DeskAway – Enterprise Collaboration tool review

Posted on 04. Dec, 2009 by Abha in Reviews

Synage is an Indian web company founded in 2007 that delivers software as a service (SaaS) solutions to the global market. DeskAway,  a web-based on-demand project management  and collaboration tool  is their flagship product.

DeskAway offers varied pricing and plan options ranging from a free version (3 Projects and 5 users) to a fully packed version at $99 per month (unlimited projects and users, 25 GM storage, detailed reports, SSL security, backup, E-mail integration and more). All plans offer user rights options – you can see only what you are authorized to see.

We found the interface easy to use, clean and inviting. It was easy to get started without really digging deep into the How To tutorial /video and it was nice to see how tips and tutorials were generously placed on various pages but with the option of closing them all in one go in case you felt confident of finding your way around independently.

Always feel that a tabbed view makes an app largely clutter free and easy to navigate and at the same time allows a lot of features to be packaged in well. DeskAway scores high marks on this account and makes good use of a tabbed UI and frames.

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activeCollab – Enterprise Collaboration Tool Review

Posted on 20. Oct, 2009 by Abha in Reviews

activeCollab is a project management tool by A51. It’s open source version was launched in 2006 by one of the founding members of A51 (which formally came into existence in 2007). A51 was born with the objective of developing a commercial version of activeCollab and an added option of being able to install the solution at the client’s end.

activeCollab comes in 2 licensing versions, one called Small Biz ($249) and the other Corporate ($499). Both licenses have unlimited number of users and projects and  are perpetual – you pay once and use for life. There are however annual support and upgradation fees. They also offer a 30 day (post purchase) refund policy. Corporate version adds some advanced tools, like better task management, a tool for collaborative writing, calendar, time tracking etc. on top of the Small Biz features.

activeCollab can be customized as per specific requirement as the full source code is provided with purchase of either license.

We found an interesting assortment of roles and permissions that could be granted to users. System rules included options like Administrator, Client Company Manager, Project Manager, Member etc. Project roles could be defined by the administrator which is great as it invests a lot of powerful options in the hands of the Project Manager / Administrator. There is also an added option of creating new system based roles.

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Huddle – Enterprise Collaboration Tool Review

Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by Abha in Reviews

Ninian Solutions is UK based company in action since 2006 that offers Huddle.net as an online collaboration tool. It offers a network of workspaces supported by a set of simple and secure project management, collaboration and document sharing tools.

Price plans range from free to $200 per month primarily differing on the number of workspaces, storage, web conferencing features and custom banding options. Security, support and conferencing features are bundled alongwith all plans. Huddle.net does not base costs on the number of users. There are unlimited number of users for all plan types which is great. Currently they have a one month free trial but this is a Limited period offering.

Signing up and getting started with Huddle.net is fairly simple. Glad they avoid the unnecessary complications like detailed sign up forms and restrictive passwords. The confirmation mail for activating the account was almost instantaneous and lead us to our new workspace with single click!

At first sight the dashboard seemed a bit intimidating, but on closer inspection we felt it to be well laid out and packed with a lot of useful features.

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CubeTree – Enterprise Collaboration Tool Review

Posted on 23. Sep, 2009 by Abha in Reviews

CubeTree  is an enterprise collaboration software service founded in 2008 that attempts to change the way employees interact and innovate especially in the context of large, geographically distributed companies.

CubeTree  is offered as a freemium service ranging from Basic (10 MB per user), Professional (1 GB per user  + $3 per user per month) to Enterprise editions (1 GB per user + $5 per user per month). The free Basic edition offers all functional features and gives the user an opportunity to get a good feel for the product and evaluate its usability based on a company’s specific requirements. Custom branding and security policies are available only to customers subscribing to the Enterprise edition.

Infoworld in their review stated CubeTree to be an impressive and secure cloud based enterprise collaboration tool. CubeTree’s collaboration tools (wikis, microblogging, blogs, file sharing, and user profiles) is a rich bundle of offerings.

 We recently reviewed CubeTree, Basic web version and here is what 20:20 Social staff thinks about the product

What we like ?

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