14 DAY TRIAL // Zoho has announced the availability of Zoho Projects 2.0, the latest version of its project management suite that offers a set of cloud-based tools competing with products from the likes of Microsoft. The 2.0 version adds messaging and collaboration capabilities to the already comprehensive set of tools.
“Planning and reporting is just one facet of working on a project,” said Rodrigo Vaca, director of marketing at Zoho. “More than anything, teams need a tool that supports the collaboration needed to successfully execute their projects. We designed Zoho Projects 2.0 to be a project utility where users across the office and around the world can work together on their projects, providing a place to keep all their files, chat, wiki, forums, and other materials.”
The biggest new features include “User Status,” a Twitter-like tool for publishing updates, “Project Stream,” a visual representation of the changes to the project, and the ability to import projects created with Microsoft Project. The product offers all the standard project management features, like tasks, milestones, meetings as well as multiple reports and an online calendar.
However, Zoho Projects 2.0 tries to stand out from the crowd with a host of collaboration tools. Some are new, like User Status and Project Stream, while others are improved versions of the ones already available, like the Centralized File Sharing system with tagging and search capabilities as well as several communication tools like a group chat, a wiki and Discussions, an interactive forum product.
The basic offering will be available for free and comes with one project and only 100MB of storage. Those looking to host more projects or who need more storage space can opt for the paid versions, which range from $12 a month to $80 for the Enterprise offering.