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ProjectLibre mission: Free on the Desktop and Freedom in the Cloud

November 6, 2020 - 00:41 am
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We founded ProjectLibre to make a difference in the world with a free alternative to Microsoft Project and other costly proprietary project management solutions.  The name of the company derived as "Libre" is Free in both French and Spanish.  As we get closer to our cloud beta it is a good time to reflect on Libre.  It is our mission to spread project management globally. Here is an overview of where we are:

  • Free on the Desktop (Windows, Mac or Windows)
  • Freedom in the Cloud (Freedom from Microsoft complexity)

Libre on the Desktop:

ProjectLibre is available on Windows, macOS or Linux providing freedom of choice but also free desktop project management software.  We have been downloaded 4,800,000 times in virtually every country in the world.  Examples: 

  • Africa ( ProjectLibre is used in all 54 countries in Africa)
  • Asia ( India: 150,000 with both Hindi and Tamil translations)
  • Europe (Germany: 500,000 with German language translation)
  • North America ( Greenland is part of N/A and we are translated into Danish)
  • South America (Brazil over 250,000 and with Brazilian Portuguese translation )
  • Australia/Oceana ( Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea etc. )

ProjectLibre is also used at Universities and Non-Profit organizations . There are over 1,400 universities around the world using ProjectLibre. That is a stunning statistic uncovered researching for this blog.  We are also encouraged with Google’s new project management certification (Grow with Google). They will treat the credentialed applicants applying for jobs at Google with the same consideration as applicants with 4 year college degrees in project management. Once again, it is another way to promote the project management profession for those without access to college. There are also well over 1,100 non-profit and NGOs globally using ProjectLibre. 

  • 1,400+ Universities worldwide 
  • 1,100+ NGO and Non-profits
  • NGO example in Tanzania: rural agricultural development
  • Non-Profit example in Cambodia: building schools using ProjectLibre

Once again, the ProjectLibre founding mission was to expand project management software to anyone regardless of ability to purchase or choice of computer. Libre on the desktop! 

 

Libre in the Cloud

Freedom in the cloud is what we will be delivering with ProjectLibre Cloud. This is a team solution being used internally now in our company. We will have further information as we get closer to the beta test release. ProjectLibre Cloud requires only your browser and full project management. Microsoft Project has multiple products to provide online project management. They actually have dueling solutions Microsoft Project Online and Microsoft Project for the Web. These solutions are not compatible and Project Online is being phased out without further enhancements. However, Project for the Web as shown below in their image is for light weight projects. They suggest running them in parallel as you cannot migrate from one to the other. In addition, having tried Project Online you can’t manage a full project from initiation to completion just using that product. You need a “Microsoft Project Online Desktop Client”!!!! How their marketing staff have Online Desktop Client in the same name?

 

 

 Microsoft Project applications graphic

 

 

Microsoft Project products 

 

 ProjectLibre Cloud replaces all of that complexity with your browser. Teams who are located in different cities or countries will be working together on projects in the cloud.  All your tools; Gantt Chart, Network Diagram, WBS, Dashboards will all be available for your teams in the browser regardless of geographic location. 

 

 ProjectLibre Cloud Gantt

 

 ProjectLibre Network Diagram

 

 

 Freedom in the Cloud is liberation from the complex, costly architecture of Microsoft replaced with ProjectLibre Cloud. There will be a simple monthly subscription and you can open existing Microsoft Project or Primavera files and you are running in your browser. 

 

The ProjectLibre mission continues. We have made a global difference and really enjoy reading the success stories from Tanzania, Cambodia and countries around the world including here in North America.  We wanted to give an update on where we are and where we are going in the future. Our team is dedicated! The desktop will continue to make a global difference and we are working hard to get the beta release of our Cloud. 

 

 

 

 

4 Comments

In reply to by bl52002

June 28, 2021 - 22:15 pm

It will be possible technically and we have been asked by a very large organization. We won't characterize the organization but we have had discussions. Our initial release will only be Cloud/SaaS model to streamline our efforts. We will re-address once we have the SaaS rolled out...