I am using Microsoft Project Server for managing projects, such as all the tasks-related activities are tracked.
Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Highly detail dependencies information, useful tracking, but lacking accessibility
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "The solution could improve the ease of access could improve. It can be time-consuming."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
When a project is complicated this solution monitors every task allowing us to have better control of the projects.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve the ease of access could improve. It can be time-consuming.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Project Server
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Project Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
855,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Project Server for approximately one year.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Project Server a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Senior Manager in Enterprise Transformation at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Provides a clear visualization of the action plan but could be more user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has easy integration with Excel."
- "The user interface looks quite old and needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We mainly use this solution for project management planification. I'm an external consultant and manager in enterprise transformation.
How has it helped my organization?
Project Server allows us to have a clear visualization of the action plan and the milestone to be reached; to know which resources are dedicated to what.
What is most valuable?
One of the good features is the easy integration with Excel. It's easy to use. I don't use all the functionalities, but it suits my needs.
What needs improvement?
The user interface needs to be improved. It looks quite old and nowhere near as good as the Jira UI. I also think they should allow the delayed monitoring of the task. For now, there's only the planification of the whole program, and it's not possible to do daily monitoring of the task layer which is a natural extension of the planification of the project. The whole solution could be more flexible.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for less than a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I believe the solution is stable. All the project managers use it so there would be around 100 users.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is rather complex and not user-friendly.
What other advice do I have?
There are more user-friendly products on the market that I would suggest using in preference to this one.
I rate this solution six out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Project Server
May 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Project Server. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
855,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Helpful support, beneficial project visibility, and different pricing models available
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support for Microsoft Project Server and the support is very good. Microsoft support is working very well."
- "Microsoft Project Server could improve by making the solution more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Project Server for everything to do with projects management, such as portfolio and program management.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Project Server has improved our organization by providing visibility of all project portfolios in one place.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Project Server could improve by making the solution more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Project Server for approximately seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Project Server's stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the scalability of Microsoft Project Server to be great.
We have approximately 20 people using this solution in my company. Other companies have hundreds and thousands of users using it.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for Microsoft Project Server and the support is very good. Microsoft support is working very well.
I rate the support from Microsoft Project Server a five out of five.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Microsoft Project Server is simple if you know how to do it, but if you're not familiar with this technology, it will be complex.
I rate the initial setup complexity of the Microsoft Project Server a four out of five.
Initial deployment can be done within two or three weeks, but the deployment needs to improve when new requirements are needed.
What about the implementation team?
One person is enough for the deployment and maintenance of the solution. However, they will have to have the knowledge needed in different technologies and know about project management methodology.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a subscription model for different types of users for different types of roles.
What other advice do I have?
This solution will not continue to be developed because it is going to the cloud.
I rate Microsoft Project Server an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Director, Project Management Office at a wholesaler/distributor with 10,001+ employees
The ability to look at resource loading is useful, but it needs collaboration features
Pros and Cons
- "The ability to look at the resource loading is most valuable."
- "Collaboration within the tool is lacking when you compare it to online or cloud-based tools."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for building Research and Development Project labs.
How has it helped my organization?
It has been helpful for calculating the time of completion of our projects and looking at the critical parts of our projects.
What is most valuable?
The ability to look at resource loading is most valuable.
What needs improvement?
Collaboration within the tool is lacking when you compare it to online or cloud-based tools.
We should be able to notify assignees about the tasks that have been assigned to them. This is something that we don't have, and it could be because of the way it was deployed for us.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It seems scalable to me.
How are customer service and support?
I don't have any experience with them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
It was our company's decision to switch to this. With my previous employer, I have used different solutions. Smartsheet is one of them.
How was the initial setup?
I did not deploy it myself. I am an end-user. We have an IT organization for its deployment.
What other advice do I have?
You have to define your use case and see if this tool makes sense for your use case or not.
I would rate it a seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Operations Manager at Innolead Consulting
Effective collaboration, useful scheduling tool, and good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Project Server helps organizations in collaboration."
- "The initial setup was complex."
What is our primary use case?
My clients are mostly using Microsoft Project Server for infrastructure-type projects management as a scheduling tool.
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Project Server helps organizations in collaboration.
What is most valuable?
The scheduling tool is useful.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Project Server for a number of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the scalability of the Microsoft Project Server to be good.
We have approximately 10 to 20 uses using this solution in my organization and we plan to increase usage. We do consult for clients and we are always looking for more business.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Oracle Primavera.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex.
What about the implementation team?
We used consultants for the implementation of the solution.
We have approximately two people that do the maintenance and support of the solution.
What was our ROI?
I have seen a return on investment from the use of this solution, it has been good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the Microsoft Project Server could improve, it is expensive here in Africa. When comparing Microsoft Project Server to Oracle Primavera for us, Microsoft Project Server is quite cost-effective.
What other advice do I have?
I noticed recently there are lots of new solutions coming out, but I don't know if they offer solutions that are more for agile product management. This would be a benefit if there were.
I rate Microsoft Project Server an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Project Manager at a media company with 10,001+ employees
A stable and scalable solution
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "The solution could have more compact dashboards, such as one finds with Planview."
What is our primary use case?
We are currently using the 2001 version.
We use the solution for projects, with the goal of it being shared with more users, who can employ it as a single tool.
What needs improvement?
The solution could have more compact dashboards, such as one finds with Planview.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Project Server for 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
I cannot comment on the technical support as I was not directly aligned with it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I cannot comment on the price as I was not responsible for purchasing the solution.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is easy to use. My advice is that one first try it out, guage its look and feel.
I rate Microsoft Project Server as an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Manager project schedule and ressources at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Easy to use, familiar Windows design, but needs better integration
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Project Server is easy to use compared to other similar solutions, such as Primavera. It functions similar to Excel or others Microsoft solutions which makes it simple for most people to be able to use right away."
