TamerNasr - PeerSpot reviewer
Executive at Nazeq
Real User
Top 10
Plug-and-play, stable, scalable, and has an email feature
Pros and Cons
  • "To me, one of the most powerful features of Smartsheet is being able to email others."
  • "A room for improvement I found in Smartsheet is the view, as it's currently row-wise. I should have the opportunity to view a full scale, top down list instead of just a column driven list. I shouldn't have to go just left or right. I should be able to view it top down."

What is our primary use case?

The two critical use cases of Smartsheet are project management and task management.

What is most valuable?

To me, one of the most powerful features of Smartsheet is being able to email others.

What needs improvement?

A room for improvement I found in Smartsheet is the view, as it's currently row-wise. I should have the opportunity to view a full scale, top down list instead of just a column driven list. I shouldn't have to go just left or right. I should be able to view it top down.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Smartsheet for seven years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Smartsheet is a stable platform.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Smartsheet is a scalable platform.

How are customer service and support?

I provide technical support for Smartsheet within my company.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for Smartsheet was easy. The platform was quick to deploy because it was plug-and-play. You put in your username and password, and your account is created for you.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented Smartsheet ourselves.

What was our ROI?

I'm not tracking the ROI for Smartsheet.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There's a license for Smartsheet, and the enterprise plan comes down to about $750. My company also pays an extra $60 monthly apart from the standard licensing fee.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I'm also using Microsoft Project and Jira, together with Smartsheet, but Smartsheet is easier to use than Jira, though each solution has its own advantage.

What other advice do I have?

I have some experience with Lucidchart, and I also have experience with Smartsheet.

I'm using the cloud version of Smartsheet, which is constantly updated.

Close to two thousand people use Smartsheet within my company.

One person is enough for the deployment and maintenance of the platform.

I advise anyone looking into using Smartsheet to start small and try it out first. Once you have the buy-in, you could scale it.

My rating for Smartsheet is eight out of ten.

My company is a customer of Smartsheet.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Gordon EBraun-Woodbury - PeerSpot reviewer
Marketing Operations practice leader at Calibrate Legal, inc.
Real User
Helps to create project plans and reporting dashboards
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that these dashboards can be shared with our clients without a license."
  • "Asana has a modern look and feel, particularly its agile project management interface featuring movable cards between columns."

What is our primary use case?

We use the tool as the default software for managing all client projects. Our team of six uses it to create project plans and reporting dashboards for our clients.

What is most valuable?

The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that these dashboards can be shared with our clients without a license.

What needs improvement?

Asana has a modern look and feel, particularly its agile project management interface featuring movable cards between columns.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for six years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had issues with the tool's stability. I rate it an eight out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My company has eight users for the solution. 

How are customer service and support?

The tool's support is responsive. They are easy to work. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I rate the tool's ease of deployment a ten out of ten. It was instant, and there was no real deployment. The solution doesn't require any maintenance. 

What about the implementation team?

I did the deployment myself. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool's monthly fee is 25 dollars, which is within the range of most cloud-based project management tools. I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

The tool is a good product; I am glad we have it. The main pros of Smartsheet include its familiar interface, especially for those accustomed to Excel, making the transition smoother for teams used to managing projects in spreadsheets. I recommend the tool to others since it is scalable and easy to set up. I rate it a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Smartsheet
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Smartsheet. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
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Contract Programme Manager at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
The tool is good for collaboration, but it is expensive and lacks features that are available in other products
Pros and Cons
  • "Smartsheet is a really good tool for collaboration."
  • "We have to manually put in every dependency in Smartsheet."

How has it helped my organization?

The only benefit of the solution is collaboration. When I assign tasks, my team members get an email, and they can click on it and update their tasks. Smartsheet’s reporting capabilities help us with capacity planning.

What is most valuable?

Smartsheet is a really good tool for collaboration. If I put somebody’s name into an assignment, they get an email. They know what they’re being assigned, and they can access it. I don't have to run around chasing people. The emails help in workflow efficiency. In terms of overall planning, capacity consolidation across plans is quite useful, but it takes a lot of effort to get it to work properly. It's not that intelligent, but it's better than Microsoft Project. From a workflow perspective, it's pretty powerful.

