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Microsoft Project Server vs Planview AdaptiveWork comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (4th)
Planview AdaptiveWork
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (18th)
 

Featured Reviews

Sean Achim - PeerSpot reviewer
Unlock comprehensive reporting and management with robust data extraction
The major advantage for me in using Microsoft Project Server is the SQL Server component. Using Power BI and SQL Server, I can extract a lot more data. The combination of Microsoft Project with Project Server and SharePoint provides a perfect solution for me. This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
VishalSingh11 - PeerSpot reviewer
Has resources management and timesheets but could be more flexible
Compared to Broadcom Clarity, there was some flexibility with blueprints, etc. You can create a blueprint for different business groups or different customers. Planview AdaptiveWork doesn't have something like that. If they can build up something like a view price. It's still a traditional way where you have to create different instances for different customers. The PPM solution uses queries if I'm rolling out for different divisions. In that case, I have to create different instances for each region because each division may have a different look and feel. But if I have a blueprint, then it's very convenient. I can create multiple interfaces for different processes. Broadcom Clarity has some access control on those viewpoints.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Technical support is good."
"The key things are managing interactions, resource allocation, resource-leveling (enterprise) and as a collaborative tool, because we use it across multiple projects at a time."
"The most valuable feature of the Microsoft Project Server is the level of detail with which I can break down a task and check the dependencies."
"A single place for all our organisation's project records."
"The technical support for Microsoft Project Server and the support is very good. Microsoft support is working very well."
"This is a scalable solution. It is easy to set up and to add clusters to your environment."
"SharePoint site integration"
"The stability of the 2019 version is quite good."
"Clarizen Slide Publisher has helped increase transparency and communication with project stakeholders for us."
"Clarizen's strength is reporting. Aside from reporting, I also like the ability to create customized workflow and custom actions. The workflow rules are handy. For example, you can create custom fields and dependent picklists."
"I like the project management solution. It's really nice."
"The feature that has improved our project planning the most is the ability to create custom workflows, which allows us to automate manual tasks that project managers need to perform. The collaboration feature enhances our team's productivity by allowing individuals to see the impact of their decisions on projects owned and managed by other teams."
 

Cons

"It appears that Microsoft's primary goal is to migrate as much functionality as possible from the legacy on-premises Microsoft Project Server to the new cloud-based Power Apps solution."
"It is not updated in real-time. Sometimes it, therefore, is not accurate."
"Stability of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Collaboration within the tool is lacking when you compare it to online or cloud-based tools."
"We are on the on-prem version. The cloud, however, gives more regular updates that we can take advantage of."
"When a lot of users logged onto the site, it took a big toll on the service. Therefore, there is a scalability issue."
"Work needs to be done on collaboration with SharePoint."
"We think that calculations are not working correctly, and there is a need to enter data a couple of times in order to give the correct calculations."
"If I start customizing too many things, Clarizen tends to get really slow in our environment and especially if I'm tunneled in an environment, like if I'm connected to my VPN."
"One specific area for improvement could be implementing a development environment to test workflows with live production data."
"I felt like the slide publisher isn't that user-friendly. I think it wasn't that easy to use or to figure out because of formatting constraints, or maybe we need to get better at understanding some of its limitations."
"It could be more user-friendly. I think it is too overwhelming, initially, in terms of possibilities and so on."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A standard license is cheaper, but if you want more features, then there is a premium license or professional license."
"I would rate the price a six out of ten."
"There are some payments related to the licensing cost of Microsoft Project Server."
"The product is expensive."
"There is a licensing cost."
"I'm not quite sure about the licensing costs. We're probably paying somewhere in the neighborhood of about 80,000 to 90,000 a year for our current on-prem because we handle our own licensing. As far as Project Online is concerned, we're still trying to get a good handle on that. It looks like it is going to be in a neighborhood of about 120,000 to 150,000 a year, but we're getting a lot more capability out of it."
"I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses."
"I rate the pricing a one out of ten because the price is way too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
49%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?
The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs, but it is mainly accessible to project managers. Online tools are cheaper and present competition.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
The main drawback of Microsoft Project Server is that it is offline. Having it online would offer better access to other managers.
What do you like most about Planview AdaptiveWork?
The feature that has improved our project planning the most is the ability to create custom workflows, which allows us to automate manual tasks that project managers need to perform. The collaborat...
What needs improvement with Planview AdaptiveWork?
One specific area for improvement could be implementing a development environment to test workflows with live production data.
What advice do you have for others considering Planview AdaptiveWork?
Integration with other tools can sometimes be a hiccup, but this isn't necessarily a limitation of Planview AdaptiveWork. It's more often a result of company policies regarding integration with oth...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
Planview Clarizen
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Cisco Capital, JLL, Conagra Brands, Cargill, JLL, IBM, IIROC, Siemens Energy
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Planview AdaptiveWork and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.