Dipping your toes into the world of Primavera P6 – and it’s various versions, can seem like quite the daunting task.  

How do you figure out which Primavera software product you require to plan, schedule, resource and risk assure your projects? What are the license options? Should I go Primavera Cloud or P6 On Premise? What is the price of each P6 option? Will I require Primavera P6 training? What support packages are available?

The list of questions seemingly go on and on. But fear not. Hyde Park Solutions’ Oracle Specialist Jonathan Hill has answers to these questions and has updated our earlier article on the subject. 

So, if you’re currently looking for an Oracle Primavera P6 product, but are not sure which you need, we hope that you will have a better understanding by the time you finish reading this article. If not give me Jonathan Hill a call on +44 203 17 400 70.  

Let me start by defining what the different Primavera tools for planning, scheduling, resource and risk management are. 

Different Primavera products do different things 

Let’s start by understanding the different versions of the suite of Primavera software offered by Oracle. Primavera now has three software products that offer Project planning, scheduling and resource management functionality. 

P6 EPPM – Enterprise Project Portfolio Management is known as the web version but in terms of functionality offers all the above, planning, scheduling and resource management. Typically, it’s for the larger organisation or deployments where all admin and some planning is done via a web browser. 

P6 PPM – Professional Project Management is know as the client server or desktop version where the majority of the work is done on the user’s laptop. It is sometimes set up to have data stored on a central server (just like EPPM). In terms of functionality it offers all that EPPM offers.  

Primavera Cloud Schedule (formerly Prime) is known as Oracles SaaS version (software as a service) so this is only available for use over the web. In terms of functionality it offers nearly all that PPM and EPPM offers.  

Where can I find Primavera P6 tutorials and training?

Good quality Primavera P6 training can be hard to find, which is why we have recently launched our HPS Training Academy that offers accredited Primavera P6 training courses. Hyde Park Solutions offer an excellent immersive three day Primavera P6 Training course, with each package having been personally tailored and designed from the ground up in order to suit and meet the needs of the client organisation’s staff. 

Hyde Park Solutions are one of the few Primavera experts with capabilities across every stage of the Primavera product life cycle, including; proof of concept, design, implementation, integration, training, and support. 

Short of a Primavera P6 tutorial or training course, there is a wealth of free information available online through various sources. Although the quality and authenticity of the training / teaching may not always be of the highest standard. There is no substitute for real, hands-on training. 

My colleague Nathan Scott can help you design your Primavera training requirements. We offer public courses or an onsite private course for your organisation. Call Nathan on +44 203 17 400 70.

Where is the Primavera P6 download?

Oracle Primavera Software is obtained via downloading from the Oracle eDelivery Cloud. Customers generally purchase Primavera P6 software from reputable Oracle resellers – such as Hyde Park Solutions (where it is often cheaper!), the final software download will be from Oracle’s eDelivery cloud.  

After your license purchase from HPS we will provide you the customer with all the credentials needed to log in and download the software. Do not trust or download supposed Primavera Software from anywhere else than Oracle. 

 More about P6 PPM  

Primavera P6 PPM is a project management tool widely used within engineering, construction, oil and gas, and other related fields. It is often being considered the gold standard for managing and tracking large complex projects in these industries. 

The Primavera P6 PPM client is Windows based and can be installed onto a standalone PC for a single project manager to access and manage tasks. Or onto a database – allowing many different individuals to log into and use the software. Popular servers used in conjunction with Primavera P6 include Oracle databases, Microsoft SQL, and SQLite. 

Primavera P6 PPM includes many useful features out of the box, including: CPM scheduling (Critical Path Method) – this ‘Critical Path’ is created by assigning dates to tasks based on the duration and sequence of a particular task. The software also comes with all the other key features one would expect as part of a premium Project Management software – analytics and reporting tools, Gantt charts, spreadsheets, graphs etc.. 

Is Primavera P6 PPM a standalone or enterprise tool? 

The answers to this, is both. P6 PPM will often be installed onto a single device for an individual or small team to monitor and track a project. Equally, the system is often integrated into, and installed onto a local server. Allowing many individuals to access the product. Each user will require their own copy of P6 installed on their own device. 

More about Primavera P6 EPPM (Enterprise Project Portfolio Management) 

The biggest difference between P6 PPM and P6 EPPM is the fact that EPPM is completely web based. All users accessing and logging into their dashboard though a traditional web browser.  

One of the benefits of a complete web-based approach is the fact that new users can quickly be set-up. Users are brought onto the system, just by providing login credentials. Additionally, the web-based nature of P6 EPPM allows users to access the software using their mobiles. Making it quicker and easier to update projects on-the-go.  

P6 EPPM takes many of P6 PPM’s best features, and presents them in a more up to date and graphically-rich display, including many graphs, dashboards and charts. Many of these graphical representations can be further drilled into to gain a more detailed oversight of any particular project’s details. 

As the name would suggest, P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management (P6 EPPM), is largely focused on managing a Portfolio, or set of projects, simultaneously.  As a result P6 EPPM is often better suited to larger organisations. And those who have the need to oversee and manage multiple large projects at the same time. 

Recommendations and Conclusions P6 PPM versus EPPM 

P6 PPM has been around a long time – almost two decades. As a result many of it’s interfaces look slightly dated, however, this also means that Oracle has had a long time to refine and adjust the product to truly suit the needs of companies looking to manage a large complex project, where on-time delivery and budgeting are considered vital. 

PPM is cheaper to use and to install than P6 EPPM. With EPPM often requiring additional add-ons to achieve full functionality.  

However, P6 EPPM is a more modern approach to project and portfolio management. It features more intuitive displays and easy to use graphical data interfaces, things P6 does not do so well. P6 EPPM also makes it easier to onboard users as it’s entirely web based. 

Smaller organisations will go for P6 PPM it will remain the product of choice for small to medium sized corporations within the construction, engineering and oil and gas fields, looking to manage a single, large and complex project, well.  

P6 EPPM will be chosen by medium to large organisations who require the ability to manage multiple large, complex, projects at the same time. 

Don’t forget  

Hyde Park Solutions Limited have designed, installed, built and supported every type of Primavera P6 system for clients in different business sectors all over the world for many years. We offer the licenses at a good discount, professional services to ensure its installed and configured optimally, training to make sure your staff use it correctly and support for when it all goes wrong.  

If you’d like to talk about anything contained in this article – be it Primavera P6 Training or the purchase of a Primavera P6 product, license or support, we would be delighted to hear from you. Simply give us a call or email us for an obligation-free discussion on the P6 range.