What needs improvement?

I do not like the solution. From a project management and planning point of view, it's awful. The product must adopt some of the functionalities that are already in Microsoft Project. They must adopt functionalities like auto-scheduling, linking tasks together automatically, and scheduling based on the dependencies.

We have to manually put in every dependency in Smartsheet. It is incredibly annoying. In Microsoft Project, we just highlight the two that we want to link and click the link option, and it makes them dependent.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The tool’s stability is fine.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The tool is very easy to scale. It seems unlimited. It's certainly within our requirements. Five or six people use it within one business unit in our organization. There might be more users in other teams. It is an engineering company. So, we use the product throughout the world.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Microsoft Project is way quicker for actual active planning. We have moved to Smartsheet because we've got a geographically distributed team. Now, I create the project in Microsoft Project and put it into Smartsheet for collaboration. Microsoft Project is way more functionally rich, so things are quicker. The ROI on Microsoft Project would be higher than on Smartsheet.

How was the initial setup?

There is no deployment needed. We just create Smartsheet and share. It does not require maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is too expensive. For what I use it for, it's too expensive. I wouldn't pay for it myself. I would prefer to buy Microsoft Project or use Zoho Projects.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am currently evaluating Zoho Projects for my own use.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I rate the product a six out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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YvesDene - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Consultant CSV at QbD
Consultant
Top 20
Easy Collaboration, customizable, but there is a bit of a learning curve
Pros and Cons
  • "This solution provides easy collaboration and allows non-building users to use the system without requiring a license."
  • "The system can become more challenging to use in more complex scenarios, requiring additional add-ons that can be quite costly."

What is most valuable?

This solution provides easy collaboration and allows non-building users to use the system without requiring a license. 

Only licensed users who can create sheets and collaborative spaces are charged for their usage.

What needs improvement?

The system can become more challenging to use in more complex scenarios, requiring additional add-ons that can be quite costly. 

However, since we don't use those add-ons, this is not an issue for us.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Smartsheet for three years.

Since it's a software as a service, we are always working on the latest version of the platform.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability of Smartsheet a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten.

Currently, we have around 15 to 20 users who have a valid license, but we plan to increase that number substantially. It's hard to determine the exact number of non-licensed users, but I would estimate it to be at least a few dozen, around 30 to 40 users.

How are customer service and support?

We did not have many occasions where we had to contact technical support.

How was the initial setup?

I was indeed involved in the initial setup, and let's say that for standard use, it's a very interesting tool. It's not that difficult.

But for more complex use cases, there is a higher learning curve.

What about the implementation team?

The application is hosted on the cloud, but I wouldn't describe it as completely public since users have their own private space. Access to the system requires a user account that is created by an administrator within our company.

The deployment process took one or two months to complete.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I believe a licensed user costs between 300 to 400 euros.

This solution does not have any additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

It's important to do thorough research and analysis to determine if the application fits your needs, as with any software. While we are satisfied with its use cases in some areas, we might have needed to do more research to determine if it would also meet our needs in other areas.

I would rate Smartsheet a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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National Sales Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Streamlines collaboration, offers stability, and saves time and energy
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Smartsheet are its collaboration tools, the ability to centralize and prioritize projects, and robust reporting capabilities."
  • "Areas for improvement in Smartsheet include better integration capabilities with other technologies through APIs and addressing limitations in reporting functionalities."

What is our primary use case?

I use Smartsheet to streamline our intercompany support process. Instead of sifting through emails, requests go directly into Smartsheet, where we manage and prioritize them. It helps us efficiently estimate projects for sales reps, keeping everything organized in one place and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

How has it helped my organization?

The feature that has most improved my workflow efficiency is the collaboration aspect of Smartsheet. It reduces reliance on emails and facilitates teamwork, which serves as the foundation for utilizing other features like storage and reporting.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Smartsheet are its collaboration tools, the ability to centralize and prioritize projects, and robust reporting capabilities. 

