The company aims to further extend its product offerings while approaching profitability. As part of its expansion strategy, Asana plans to establish an AWS-based data center in Frankfurt within the first half of the upcoming year. Additionally, it intends to establish a stronger presence in the Asia-Pacific region, with new offices in Sydney and Tokyo, along with ongoing recruitment efforts in both markets. Asana's customer base spans across 195 countries and supports six languages. The company's decision to concentrate on these two regions stems from the significant traction it has observed in those areas.


2014. Project Management app Wrike improves customization options


Work management and collaboration service Wrike has introduced its latest offering, the "dynamic platform," allowing users to customize the service according to their specific needs. With the new Custom Fields feature, each project can be configured to track relevant information such as budgets, priorities, or custom statuses. Whether you belong to Product Development, Marketing, Finance, or any other team, you now have the flexibility to tailor your projects precisely to your requirements. Please note that this feature is exclusively available to Wrike Enterprise customers. Additionally, Wrike has introduced the Table View feature, which functions similar to a spreadsheet, facilitating project planning and organization. Furthermore, Wrike has expanded its integrations by including popular tools like Evernote, Wufoo, Zendesk, and more, enabling seamless connectivity and collaboration across various platforms.

2014. Smartsheet helps companies to visualize their teamwork


The spreadsheet-based project and work management platform, Smartsheet, has introduced new features to enhance companies' understanding of their employees' work processes and provide improved visibility into their operations. The primary objective is to effectively track various projects and the individuals involved within the organization. With the introduction of Smartsheet Account Maps, users can easily identify the key contributors and project leaders within a group, which can be advantageous when requesting a raise. Conversely, it also highlights those who may have limited involvement, which may be less favorable during annual performance evaluations. Additionally, Smartsheet Account Maps enable users to visualize the connections between different groups within the organization. By default, a basic map is made available to all users, facilitating a better understanding of project dynamics and team interactions.


2014. 37Signals renames to Basecamp, discontinues development of other products



37Signals emerged as one of the pioneers in the SaaS market. In 2004, they introduced Basecamp, a project management service that remains highly popular to this day. It boasts a user base of 15 million individuals and is often regarded as a trailblazer in web-app design. Notably, 37Signals CEO, Jason Fried, is widely recognized, and he has authored books such as Getting Real and ReWork. Jason's profound admiration for small businesses and the startup ethos is evident. Despite Basecamp's remarkable success, he has successfully maintained the startup mentality within the company, employing only 43 individuals. Jason even experimented with scaling back the customer base to control growth. Presently, he has conceived a new idea: to pause the development of other products (including the CRM system Highrise, group chat Campfire, task-manager Ta-Da List, wiki Writeboard, and organizer Backpack) and concentrate all efforts on Basecamp. Moreover, he has decided to rename the company from 37Signals to Basecamp, a concise and elegant title. If you are a user of 37Signals products affected by this decision, there is no need to panic. The products will continue to function and receive support in the future, albeit without further feature updates.


2012. Zoho Projects 4.0 - beautiful like Basecamp



Typically, new versions of Zoho services come packed with a plethora of new features, as Indian developers strive to meet their clients' unique requirements. However, in the case of the latest release, Zoho Projects 4.0, the focus has shifted away from introducing new functionalities and towards enhancing design, usability, and speed. This approach is reminiscent of the project management trendsetter, Basecamp, whose best practices Zoho consistently incorporates into its own products. The revamped interface of Zoho Projects is refreshingly simple, aesthetically pleasing, user-friendly, and swift. Similar to the new Basecamp, it emulates a blank sheet of paper on a desktop and employs layered sheet effects. Of particular note is the project activity feed, which features a universal add-item form. This allows users to swiftly and easily add statuses, messages, tasks, and files. In terms of functionality, Zoho Projects remains one of the most robust solutions available. Alongside tasks and projects, it encompasses a bug tracker, time tracker, file storage with document editors, wikis, forums, and chat. Currently, the new interface of Zoho Projects is available alongside the old one, allowing users to select the version they prefer.