Last year we moved off of our hosted Microsoft Exchange server and on to Google Premier Edition. We did this largely because we were looking for a solution to manage our shared calendars. But after a year of using Google and the cloud we’re big believers in the platform.
And lately we’ve been looking at our project management software- Basecamp. Now Basecamp, by 37signals, is the model for all hosted project management software on the Web. I know this because each competitor just copies them. Two column view, multiple tabs across the top, and similar functionality with the addition of a bunch of stuff you’re not likely to need.
But none of them have been able to compete because they are difficult to use, poorly designed, or have too much functionality and hence too cluttered to work within effectively. However, one competitor, Manymoon, showed up on the scene with similar Basecamp functionality and tight integration with Google Apps. And that my friends has made me start the evaluation process.
Basecamp vs. Manymoon
After a year of email, document creation, calendar management, contact management, and project management, the only odd duck was ole’ faithful. I’d have to move contacts over to Basecamp every few weeks to keep everything up to date and all documents were saved to local drives and then uploaded to the hosted platform. But now, I can point to files on our Google Docs repository. But before I get all deep, here is a quick list of the pros and cons I’ve discovered so far.
ManyMoon Pros
- Tight integration with Google Apps
- Project calendars
- Price- 180.00/year for the Team version
- Lots of space- 25 GB (if you upgrade to the premium version)
- Easy to use interface
- Social- the interface models Facebook updates in that you can quickly post links, documents, and notes
- Easy to add users
ManyMoon Cons
- It’s not Basecamp
- It’s not as pretty as Basecamp
- The Basecamp import left my Bulletin (your main update view) a hot mess with old messages from archived projects
- A poor project overview- just a list of items- no calendar view like Basecamp
Next Steps
I’m not quite sold yet. I’m going to be running a few projects through it for at least a month and see how clients respond to it. They’ve been using Basecamp for many years now and the transition may be bumpy. And as a company that focuses on User Experience Design, a bad interface doesn’t fit our image. But if all goes well or not so well I’ll give you all an update on our progress.
UPDATE- 5/3
I heard back from the Manymoon support team (less than 24 hr. response time) regarding cleaning up the bulletin and their response was that they would forward it on to their development team.
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COMMENTS
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daimon: I hear the 37Signals is working on a major overhaul…
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Allen Fuller: We've been back and forth on this issue a lot,…
COMMENTS (25)
CHRISTOPHER PRINCE BOUCHER
I have been using Manymoon as well and there is just some shady stuff in there. I payed for the team version and just realized that each person have to pay to be an admin?
DAIMON
You know I think it’s their approach that it is the issue. I believe they assume that they own the platform hence they own the users. Unlike other platforms that assume they are providing a service to you and help you manage your projects and users. I’m not sure if they are being shady or not I just think it’s a matter of changing their approach. We are experiencing issues with users being added to projects. The “welcome” emails are written as if you are signing up to Manymoon and not simply a participant on a project that HAPPENS to be hosted on Manymoon. I’ve had to walk most of my users through this. I’ve spoken to Manav (one of the founders) about this and hopefully they are working on correcting this issue as well as addressing their general approach to user management and maybe fees. Thanks for your feedback though. I’m sure the Manymoon team is on top of it.
WAYNE SCHULZ
I’ve been on a similar Manymoon quest. I find that my project management needs are rather light and my desire to consolidate around Google Apps is very strong. Most of my project management collaboration is internal – so I have not had to test the experience of a client trying to sign in and learn the system. So far what I really like and dislike about Manymoon: LIKE + Great integration to DOCS — I can create and share Google Docs and have them right in the project. Pretty seamless. Anyone who is on the project automatically has access to the Doc. + Simple to use. With Basecamp I struggled with all the different setup and “configuration” possibilities. I just never found I needed all the Basecamp features. + Create tasks/projects right from Gmail. With their new(er) plugin to Gmail you can quickly hop into Manymoon and create these things. Definitely a huge timesaver. + Integration to Google Apps — probably the #1 reason that I continue to evaluate and use Manymoon (in addition to the reasonable $180/yr fee). I just don’t want to spend time creating a project management system (which I’d always felt I had to with BC). Manymoon is simple enough that you can hit the ground running. DISLIKE - The interface is somewhat confusing. I’m always stumped about how to get back to just a list of my projects. The only way I’ve found to do so is click the home icon. Shouldn’t there be an always accessible “projects” link? - It’s VERY unclear what costs more (as others have pointed out). When do I need to make someone an administrator versus having them just be a team member. I suppose I’ll find that out as I continue to use the service. If I find that users have to be converted to administrators to do vital tasks then Manymoon will loose price advantage over Basecamp.
DAIMON
Thanks for joining in on the discussion Wayne. I agree that one of Manymoon’s greatest attributes is its tight integration with Google Docs. The Google gadget is awesome as I frequently receive tasks via email. I have heard about the Administrator issues but haven’t found a need to upgrade anyone on my team. Regarding the interface, you’re right- it’s somewhat confusing. It’s usually because the thing you are likely looking for is under a mouseover event or outside of your immediate focus. For instance, you can get to your projects by “clicking” on “Home” or you can simply “mouseover” the “Home” link and use the menu that appears that let’s you get to projects, docs, events, etc. Actually, once you know its there it is really easy to navigate between projects and such. I do think that their momentum to improve the app is much stronger than Basecamp. So I’m holding on because I think the platform has a lot of good potential.
JIM DESSAUER
This conversation is helpful. The main diffculty I am having with Manymoon (after using Basecamp for many years) is the evident inability to connect a message with a task and more importantly the inability to pick who gets an email for a shared message. I agree with all above comments and hope they fix these problems. The integration with google apps is very useful even though I haven’t yet figured out how to directly connect gmail with Manymoon.