What needs improvement?

Areas for improvement in Smartsheet include better integration capabilities with other technologies through APIs and addressing limitations in reporting functionalities. Specifically, the ability to automate and customize reports more efficiently, as well as ensuring that exported reports display properly, especially when printing to PDF, would enhance user experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Smartsheet for a year and a half.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Smartsheet is excellent. While there have been occasional short connection issues or downtime, they have been minimal, totaling only a few hours over a year or more.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of Smartsheet around an eight out of ten. It is highly scalable with the right personnel and computer literacy in place, but adoption and implementation are key factors. Smartsheet's scalability benefits our organization by accommodating multiple teams with similar functions but different operating styles. It enhances collaboration and organization while providing visibility and reporting features that help gauge productivity and track progress transparently.

Overall, there are over 100 users in our organization, including both licensed users and those with limited access to submitting requests.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is quite good. I would rate it as an eight out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

I would rate the initial setup experience with Smartsheet around a five or six out of ten. It is not the most intuitive process, and the use of unfamiliar terminology can be confusing. While it is not overly difficult, there is room for improvement in making the setup smoother and more user-friendly.

The deployment of Smartsheet took several months, with a team of around eight to ten department managers involved in the rollout process.  Maintaining the Smartsheet solution mainly involves updating reporting and other features annually, typically requiring the assistance of the Smartsheet team.

What was our ROI?

We haven't quantified the ROI percentage-wise yet, but based on the time saved, I would say Smartsheet more than doubles productivity.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would say the pricing for Smartsheet is not cheap, but it is a good value considering what you get. Basic licenses start around $500 per person, and costs increase for additional premium features.

What other advice do I have?

Smartsheet streamlines collaboration by reducing email clutter and providing a centralized platform for managing requests. It saves time and energy by storing data efficiently and facilitating communication with sales reps. Additionally, it enables tracking and reporting, allowing us to gauge productivity and have a clear snapshot of progress over time.

My experience with the Smartsheet mobile app is generally positive. While it is not as robust as the web-based version, it is convenient for quick checks and accessing essential information on the go.

Overall, I would rate Smartsheet as an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
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Senior PM / Scrum Master at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Powerful, integrates with a lot of tools, and does a really good job of creating Gantt charts
Pros and Cons
  • "Smartsheet does a really good job of creating Gantt charts. Export to Excel feature was also very useful."
  • "The fact that you can have different access groups is definitely a pro for Smartsheet. It also has the ability to integrate with a lot of tools."
  • "The downside of Smartsheet is that there are some security concerns. We were able to restrict people from sharing sheets with anyone who was not in our domain, but it could be easier. We also found it hard to restrict certain user groups from adding attachments to sheets."
  • "It already has a really powerful Export to Excel feature, but it can have an Excel add-on. The way to set up single sign-on wasn't too easy in the beginning, and it was hard to get hold of customer service. They should make it easier to set up SSO. Smartsheet's customer service also definitely needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

I use it to collect the status of various projects. Before we moved to Agile, a lot of us used it for project planning. In the PMO, I created a master list of all the projects in the company and basically just started compiling statistics on them, such as the project managers assigned to each project, what sprint they were in, and things like that. We are using its enterprise version.

What is most valuable?

The Gantt chart feature was incredibly useful. Smartsheet does a really good job of creating Gantt charts. Before moving to Agile, a lot of us used it for project planning. We basically used it to create a project plan, and we were able to add Gantt charts just like Microsoft Project.

Export to Excel feature was also very useful. I used it to export to Excel and gather project status. I also used it to customize forms and collect project status and other information from users. Basically, I used it very much like Excel, except it is way more robust.

The fact that you can have different access groups is definitely a pro for Smartsheet. It also has the ability to integrate with a lot of tools. You can integrate it with other major tools like Jira and Microsoft Teams, which is incredibly useful.

What needs improvement?

