Kiiro: SharePoint-Based Collaboration That Just Works

Written by Steven Walling / August 25, 2009 12:30 PM / 4 Comments

There are literally thousands of project management and SharePoint-based applications available, and more come out all the time. New ones are usually not that interesting. But Kiiro is a project management tool that uses a SharePoint backend yet looks like nothing like a Microsoft product.

Launched by the Alberta-based nForm, Kiiro is one of the best-looking and easiest-to-use SharePoint tools we've seen to date. You currently need to request a demo to get access, but this should be a godsend to all of those enterprises that use SharePoint by default.

Real Usability

There are many strong project management templates and apps that sit on top of SharePoint. The one by EPMLive, which was 2009 Microsoft Partner of the Year, is one example. But few of them match what Kiiro offers in terms of good looks and usability. Having used Basecamp here at ReadWriteWeb, I'd say the features of the two look fairly comparable.

In addition to the usual project-focused task management, Kiiro includes discussions, documents, and an issue tracker. Kiiro also pulls in some social Web aspects, such as Facebook-like status updates aggregated into an activity stream.

In other words, it's a comprehensive attempt to build a working collaborative software package on top of SharePoint, without all the headaches for IT or business users. It can also import and sync with Microsoft Project if you've already built up a knowledge base there.

A Good Compromise

Cloud-based options still scare big enterprises locked into Microsoft, but some of SharePoint's PM features just plain do not work. A tool like Kiiro, which combines a trusted SharePoint backend with a better user experience, could be a way forward that pleases all.

Comments

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Fantastic stuff. I can't wait to give this thing a go. Plus Mac compatibility doesn't seem to be an issue, which is a plus.

Posted by: Patrick Perreault | August 26, 2009 7:50 AM

Looks very interesting.

What's the cost / cost model?

Can you go in through SharePoint and access the documents uploaded through Kiiro?

Also, what are the most comparable PM tools that use SharePoint as a back end?

Posted by: Julia Begley | August 26, 2009 12:39 PM

Julia,

It's not clear what the cost is like right now. Since you have to get a demo from nForm to get it, I'm guessing there's some kind of fee and an SLA involved for sure, though exactly how much is unknown.

As for comparable tools: the best that I found is people offering templates for regular SharePoint that you can use for PM. Kiiro is the first really new interface on top of SharePoint that I've seen to date.

Hope that helps!

Posted by: stevenwalling.com | August 26, 2009 2:24 PM

Julia,

If you're interested in costs for Kiiro please send me an email (gene at getkiiro.com). For small businesses/teams it's competitive with the SaaS collaboration/project management products out there.

> Can you go in through SharePoint and access the documents uploaded through Kiiro?

Yes, all of the data used by Kiiro is stored in regular SharePoint lists. The documents are stored in a document library (we've just refined the interface and interaction).

> Also, what are the most comparable PM tools that use SharePoint as a back end?

There are free PM templates offered by Microsoft, Bamboo Solutions offers PM webparts as well as suite called PM Central, Brightworks has a product called pmPoint. And at the upper end of the market you have companies like EPMlive. Google "Sharepoint PM templates" and you'll find most of them.

(Steven, thanks for great article!)

Posted by: Gene | August 26, 2009 10:30 PM