DAIMON
Oh, I can answer one of those concerns- you can set who gets an email by clicking on the “padlock” icon near the Share Something box. Once selected you can add or remove email addresses. Again, another instance of buried functionality. I too had the same concerns but the support team answered them for me. As far as the message and task link- I would submit a feature request. I know they do read them. Do you have a Google Apps account or just Gmail? If you have apps you can add Manymoon via the Google Marketplace. And don’t forget their Google Gadget. You can create tasks and create projects right from an email! I know that’s something I wish Basecamp had implemented.
PHIL
Hello Everyone: So nice to find this forum to discuss our Manymoon issues, concerns and observations. I too have the Team Version and continue to deal with problems with the Manymoon embedded gadget for Google Premier App users (email). In short it just isn’t working…even when they say it is fixed…it remains broken. Have any of you seen the following message? The Manymoon Gmail Gadget will be back shortly. You can still login at http://www.manymoon.com. Thanks!
DAIMON
Phil- thanks for your feedback. I’m not sure what happened yesterday but I found out MM was down after a client called (yikes!). But I tweeted the issue to @manymoon and they responded quickly. I was able to get back into MM but my gadget is down as well. I’m getting the same message that you are getting. Tweet @manymoon and I’m sure they’ll get back to you. They are all over Twitter and follow it closely.
LINDA
Google Apps integration is not an issue anymore. Many others apps move to Google Apps. 5pm, for example, recently started to be available on Google Apps, and that’s a much better PM app IMHO: https://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?productListingId=6376+2505328709821224605
DAIMON
Linda-you’re right some of the other PM apps are now integrating with Google Apps. And that makes the competitive landscape a bit more broader.
VR
Hi, This a very well written article and a great product review. I would like to share with you another product that will be launching soon that may be on interest to you and your organization. The product is in Beta and pricing has not been worked out, however, we would be like to offer you the product at no cost to use or to check out. Please let me know if there is any interest and I will provide you with a login. Thanks
DAIMON
I’d be more than happy to take a look. Thanks!
LENA
This is a great forum. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge. My company is trying to evaluate Manymoon and we’ve had several questions posed to Manymoon that are answered, but not really resolved. For example, I tried to import my Gmail Contacts to Manymoon, and only the email address imports, not the phone numbers, mailing addresses, etc. When questioned, Manymoon responded that a full Contacts import is do-able, but they did not respond to the fact that I took the proper steps and there was not a full import. We have a business Google Apps account and need Google Tasks to share with Manymoon Tasks (and vice versa). Does anyone know if this is an option? It does not appear to be. Perhaps Manymoon, as a project and task manager, “replaces” tasks in Google Apps. However, if they presenting their product as “integrating with Google Apps” it seems strange that this is not a feature. I am not complaining – so far Manymoon is a great option. Just trying to figure out how to streamline it with Google Apps. Your comments regarding other features and functionality have been very helpful. Thank you.
DAIMON
Lena- thanks for contributing to the forum! I was able to use the Manymoon tasks with our Google Apps account. It wasn’t always perfect but it worked. I too ran into Contacts import issues but left it alone. Manymoon has always been very responsive to questions but I’m sure they just get behind with all of the increased popularity. Hope all continues to work well for ya!
JOSH
We’ve been comparing different PM apps and it’s (more-or-less) come down to GoPlan and ManyMoon. I’d be curious, a year later, whether or not you’ve switched completely to ManyMoon or are even still using it? THX
DAIMON
Josh- first sorry for the delay. Somehow I missed several comments. You’ve asked a great question. And I’ll be posting an update of the PM app that we’ve finally settled into using. You’ll be surprised!
CRAIG KAUSEN
Daimon, what did you decide to go with? I like surprises…
DAIMON
Stay tuned for our new blog post coming today.
DAVID M
Why not go with something more integrated? You’re causing yourself more problems by dealing with so many systems, when there’s platforms out there that accomplish all of what you want and still allow google apps functionality. If you take WORKetc for example, it would put your entire client lifecycle into one application, and it’s google apps integrated. You manage contacts/sales, project management, time tracking, collaboration, invoicing, expenses, and other tools from one web based system. Then there’s the other way of going about it; 3+ separate, nonintegrated apps to get the job done. It’s not cost effective, or time effective, and it’s discouraging! no thanks.
DAIMON
Thanks for your point of view and introduction to WORKetc. It surely is a one-stop business management system.
JOHN B
I just spent two weeks looking learning and comparing Manymoon, Zoho Projects, and BaseCamp, as I needed project management for a 5-person team working on product development. Google searches led me to try a few others (based on discussions such as this one), and I ended up settling on a lesser-know solution called TeamworkPM. Its the one we have settled on (based on messaging/forum, calendar, to-do/tasks/milestones, document sharing, pricing, support, and intuitive ease-of-use). If you are evaluating a solution, I highly recommend you include this one on your list!
DAIMON
Thanks for sharing John. TeamworkPM looks like a very robust offering. It’s a little too robust for our needs but I do like the UI- it is very clean.
ST
The JOHNB guy went around all the forums posting the same message about TeamworkPM. Is it me, or was it a shill? If I truly were a happy user, would I really go to every blog on Google that appears on a search comparing Manymoon with Basecamp and copy/paste my exact same text? Hmm. Sorry, mate, TeamworkPM is NOT the solution you’re plugging it to be. The website interface is “clean” and all. ManyMoon became a strong contender after its Salesforce acquisition. Which means it’ll also become more expensive. If they had an iPhone app, I’d really have considered them. But for now, in many little things and for many little reasons (which matter when you actually START using these systems), Basecamp is still king. It. Just. Works.
DAIMON
Agreed. Not sure about John B but I’ll take your word for it.