The downside of Smartsheet is that there are some security concerns. Security is quite good
with the enterprise version, but there are some loopholes. It should be easier to restrict the users within the organization from sharing sheets outside of the domain. We were able to restrict people from sharing sheets with anyone who was not in our domain, but it could be easier. We also found it hard to restrict certain user groups from adding attachments to sheets. We have analytical groups in our company who should not be allowed to add attachments because they can attach sensitive information, which is something we don't want. The ability to prevent certain features of Smartsheet for a user group is not there. I couldn't find a way to do that. This is where there is room for improvement.

It already has a really powerful Export to Excel feature, but it can have an Excel add-on. It can have something just like an Excel integration or something that would make it easier for people who aren't really familiar with Smartsheet but are more familiar with Excel. 

The sign-in process was actually confusing. The way to set up single sign-on wasn't too easy in the beginning, and it was hard to get hold of customer service. They should make it easier to set up SSO.

Smartsheet's customer service definitely needs to be improved. They create a ticket, and then it disappears. It is very hard to understand to whom that ticket is assigned.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for almost three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is 100% stable. It probably went down only once or twice in the last almost three years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't know about scalability, but it has the ability to integrate with a lot of tools. We have integrated it with Microsoft Teams and Jira. These are the two most powerful integrations that are helping it scale. The fact that you can integrate it with other major tools like Jira and Microsoft Teams is incredibly useful. The Microsoft Teams integration is very useful because if a certain project manager or a scrum master is required to enter a status for their project, they receive an instant message in their Microsoft Teams inbox. This is a really nice feature.

In terms of the number of users, we have 5,000 people, and only a fraction of those people use it. We have around 2,000 users. The security concern is the reason why a large portion of them aren't allowed to use it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Smartsheet's customer service definitely needs to be improved. It has been a few months since I've talked to them. They're easy to get ahold of, but it has been the general consensus in our company that they create a ticket, and then it disappears. It is very hard to understand to whom that ticket is assigned. Their customer service definitely needs to improve, but for the most part, it has definitely improved over the past year since I've used it.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup was extremely straightforward. It is very easy to use in terms of the learning curve.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Its licensing is on a yearly basis. I was responsible for negotiating the price with the Smartsheet team, but I don't remember what the price was. Its standard license probably was around 5,000 to 6,000 a year. The enterprise version is significantly more expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not really evaluate other options. We use Microsoft Project, and we tried using Jira for a project management solution. Now that we're fully Agile, we don't really have the need for project plans, but we still use Smartsheet.

What other advice do I have?

It is a really robust tool, and it has really improved. They've improved its user interface a lot. Before using this tool, I would advise evaluating the size of your organization and your security needs. If you don't have too many people using Smartsheet, or if you have less than 50 licensed people, it is completely acceptable to go with the standard implementation. It isn't at all bad for a small startup in terms of pricing. Similarly, if there isn't really a huge need for security, you don't need to go with the enterprise version. It is significantly more expensive. Because we're a fairly large organization compared to startups, we went with the enterprise solution, which provides a slew of features. It is more than okay to go with the basic version of it.

I would rate Smartsheet an eight out of ten. There are some small flaws, but it is definitely a very powerful tool.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Donee Damore - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director Of Project Management at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5
Creates Gantt Charts, has multiple export formats, but the installation could be simplified
Pros and Cons
  • "For doing project plans what was really valuable is the ability to do a predecessor."
  • "You were forced to create a new tab rather than add another sheet."

What is our primary use case?

We used Smartsheet for project plans. It was used for project planning. Basically, the timeline out, the beginning and end of a project, and what that process would be in terms of how many days, and what those phases in the project were.

What is most valuable?

For doing project plans what was really valuable is the ability to do a predecessor. You could say "This has to happen before this can happen," then if you change a date, it changes automatically, and you don't have to go back in and change all of those dates.

I liked that you could save it as an Excel spreadsheet or a PDF. I also liked the fact that you could use a Gantt chart, and you could get different viewpoints on the project plan.

What needs improvement?

I don't believe you could add another sheet to it, which is something you can do in an Excel spreadsheet. Such as another tab, you would have to start from scratch.

