5 Best Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternatives And Competitors To Consider
Nearly all decisions that leaders of digital service companies make rely on accurate insights and forecasts — but to gather those insights and create those forecasts, they need the right people, the right processes, and (definitely) the right tools in place to bring it all together.
Today’s modern, strategic solutions can enable smooth, streamlined project management, resource planning, and forecasting for services organizations, allowing them to step away from their old school, often tedious approaches for collecting and monitoring business-critical insights. With the right tools in place, leaders can more easily elevate core practices and strategically drive the business forward by creating a cohesive, forward-looking view into how they operate.
So, where to turn? How can you know which solution is best for you?
There’s a lot of hype over platforms like Mavenlink (Kantata), a professional services automation (PSA) solution that centralizes operations and tools into one place to help services organizations optimize their project management and resource planning — but, in truth, every business will have a unique set of requirements and objectives that dictate which platform is right for them.
We dive into the different PSA platforms and other alternatives available today – some that may be even better than Mavenlink (Kantata) 👀 – so stick around and scroll down to learn more.
Table of Contents: Top Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternatives & Competitors
5 Best Mavenlink Alternatives And Competitors To Consider
Why do you need an alternative to Mavenlink (Kantata)?
Key Features For A Strong Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternative
Top 5 Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternatives
Which Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternative will work best for you?
Why do you need an alternative to Mavenlink (Kantata)?
You need simple, straightforward pricing
If you’re a services company looking for sustainable growth, you should look for simple, straightforward pricing from your platform that doesn’t come with any surprises. When comparing solutions, ask how their pricing works. It’s not uncommon for all-in-one solutions, for example, to lead with one price to get folks in the door but then, to get their real value, it requires additional features, custom insights, and LOTS of training, which usually comes with additional, significant costs. There are platforms today that have fixed pricing for the duration of the project, access to all features, AND tied to billable resources where ROI is actually realized.
You need better planning capabilities
Some platforms have dashboards that don’t always enable the transparency and collaboration that teams want and need today. Services companies are looking for advanced resource planning and capacity forecasting capabilities that provide one source of truth by connecting to the CRM (sales pipeline) and Backlog (active projects). This provides a forward-looking shared view of performance and forecasts—because that’s how you plan. It’s all about less reactive planning and more proactive planning with a complete picture of the data, accessible in the right ways for all team members.
You need more integration options
Whenever possible, digital services companies want to avoid disruption to daily operations, that includes avoiding the need to rip and replace the tools and technologies their people have come to love and rely on. Many leaders today are seeking integration-first resource planning engines that can curate data from across the business for smarter decisions. Being able to leverage the tools you already have is certainly less disruptive, but it also costs less (even just considering hours) than adopting all new tools and allows for speed to value because you don’t need to learn a completely new toolset. Talk about a win-win-WIN!
You want more customization
Getting trapped in workflows that require never-ending clicks to get to the information needed can quickly turn into a nightmare for people trying to make real-time decisions. Being able to personalize and customize workflows to create a view that works for you, no matter your role, not only makes these solutions more enjoyable to use but an incredibly valuable time saver.
Key Features For A Strong Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternative
Integration-first
Digital services companies want a platform that connects and leverages the tools their teams are already using such as CRM and timesheet tools. A platform that integrates with top CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, for example, means sales team members get the same experience they’re used to, but their deal and project data will flow directly into the platform for better visibility for resource planning, which helps improve utilization, project margin, and growth.
Approachable, predictable pricing
Leaders need to have an understanding of a platform’s pricing structure straight away; they want tools without any hidden fees and that don’t charge for freelancers or non-billable users to use the tool. They want approachable, predictable pricing.
Rapid adoption and implementation
The implementation and adoption timelines for all-in-one tools can create massive disruptions to workflows and take months, even years, to get right. There are other tools that drive adoption and implementation in 90 days or less so that services organizations can unlock value from their investment quickly. (Yes, we’re talking about Parallax. 😉)
Designed specifically for digital agencies and software development shops
Some platforms are designed for any type of company, while other platforms are designed specifically for digital agencies and software development shops. These businesses have different needs, unique workflows, and they move fast—and their tools need to do the same.
