Whether you’re managing time, people, or materials, resource management software can be an essential tool for optimizing your resources. By offering visibility into resource scheduling, utilization, and availability, this type of software helps reduce bottlenecks, enhance productivity, and get projects finished on-time and on-budget.
But with so many options available, it can be difficult to determine which tool will work best for your specific needs. After all, seemingly small factors like ease of use, integration capabilities, and scalability can make or break your project success. That's why exploring demos should be part of your selection process. It allows you to see firsthand how each tool fits your workflow, helping you make an informed decision.
Here, I’ve put together a list of 8 different demos for some of the most popular resource management tools on the market to help you discover the best software for your team.
1. monday.com
In this video review, DPM software reviewer Hermann Fink provides an in-depth look at monday.com from the perspective of a first-time user. He walks the viewer through monday.com’s onboarding process, noting that it has a straightforward setup with helpful webinars and tutorials, but also features some issues with introducing automations too early for new users. He then assesses core project management features, focusing on task management, collaboration tools, time tracking, document management, and resource management.
Overall, Hermann recommends monday.com for service companies with unique workflows that need a customizable management tool. On the other hand, those seeking a simple, plug-and-play solution may want to look into other options.
If you’re considering monday.com for your team and want to learn the basics of using the platform, this review offers an excellent introduction to the tool. For more information, check out our list of monday.com alternatives.
2. Parallax
This demo features Austin Schaefer and Brett Swain—solutions architects at Parallax—outlining how Parallax helps professional services firms optimize their resource management, resource utilization, and project margins. They also note that the platform integrates sales pipeline data and project information to predict future capacity and revenue, which can help teams plan proactively instead of reactively.
Austin and Brett then demonstrate Parallax's tools for capacity forecasting, resource allocation, and project margin analysis, showcasing how adjustments can be made to resource plans in real-time for better financial performance.
The two reviewers also describe several best practices for resource management, including the importance of maintaining high-level project updates and accurate sales pipeline forecasting for capacity planning. The presentation concludes with examples of how clients can use Parallax to improve forecasting and resource management processes, ultimately driving growth and operational efficiency.
Whether you’re considering Parallax for your team or you just need a general primer on resource management, this demo provides a well-rounded overview of how to use Parallax to optimize your resource planning.
3. Wrike
In this demo, DPM’s Hermann Fink evaluates Wrike, with a particular focus on the platform’s five main features: task management, collaboration tools, time tracking, document management, and resource management.
Overall, he notes that tasks are easy to create with drag-and-drop functionality, and that collaboration is facilitated through task comments, mentions, and file proofing with versioning. Time tracking is built into the platform, and users can manage multiple timers. Finally, resource management features offer detailed views of team workloads and task allocations. The review also covers Wrike's onboarding process, which is straightforward but requires several mandatory steps.
Hermann concludes with an additional list of pros and cons for the software. Pros include right-click context menus, dynamic file comparison, and AI features available at no extra cost. Cons include high costs, unclear form responses, and two-factor authentication (2FA) being limited to the Enterprise plan. Ultimately, Herman states that he is impressed with Wrike's user-friendly interface and feature balance.
If you’re interested in using Wrike as a resource management solution, this demo provides a general overview of Wrike’s main features, benefits, and drawbacks. For more information, check out Wrike pricing information, or our list of Wrike alternatives.
4. Scoro
This demo introduces Scoro, a cloud-based business management software that integrates team projects, sales, finances, and reports. It especially emphasizes Scoro’s customizable dashboard as a central feature, allowing users to organize important metrics and daily tasks.
The video also highlights Scoro’s key features, including contact management for adding, filtering, and organizing client information and a calendar for scheduling meetings and managing events. The quoting tool allows users to easily create quotes, with options to predefine products and convert quotes into projects. Additionally, the reviewer notes that Scoro offers templates and task management tools that use phases and milestones to simplify project management. The software can also streamline invoicing by transferring information from quotes and work reports into invoices.
If you’ve been looking for a digestible overview of Scoro’s major features, this demo is definitely worth a watch.
5. Runn
This demo introduces Runn, a capacity planning and forecasting platform designed to help teams working across multiple projects. The software provides a shared view of all projects and people, which can help users answer critical questions about staff capacity, resource availability, project timelines, and hiring needs. It also simplifies complex planning by giving real-time visibility into current and future project statuses, allowing company leaders to track performance metrics and scenario planning.
For project managers, Runn helps with budgeting, team selection, scheduling, and quick adjustments when plans change. It also includes built-in timesheets, which allows users to compare planned versus actual project outcomes. Moreover, with integrations and a user-friendly API, Runn integrates seamlessly with other tools, eliminating the need for spreadsheets or complex software.
This demo is great if you want to gain an efficient, high-level understanding of Runn’s various features and functionalities.
6. Float
This demo, hosted by Justin Fraction, introduces Float, a resource and project management software designed to help keep projects profitable, workloads sustainable, and distributed team members in sync. Overall, the software is meant to be a single source of truth for planning, scheduling, and tracking resources.
Float’s key features include real-time scheduling and task updates, resource capacity tracking, and project planning tools that allow managers to assign and adjust tasks, monitor team availability, set hours, track budgets, and view project milestones at a high level. The software also supports forecasting, reporting, and tracking project budgets to help increase project profitability.
If you’re considering Float for yourself or your team, this quick demo can help you understand the tool’s key features, pros, and cons. For more information, check out Float pricing information.
7. Resource Guru
This video demonstrates how simple it is to create clients and projects in Resource Guru.
When creating a project, the video notes that project codes are automatically generated, but users have the option to modify it according to their preferences. Resource Guru users can also categorize projects as billable or non-billable, with the selected setting applied to all new bookings by default. This can also be adjusted for individual bookings if needed. Additionally, the colors assigned to clients and projects are visible in the project schedule, making it easy to identify them. Alternatively, new projects or clients can also be added directly from the schedule, allowing for greater flexibility and convenience.
Whether you’re a new Resource Guru user or you just want to see a snippet of how the software works, this demo provides an excellent walkthrough of Resource Guru’s client and project management features. For more information, check out our list of Resource Guru alternatives.
8. Smartsheet
This demo provides a comprehensive review of Smartsheet, a project management tool that can also be used for resource management. The review highlights Smartsheet's spreadsheet-like interface, making it familiar for users of Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets while also offering powerful project management features such as team collaboration, workflow automation, and scalability. Key features include advanced reporting, data integration, security, app integrations, and resource management.
The reviewer praises Smartsheet's customization and automation capabilities but notes a few downsides, including the lack of real-time updates, potentially high costs due to added features, a steep learning curve for non-spreadsheet users, and some difficulty in finding activity logs. The reviewer also suggests that Smartsheet is best suited for businesses needing process automation and project portfolio management, but it is not ideal for simple task tracking or agile development teams.
If you’re considering Smartsheet for yourself or your team, this demo provides an excellent review of the software’s features, benefits, and drawbacks. For more information, check out Smartsheet pricing information, or our list of Smartsheet alternatives.
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