ValleySpeak Project Server Cost

Advantages
The Affordable Way to Give Your Team Access to Microsoft Project Schedule Details.

Introduction
Using Microsoft Project in a group environment is a challenge. Every user must install the
software onto his/her machine in order to view or change the schedule details, which
becomes very expensive. Additionally, Microsoft Project is a complicated application that
requires training in order to install and use efficiently.
Some teams try to circumvent this by sending around Excel files to gather status updates or
sending PDF files to communicate the schedule. These approaches have their own unique
challenges: the project manager ends up having to integrate multiple changes back into the
schedule manually and the team members are often unsure about whether they are using
the most current version of the project schedule.
The other option is to purchase and install the Microsoft Project Server software. Microsoft
Project Server is complicated to install and use, expensive and generally too high end for
many workgroups. Though feature rich, it is an enterprise software product that requires a
large commitment in order to implement appropriately.
All of these approaches have downsides and limitations. Fortunately,there is a much better
solution: ValleySpeak Project Server. The ValleySpeak Project Server provides an affordable
and easy way to use web-based access so that each team member can view and update
schedules in real time. With easy installation and minimal training required, it is an ideal
solution for workgroups that want to share Microsoft project schedule status with minimum
hassle.

ValleySpeak Project Server - An Affordable Alternative To Licensing Microsoft

Project For Each Team Member
Installing Microsoft Project onto the machine of each team member can be quite expensive.
Table 1 below shows a cost comparison between Microsoft Project and ValleySpeak Project
Server for various team sizes.
Table 1: Cost Comparison—Microsoft Project and ValleySpeak Project Server

Microsoft Project
COST MICROSOFT COST OF
TOTAL USERS TOTAL COST
PROJECT 1 INSTALLATION 2

10 $5,693.00 $350.00 $6,043.00 

25 $14,232.50 $875.00 $15,107.50 
50 $28,465.00 $1,750.00 $30,215.00 
100 $56,930.00 $3,500.00 $60,430.00 
$151,075.0
250 $1,42,325.00 $8,750.00 0

ValleySpeak Project Server

COST OF
TOTAL USERS COST OF LICENSE TOTAL COST
COMPONENTS 3

10 $499.00 $678.00 $1,177.00 

25 $999.00 $678.00 $1,677.00 

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 50 $1,799.00 $678.00 $2,477.00 
100 $2,999.00 $678.00 $3,677.00 
250 $6,499.00 $678.00 $7,177.00 
1
Based on cost per user of Microsoft’s MS Office Project Standard 2003 Complete Package
from CDW.com as of 4-14-2005.
2
Installation requires ½ hours per user at a cost of $70 per hour.
3
$678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40 GB Hard drive.
Since there is no need to acquire a separate Microsoft Project license for each user, the total
cost of using the ValleySpeak Project Server is quite low. For 25 users you save about $13k,
and for 100 users you save almost $57k. ValleySpeak Project Server is also easier to install
and implement in a team environment because not every machine will require a copy of the
application on its hard-drive. Its user interface is simple and straightforward, which also
increases productivity.

ValleySpeak Project Server - Easier And Less Expensive To Implement Than

Microsoft Project Server
Purchasing Microsoft Project Server is the second alternative. This application is
cumbersome in nature, difficult to use and expensive to implement because it requires
significant expertise in order to function properly. Table 2 below provides a cost comparison
between Microsoft Project Server and ValleySpeak Project Server.
Table 2: Cost Comparison—Microsoft Project Server vs. ValleySpeak Project Server

Microsoft Project Server

TOTAL COST OF COST OF TOTAL
COST OF CAL 1
USERS INSTALLATION 2
COMPONENTS 3
COST

10 $3,000.00 $24,000.00 $11,995.00 $38,995.00 

25 $7,500.00 $24,000.00 $13,674.00 $45,174.00 
50 $15,000.00 $24,000.00 $16,473.00 $55,473.00 
100 $30,000.00 $24,000.00 $22,070.00 $76,070.00 
250 $75,000.00 $24,000.00 $38,863.00 $137,863.00 

ValleySpeak Project Server

TOTAL TOTAL
COST OF CAL COST OF INSTALLATION COST OF COMPONENTS 4
USERS COST
10 $499.00 $0.00 $678.00 $1,177.00 
25 $999.00 $0.00 $678.00 $1,677.00 
50 $1,799.00 $0.00 $678.00 $2,477.00 
100 $2,999.00 $0.00 $678.00 $3,677.00 
250 $6,499.00 $0.00 $678.00 $7,177.00 

1
$300 per user for Project Server
2
Average price quoted by 4 Microsoft Value Added Resellers
3
$1199 for Windows 2000 Server, $39.95 per user for each Windows 2000 CAL, $4999 for
SQL Server, $3999 for SharePoint Portal Server, $71 per user for each SharePoint Portal
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Server CAL and $678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40
GB Hard drive.
4
$678 for Dell PowerEdge SC420 with 2.53 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM and 40 GB Hard drive.
For 25 users ValleySpeak Project Server provides a savings of about $43k, and for 100 users
it provides a savings of over $72k. Not only does it save you a significant amount of money,
but it is much easier to install and maintain and requires less training than Microsoft Project
Server.

Conclusion
Whether you are considering licensing Microsoft Project for each team member or going with
the cumbersome and expensive Microsoft Project Server software solution, ValleySpeak
Project Server is a much more affordable alternative that is easier to implement. Also, it is a
more desirable solution to a company’s project management needs because ValleySpeak
Project Server overcomes the limitations of Microsoft Project. Furthermore, features such as
discussion groups and issue tracking are not available on Microsoft Project, but come
standard with ValleySpeak Project Server. In addition, it provides 100% 2-way integration
with Microsoft Project so project managers can continue to use Microsoft Project as their
project management tool of choice, while at the same time giving other team members easy
to use browser-based access to examine and update the project schedule.

Website: www.valleyspeak.com
Contact: contact@valleyspeak.com