The Microsoft Office lineup {gets|achievement} a new addition today: Microsoft Planner, team
{cooperation|effort|venture} software that lets you visually organize plans, {give|designate|allocate} tasks, share files, {talk|conversation|discussion} and more. The new app, first introduced into testing last fall, {gets into|makes its way into|goes in} a competitive space which includes pro software like Atlassian's JIRA Core, as well as other {straightforward|simple-to-use} tools from startups like Trello and Asana.
{Extremely|Incredibly} much like Trello, {Advisor|Adviser|Coordinator} also utilizes the idea of "Boards" to keep work organized. Within each Board are individual {Credit cards|Playing cards|Greeting cards} that can have their own due dates, {accessories|parts}, categories and conversations. {These types of|These kinds of} Cards can have documents or {photographs} attached to make it {much easier to|better to} see - at {a glimpse|a look|a peek} - what that {Cards is all about|Cards is around|Cards is approximately|Credit card is all about|Credit card is around|Credit card is approximately|Greeting card is all about|Greeting card is around|Greeting card is approximately}, and the {credit cards|playing cards|greeting cards} can be organized into columns called "Buckets" which {can be|can even be} color-coded and prioritized.
Another key aspect to {the program is|the application is|the software program is} the "Hub" to can track the overall progress of the {programs|strategies|ideas}, see who's on time and who's behind, and filter {right down to|into|to} see your own tasks and {projects|tasks|work}.
What makes Microsoft's offering compelling versus the competition is its integration with other Microsoft products - something that will charm to organizations who are already invested in Microsoft's Office suite and related services. For example, {Advisor is|Adviser is|Coordinator is} integrated into {Workplace|Business office} 365 Groups, which means that the conversations in Planner are also available in Outlook 2016, {Perspective|View|Prospect} on the web, and the Outlook Groups {Mobile phone|Portable|Cell} Apps.
Planner is included with OneNote, as well - every plan has an OneNote Notebook created for it, the company says. And the software works with Office, as users can attach {Term|Phrase|Expression}, Excel and PowerPoint {documents|data files|data} to a Card. This kind of document, then, is stored in SharePoint Online {record|file|doc} library, which makes it available offline, too.
{Included in the|Within the} Microsoft Office suite, {Advisor is|Adviser is|Coordinator is} an enterprise-ready tool, with support for {specialized|technological|complex} requirements larger organizations demand, including multiple redundant {back up copies|copies|a back up}, instantaneous recovery and HIPAA, FISMA, ISO27001 and {EUROPEAN UNION|EUROPEAN} Model compliance.
While {Ms|Microsoft company} has long had a project management tool with Project, many people found this too complex or too robust for their needs. There's a learning curve to being able to fully take {good thing about} Project, {which explains why|this is why|that is why}, often, users simply {consider|use|choose} Excel for managing projects, or one of the newer alternatives, like Trello.
But if a productivity {software|iphone app} {shop lifts|takes|walks off with} mindshare from Microsoft Office's cash cow, {the organization seems|the organization is likely|the organization is inclined|the business seems|the business is likely|the business is inclined|the corporation seems|the corporation is likely|the corporation is inclined} to take action. {Ms|Microsoft company} bought Yammer, Wunderlist, SwiftKey, Sunrise, and Acompli, and considered buying Slack, for example. In the circumstance of Trello, it instead simply built its own.
Planner will fill {Ms|Microsoft company} customers' need for a more lightweight, easy-to-use tool and replacement for SharePoint Tasks, which were removed well ahead of Planner's initial debut. (The {Jobs|Duties|Responsibilities} page {started out|commenced} to {refocus|reroute|route} users to Planner's website a year ago, before Planner was formally {launched|released|presented}. )
Microsoft says that Planner is rolling away now over the next {many weeks|a few weeks|days} to all {qualified|entitled|suitable} Office 365 customers, including Office 365 Enterprise E1-E5, Business Essentials, Premium and Education subscription plans. {These types of|These kinds of} customers {will discover|might find|sees} the {Advisor|Adviser|Coordinator} tile automatically appear in the Office 365 launcher when it becomes available.