Active Collab Rocks

activeCollab is an open source project management solution that is essentially a Basecamp clone. It was created by Ilija Studen from Novi Sad, Serbia. It is a hosted solution so the only caveat is you have to find a host for yourself, which GoDaddy can offer for around $4/mo which is still less than the pricing plan of Basecamp.

Why did I choose it?

Essentially this decision came down to monetary reasons. At this point I cannot justify dishing out cash for project management software like Basecamp. We are a poor startup working out of a garage, and we host many of our own websites.

Another reason is it’s web based, and I have complete control over the application. We did not need anything as robust as Microsoft Project / Project Server. We just need a place to be organized.

How was the implementation?

Granted, I am an experienced Windows system administrator but I think anyone with relatively basic systems skills will find this easy to install. I had it up and running in less than 10 minutes with the following configuration:

• Windows Server 2003
• PHP 5
• MySql 5

How does it stack up against Basecamp, other PM applications?

Well it’s not hard to beat MS Project, so I won’t even go there. So far I have created several projects and task lists while successfully delegating said tasks. I have uploaded documents, tagged them, and downloaded them. From my perspective it’s as good as Basecamp. Slacker Manager has a more thorough comparison.

Do I recommend it?

Yes, I do. But it definitely has a target audience. If you are a freelance professional I still recommned Basecamp. If you are a small company or have systems experience, it is definitely your best bet.