Creating Efficient Project Management Offices

Regardless of departments and divisions, there is an element of project management involved in every organization, and the visibility into projects leave a lot to be desired. This is largely due to the lack of appropriate tools, standards, and heavy reliance on manual reporting that fail to offer the kind of project visibility needed by C-suite and management. Even though Microsoft Project Server is a top of the line Project and Portfolio management (PPM) tool, there are very few partners with enough PPM exposure and experience from a functional and technical perspective to be able to implement it successfully. Nevertheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel, for EPMA is the third largest.

Microsoft Gold Certified Project and Portfolio Management Partner in the U.S. and has the experience and the ability to assist organizations to make the right strategic decisions from a project management standpoint. “It is beyond just helping an organization with a tool,” states Michael Samadi, President and CEO, EPMA, “A fool with a tool is still a fool,” he adds. Headquartered in Bellaire, TX, EPMA takes a different approach to tackling the challenges PPM poses. The company understands that the problem is not just from a toolset but also from a people and process standpoint. Right from the types of projects companies perform, to the way they schedule and track, EPMA ensures that the projects speak the same language, while instilling this knowledge in their clients through proven mentoring and coaching practices. Essentially, the company’s services span the entire PPM space — consulting services in both stack, extensive training program, application development, end-to-end technical support and staffing services. With a very experience team, EPMA goes above and beyond the call of duty to deliver more value and ensure clients’ success.

Unlike other consulting companies, EPMA sets broadminded goals and this is evident from their amazing customer retention rate. What does EPMA bring to the table? In the worlds of Samadi, “we are brining genuine people who are passionate about PPM and Microsoft Project Server.”

The company has won accolades for being one of the best companies to work for, and Samadi attributes this success to the people behind his organization. EPMA’s phenomenal growth rate of about 557% per year, and their drive to constantly innovate, places them at the forefront of the pack.

“Our organization is very team oriented, success driven and entrepreneurial,” adds Samadi. EPMA has solved complex PPM challenges for some of the world’s largest businesses, including one of the largest oil field services companies. The client needed a tool to replace their ageing project management system that would simplify project progress, capture and resource time entry, reduce month-end overhead, while integrating with their existing SAP system. EPMA engaged with the client and successfully implemented Microsoft Project Server 2010, while significantly mitigating unwelcome project surprises.

The company was instrumental in designing, developing, testing and deploying the custom SAP and Project Server integration. Ultimately, the interface build Microsoft project schedule elements in SAP and allowed project managers to remain the tool they are most comfortable with, leaving behind the complexity of an SAP GUI.

Looking to the future, EPMA intends to focus on their core competency — PPM. “Our strategy is to continue to evolve our service lines both on the functional and technical sides, and a center of excellence around PPM,” says Samadi. The company also invests heavily in people and training, fueling their pursuit of excellence.