- "This solution could improve by adding integration with Primavera schedules to allow the reading and management of them."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for the management of projects.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Project Server is easy to use compared to other similar solutions, such as Primavera. It functions similar to Excel or others Microsoft solutions which makes it simple for most people to be able to use right away.
What needs improvement?
This solution could improve by adding integration with Primavera schedules to allow the reading and management of them.
In an upcoming release, the loading of larger schedules could be faster when using the wizard and better workload assigning is needed. For example, if work is assigned to someone and they only work at the beginning and the end but not in the middle, it splits the tasks equally over the period.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for approximately six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable for small projects but when used for larger projects it can become heavy and slow to load and operate.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have approximately 900 employees with a license using this solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We still use Primavera and it is better at managing large projects than Microsoft Project Server. Additionally, we have used Microsoft Project Desktop and Excel for project management. It was not ideal because we were using Excel for reporting and people were able to cheat on their reports. With this solution, it is more difficult to alter the information to cheat the system.
How was the initial setup?
The full installation with configurations took approximately two months.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is an annual license required for this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. However, it does not fit all use cases.
I rate Microsoft Project Server a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Enterprise Architect at YASH Technologies
Stable with good collaboration capabilities but lacks insights around cost and budget
Pros and Cons
- "The stability of the 2019 version is quite good."
- "The deployment aspect of the product is a bit tedious."
What is our primary use case?
My organization handles IT consulting and services. That's primarily how the organization is managed. The use case for this solution was to set up the resource development unit and manage the investment cost, scheduling, budgeting, and some of those new initiatives that were supposed to happen in the R&D division. That was why we were looking for a portfolio management product. We found that Project Server could be a way to visualize and govern the entire program for the client.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has improved the organization primarily due to the transparency between each individual team. There is a productivity benefit. I've likely seen a 20% to 28% increase in productivity benefit over a year's time. From a cost perspective, I'm less sure of how to comment. That said, productivity and transparency are definitely the two benefits I've witnessed so far.
What is most valuable?
The most relevant feature is its collaboration capabilities. Users can easily collaborate, for example, on Sharepoint or Microsoft Teams. If there is a lot of heavy usage of Microsoft tools, it's easy to share and collaborate across apps.
The Excel interface is very good.
The stability of the 2019 version is quite good.
What needs improvement?
The deployment aspect of the product is a bit tedious. That's something I personally see of my organization. Deploying Project Server from an infrastructure perspective is not an easy thing. It takes a week sometimes to set it up.
From a features perspective, the insights around the cost and budget could be improved. Competitor products are more robust. Project Server has a very limited feature in terms of reporting. Specifically, the features around the cost control are weak. The built-in reports and the built-in analytics for Project Server are very minimal. The competitors are way ahead than what Project Server is offering us.
The initial setup was complex.
The integration to an employee engagement platform probably would make more sense and integrations with other products like SAP would be useful.
Users of Project Server need to write some amount of custom integrations to the DLP product innovation site. If you wanted to have resource analysis, you want to create invoices based on resources working on a project, that integration is still not there. Integrating with some of those invoice management systems would make more sense now based on the way enterprises are working in terms of automation.
The solution needs multi-language support. The tool primarily supports English as a primary language. If someone wanted to make it Arabic, the Project Server does not work well. The characters sets, the dates, and other things create a lot of mess.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using the solution for around six years or so. We started using it in 2016.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
When I was using the Project Server 2016, that was creating a lot of problems in terms of performance, in terms of export, input, the content. However, when we moved to Project Server 2019 three years ago, I would say it was an improved version. It's quite stable now. There have been a lot of technical advancements, and feature announcements. 2019 is a much more stable version.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Primarily the solution has been handled by the PMO team which is comprised of 20 users. They are mostly portfolio managers, program managers, and solution architects as well as an executive who usually uses it from a governance perspective.
Since this has been used by the portfolio managers, so it's basically bread and butter for the PMO team. It's used day in, day out and it's tracking a single source of truth from a program management perspective. In terms of expanding the portfolio, likely, the business will grow, and that's when we may add more users. By 2022, we might add five more users. That is what I foresee.
How are customer service and technical support?
We go through a CSP partner for Microsoft due to the online nature of the deployment. Our CSP partner is quite helpful. We are pleased with the support quality they provide. I would rate them four out of five stars.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex. Any type of guidance or user training or helpful documentation and materials were not available.
The deployment took around seven to ten days. Deployment took really a long time.
I will not be able to properly quantify what went wrong. I'm not sure if it was the infrastructure or the capacity planning or if the partner just wasn't quite capable. There could have been multiple issues. The general perception was that was supposed to happen within a day, maximum. It took around seven to nine all working days to just set up the environment.
What about the implementation team?
We used partners. They were a Microsoft partner.
Since I was not managing the process, I can't give feedback in terms of how the partner was to work with, or their capabilities.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution offers a subscription-based pay-as-you-go model.
Now that everyone has moved to the online version, it is my understanding that the approximate cost comes to around $350 to $400 USD per month. I see or close to $4,000 to $5,000 USD per annum.
What other advice do I have?
We are simply a customer and an end-user.
Although we began with the on-premises version, we've recently started using the online version of the solution. That is primarily how we access it now.
From an advice perspective, for any enterprise that has an existing investment around Microsoft, it makes more sense in terms of moving to a Project Server to manage in a more structured way. However, if you do not use SharePoint, if you do not use Microsoft Teams or any sort of solution that is the real value of Project Server it's not necessary to use Project Server. This solution is best for those companies planning to have a commitment to Microsoft technology. It brings more value.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. It's lacking some features around budget cost and portfolio management. There are a few areas that could use improvement still.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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