Industry Study Cites ROI Benefits of Smartsheet for Work Collaboration

Bellevue, Wash. – February 26, 2015 - Smartsheet, the spreadsheet-inspired collaborative work management tool used by millions worldwide, today announced the findings of a new commissioned ROI study: The Forrester Total Economic Impact of Smartsheet, which was conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Smartsheet. Based on interviews with enterprise customers across industry verticals such as real estate, education and technology, the Forrester study found that organizations using Smartsheet were better able to streamline and standardize processes and boost productivity, ultimately leading to shorter sales cycles, bigger deals and increased revenue.  

The Forrester Total Economic Impact of Smartsheet study is available to download here.

Specifically, the study found project owners and managers using Smartsheet were 21 percent more productive, and the extended team – including those outside the company – collaborating through Smartsheet increased productivity by 25 percent.

The study reported: “Regardless of industry, the customers interviewed described the challenge of coordinating dozens of people inside and outside of the organization on the completion of work. They struggled to get diverse team members, often including those who didn’t report to them, to update their work status proactively. This led to project delays, anxiety-fraught meetings and emails, and lower-quality work. With Smartsheet, these common issues were solved by the web-based interface, easy administration, and ability to invite resources to participate securely for their specific contributions. The interviewees credited Smartsheet, in part, with completing projects with greater accuracy and higher quality.”
              
For example, customers interviewed for the study cited these specific benefits of Smartsheet:  
    •    A product manager cited being about to get a portfolio of products out for half the cost and in one-third of the time, generating $12 million in three months compared with the $2 million the same portfolio previously generated in the entire year.
    •    Another cited that his team could generate proposals more quickly using Smartsheet, which led to more submissions and more sales.
    •    One cited a 30 percent reduction in errors, which saved the project an estimated $200,000.
    •    Instead of spending two days pulling data for client reports, one customer estimated she does the same task in minutes in Smartsheet.
              
In addition to increased productivity, the Forrester study highlights these additional quantitative benefits of deploying Smartsheet:
    •    Increased Revenue: Companies using Smartsheet as a competitive advantage to win business reported shorter sales cycles, bigger deals and greater client confidence in their ability to execute.
    •    Reduced Costs, Streamlined Processes: Customers report reduced time to input and consolidate customer issues and updates by capturing issues and changes easily through iPads, iPhones and Android devices, enabling faster, more accurate customer service.
    •    Improved Resourcing: With increased transparency of the workloads among workers within an organization, companies report better visibility into staffing and the ability to hire strategically for the right level of resource.
    •    Standard Methodology for Projects: Because of the familiar spreadsheet user interface led to rapid adoption, companies confirm they could quickly develop and standardize on a project management methodology in Smartsheet.

Customers also report several qualitative benefits of using Smartsheet as the hub of their work collaboration efforts:
    •    As a universal utility with appeal across the enterprise, Smartsheet levels the playing field for the ability to design and implement a productivity system.
    •    Removes barriers and unifies the organization, creating a culture of collaboration.
    •    Work is done more accurately with fewer errors.
    •    Meets the toughest IT scrutiny on security and enterprise administration.

Smartsheet’s work management tool is used by nearly 60,000 paying organizations to collaborate, plan and execute a broad spectrum of projects and processes, including marketing campaigns, product launches, business operations, manufacturing processes, strategic planning and HR initiatives. Adoption across organizations grows quickly as users share sheets to collaborate with others. Many of the world’s industry-leading organizations have deployed Smartsheet broadly such as Google, GSA, Netflix, Cisco, Bayer, Groupon, Pearson, HomeAway, McGraw-Hill Education, DHL, ESPN, Colliers, Sony Music and MetLife.

About Smartsheet
Smartsheet, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company, offers businesses an intuitive collaboration and work management tool. The ease of use of the familiar spreadsheet-like interface, coupled with file sharing, work automation and Gantt chart features, have made it a popular and highly functional collaboration and project management tool. Customers include construction companies, consulting firms, schools and universities, utility firms, government entities, healthcare organizations, high-tech firms, non-profits, manufacturing and law firms, among others. Additionally, Smartsheet offers mobile apps, pre-built templates, and integrations with leading cloud apps such as Box, Dropbox, Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365 and Google for Work to ensure users are up and running quickly. Visit www.smartsheet.com for more details.
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