Software for Easy Project Management with Wrike

best project management tools

Project management is tough. Effective and efficient project management is even tougher. As anyone managing a project these days knows, teams are more and more multidisciplinary and scattered among different places and time zones. Projects are increasingly complex while budgets get increasingly tighter. Keeping track of everything is more often than not a nightmare, which is why investing in project management tool is a must.

Wrike is an online project management tool (or as they call themselves “a work management and collaboration platform”) used by more than 8,000 organizations worldwide. It’s, without question, a leader in the project management space. It is developed by Wrike, Inc., which was founded in 2007 in Mountain View by Andrew Filev. Last year it won the award for Cool Vendor by Gartner.

Wrike is becoming the go-to project management software of choice for entrepreneurs and startups the world over and having tried a number of work management options over the years, Wrike’s huge range of features makes it a “must-try” option.

Let’s take a look at some of the top features:

1 Document Sharing and Version Control – This has been one of my biggest pain points with the different project management tools available. Many of them don’t have any way to update attached files or even highlight which version is the latest. Wrike, on the other hand, allows you to edit files online. The software is fast and responsive, it stores versions of the edits you made, and you can add a checklist/task list to each document making working collaboratively in a single document as easy as it could be.

2 App integration – Wrike integrates with pretty much everything, from Google Apps to Salesforce to Dropbox and OneDrive. So there is no need for lengthy deployment projects. In addition, since everything is cloud-based, there is also no need for recurrent hardware and software updates. And since everyone is also used to work with those tools, there is also no need to undergo additional training.

3 Real-Time Notifications – By default, in each project you create, there is a real-time activity stream/newsfeed that informs users in a Twitter-like fashion about what’s been going on. You can create a task/document and alert everyone that the document is ready for checking/editing. You can even @mention specific users for their feedback.

4 Native apps for Android/iOS – While waiting for a meeting or for a flight, it is easier and quicker to simply open the Wrike app and with a quick glance, learn how the project is progressing. The app even allows you to edit documents on the go or create custom reports that you can show to your business partners/clients in real time.

5 Multi-language support – If you work with teams in different countries where not everyone is fully fluent in English, you’re going to love the multi-language support. This feature is top notch and helps greatly in onboarding and getting your team up to speed with using the platform.

In addition to this, it is possible to create custom workflows and visual dashboards (with Gantt charts, KPIs, etc) and interactive timelines that keep everyone and everything easily on track.

Finally, a small little function that certainly requires a mention is the ability to quickly duplicate projects. Once a project is created, a single click is all you need to create a duplicate. No more tedious planning of recurrent projects and tasks. This is rinse-and-repeat taken to the next level.

Even you do not run a multi-billion dollar company, nor have a project team to manage, I would say you could still check Wrike as it works for individuals and solopreneurs just as much as it does for teams.

As a final note, do not forget to check their guides. Wrike has already published quite a few ebooks on project management full of good tips and useful ideas you can implement in your organization.

So, go and check Wrike right away, the video below provides further insights into Wrike.