(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...So, I don’t know if I have mentioned this on our blog. But, we spent months, and I mean literally months looking around for a web based project management tool that met the needs of Abraham Harrison. You would think that this would be an easy mission. Hell no!!
We wanted to dump Basecamp so badly, yet we didn’t wanna go to something else that was kind of….well…ho hum!!! Just when I was at the end of my tether in the search a bit of synchronicity came along and a potential client mentioned Central Desktop to us.
So, off I ran and checked out this software - it was on my list but I hadn’t really give it much of a go. After a week of digging around, having my Executive Assistant dig around in CD - we both agreed that this was the one for us.
It is simple, clean, fast and does what it needs to do. There are elements missing, for sure, but that is a given. My biggest gripe is their need to integrate more time tracking/management capabilities. However, after a phone call with the CEO, Isaac Garcia (heck how often do you get to talk to the CEO of a company as a small time client) he assured me that they are working on many improvements.
What I found so cool about this company (besides their awesome platform) was that they had built this tool up without any major funding, with paying customers - no, “come use us for free” approach in the hope that it would make them popular. No, they did it while having to please paying customers.
So, last week I got an email from Isaac, following up on the phone call we had had a week earlier and he informed me that Central Desktop had just got its first round of major funding - $7 million from Openview Venture Partners. Not bad, not bad at all….especially when you realize that Openview is one of Central Desktops paying customers (well, maybe they will give them a free account).
I like seeing companies do it the old fashion way. Create a good product, get people to buy it and watch it grow. Hell, getting popular off “free giveaways” is always easier, but certainaly doesn’t guarantee a good product.
Congrats Isaac and the CD gang!! We over at AH look forward to more and more slick features and are stoked that you guys are around.
Filed under: Abraham Harrison LLC
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I liked Basecamp well enough when I used it with crayon — lots of geeks love all the stuff offered by 37 Signals but I couldn’t get my team to buy unto it at all… I used it pretty regularly, but I was in the midst of a general strike!
I am so happy that Sara and Saul found Central Desktop because not we have the ability to do everything we need. There are definitely some things that are similar to BC, but they are smarter. It offers Tasks and Timelines and File-Sharing but also file-viewing, concurrent versioning, approval processes, Wikis, and all sorts of other cool things — desktop sharing — loads of things that I have yet to explore.
We made the right decision.
Central Desktop doesn’t have multiple project views. I’ve seen thing feature only in Wrike.com For our team this feature is priceless, as each member can view the project differently. The boss loves Wrike too, as he gets the complete insight into the business.
We are also happy Central Desktop users for more than a year.
We bundle a Central Desktop workspace into every client engagement for the life of the engagement, which cuts down on a lot of E-mail and allows us to collaborate on content against a deadline much more effectively.
We also offer workshops and include a 90 day workspace for each workshop attendee. This helps support the follow up we do at 2,4,8, and 13 weeks to assist in the implementation of the plans developed in the workshop.
In either case a client can take ownership at the end of the engagement or follow up period.