Project-based professionals in those industries are focusing on initiatives that address compliance and efficiency. In one of a series of recent reports on PBS, R "Ray" Wang, principal analyst at Forrester, notes that the low cost, easily implemented and easily deployed SaaS delivery platform makes an attractive licensing model, especially for small businesses in the services automation space.

"The preference for comprehensive solutions will drive demand for tools that apply program management techniques, deliver on integration and collaboration and provide new deployment options. Business process and applications professionals considering solutions along the project life cycle should seek industry-specific solutions from vendors who embrace the vision of dynamic apps," Wang says.

Here's his advice for professionals in project-based industries that are selecting a PBS solution or updating their PBS strategy.

• Start now. You don't need to buy a bunch of new technology to start. This is about building a sustainable strategy that will help guide existing and future technology investments, projects and maintenance plans.
• Align requirements with project-based processes. There are opportunities for smaller organizations (200 to 1,000 employees), particularly in the services delivery automation space, to quickly standardize their project management methodologies.
• Assess project and process maturity. Benchmark your organization against established project management standard. Your maturity level will provide a strong indication of the type of solution best suited for your needs.
• Start within the industry and consider specific scenarios. Identify the vendors that have shown proven capabilities in your industry or related industries. Take existing project processes and map them to the key PBS processes. Identify key use cases and then develop demo scenarios for the vendors during the selection process.
• Assess integration points to core applications. In enterprises with multiple ERP systems, carefully consider integration back to core financials, core human capital management or other project-related systems.
• Choose a project scheduling tool. Make sure the selected PBS vendor supports the tool with which the business users will be most comfortable.
• Assess the long-term packaged apps strategy. Best practices often include not only a current assessment of apps strategy, but an ongoing review.