Top 5 Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternatives
1. Parallax
Parallax takes a different approach than monolithic, all-in-one PSA tools on the market. A purpose-built platform for digital services companies, specifically agencies and software development studios, Parallax leverages native integrations for the best-in-class tools that are already in use, all to deliver a forward-looking view into the business that enables better resource management, tighter operations, and stronger performance.
Parallax is a team of industry experts dedicated to removing friction points and solving business challenges for services companies, and the platform proves it — it provides shared visibility across the business, creating centralized insights to inform conversations on hiring, resource allocation, and much more. And the outcome? Everyone will be empowered to make more strategic decisions that can positively impact performance and forecasting and, ultimately, drive measurable growth.
5 reasons why Parallax is the best Mavenlink (Kantata) alternative
- Rapid adoption: Parallax is committed to driving adoption and implementation in 90 days or less.
- Additive to existing tech stack: Parallax works with your existing tools and technology and doesn’t disrupt any current workflows.
- Automatic integrations: Parallax provides automatic integration of sales pipeline data to enable deeper scenario planning for leaders.
- Predictable pricing: Parallax delivers a sense of pricing from the very first conversations, and there are no hidden fees for consulting or integrations. In other words, pricing is locked.
- Ongoing consulting: Parallax keeps its champions connected to customers as often as they want, ensuring everyone is getting as much value as possible from the platform.
2. Wrike
An easy-to-use tool, Wrike streamlines the internal project management and collaboration processes across teams. The platform focuses on the accomplishment of tasks rather than entire projects, offering workflow customization for companies to make processes more company- or industry-specific. It’s built to streamline proofing and reporting for marketing campaigns, to more easily develop creative assets and have them routed through approvals quickly, and to support project managers more easily track deadlines and deliver results. Wrike offers various plans with different pricing structures depending on the company’s needs.
3. monday.com
Monday is a comprehensive platform that’s designed to help teams manage their entire workflow within a single digital workspace. It’s a project management software that helps to increase transparency and visibility within day-to-day operations—it automates repetitive tasks, enhances team collaboration, and creates visibility in workflows. Teams can use the platform to manage all projects, but they can also use it as a CRM, to manage ad campaigns, or even to manage video production. Monday has various plans available depending on the company’s needs.
4. OpenAir
An extension of Oracle’s NetSuite ERP, OpenAir is an all-in-one cloud-based professional services automation platform for a wide array of services businesses. The platform provides integrated time tracking, project management, resource management, expense tracking, and invoicing – offering a single platform to run a services organization. OpenAir’s global customers all use the same version and codebase, with options for configurability and customization. Migration and adoption of this all-in-one ERP platform can often take 6-12 months to fully implement.
5. Teamwork
Teamwork is a project management tool focused on collaboration by providing key features such as instant chat. It makes resource management simple by providing a view of everything in one place for the team, clients, and freelancers. Teamwork has advanced features for time tracking, budgeting, and resource allocation. It integrates with companies’ other project applications, such as the CRM platform, and automates repetitive tasks with straightforward workflows.
Which Mavenlink (Kantata) Alternative will work best for you?
There’s a long list of stand-out applications and next-generation tools available today for digital services organizations, and choosing the one that’s best for your business can feel overwhelming. What’s important to remember in your search is that your project management and resource planning solution should be just as dynamic as your business. Your platform should grow as you grow, and it should work for you and with you, not against you—because thoughtful, strategic growth is hard enough.
Parallax was built specifically for digital services companies and informed by top industry leaders. We’re a driven team that’s ready to solve operational challenges and deliver better insights for purposeful growth… so, if you have questions, know that we’re here to help.
We’re always happy to chat and share more about the Parallax approach and help you decide whether it’s the right tool for you and your business. 🤜🤛