You were forced to create a new tab rather than add another sheet.

In the next release, I would like to see the ability to create additional sheet tabs and keep everything in one place. What you could do, with the way it's set up, which is also nice, is to do one project plan on top and then create another one with different dates and put the predecessor in, and it's all on one sheet. However, you'd have to delete that instead of just deleting the sheet once it's finished.

For how long have I used the solution?

My contract had just ended, but they were always fairly up to date on the versions.

I was using the latest version of Smartsheet at the time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Smartsheet is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, there were some people who could be assigned to make changes to it, but we never collaborated with a large group of people on it.

I worked with five people who were also using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted technical support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple, but if you don't know how to use it, you'll need some training.

What about the implementation team?

I completed the installation and deployed this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would assume there is a licensing fee. I don't think that it is free.

What other advice do I have?

I believe it all depends on how you intend to use it. Platforms are used for specific purposes. I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it. I think it's a great tool.

I would rate it a seven because I believe it greatly facilitates the creation of a project plan. And then, if you needed to change dates due to a process being pushed back or content not being delivered on time, it's very easy to do so by changing one line and everything else would change.

I would rate Smartsheet a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Project Management Lead at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Allows us to quickly build a dashboard for insights and helps in keeping everybody informed, but I would like to be able to do more and have database functionality with it
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to build a quick dashboard and give management insight into the progress of the project itself is probably one of the most beneficial pieces."
  • "There are some pain points for me. Other people use it a little differently, but I would like to be able to do a little more with it. I would like database functionality with it wherein if I bring in several Excel spreadsheets of data and load them into Smartsheets, I should be able to make a correlation between an index field and run a report against those two. I can do it, but it's a little clunky. So, I need a little more experience to feel comfortable doing that."

What is our primary use case?

We work for an IT corporate here. Any project that is going to have resources expended gets a project manager assigned. We use Smartsheets to track everything from the schedule to the actions.

It's a cloud solution. We're buying software as a service.

What is most valuable?

The ability to build a quick dashboard and give management insight into the progress of the project itself is probably one of the most beneficial pieces.

One of the nice things about Smartsheets is that we can use it to notify people who have assigned actions. It integrates very easily with email, etc. We can just set it up for certain reminders. The report tools are very easy. I'm pretty impressed with it so far.

What needs improvement?

There are some pain points for me. Other people use it a little differently, but I would like to be able to do a little more with it. I would like database functionality with it wherein if I bring in several Excel spreadsheets of data and load them into Smartsheets, I should be able to make a correlation between an index field and run a report against those two. I can do it, but it's a little clunky. So, I need a little more experience to feel comfortable doing that.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it since I came to this company. It has been about four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We're buying it as software as a service. It is cloud-based, and we haven't had any outages or trouble trying to get into it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. Especially with the way we're buying it, we can just increase the licenses and keep rolling.

The project managers use it most, but then the leads are also able to update their own tasks within a sheet. Currently, more than 1,000 people have access to it, but there are less than 50 people who are fully licensed to make all the changes, create sheets, etc.

How was the initial setup?

I wasn't there when they set it up, so I can't comment on it too much, but we bought the big server solution set that has all the templates and other things. We have the entire project with all the templates and basic sheets and even the dashboard that we need. It works very well when you do that.

In terms of maintenance, the updates are pushed by the vendor, but we have three people acting as administrators within our environment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is less expensive than Microsoft Project for enterprise or Oracle Primavera by an order of magnitude. If you buy a Microsoft Project license, it's probably $300 or so by itself, whereas Smartsheet is probably less than $50 per head.

What other advice do I have?

It is very good for keeping everybody informed. Its interface is a little different from what you're accustomed to if you're a Microsoft Project or Oracle Primavera user, but I wouldn't let that stop you. I would encourage you to take a look at it and see if it'll work for your implementation.

I'm still early. So, I would rate it a seven out of ten. I'd probably move it to eight once I'm more comfortable with it.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Download our free Smartsheet Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Smartsheet Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.