Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC) is a project, portfolio, and program management solution. Similar to Primavera P6, OPC allows you to schedule projects using the critical path method of scheduling. However, Primavera Cloud offers a variety of tools beyond those available in P6 – such as risk management and lean scheduling. Additionally, OPC is a cloud-based solution, meaning you can access the program from anywhere – as long as you have internet access. You are no longer limited to accessing your projects on one computer – now, you can access them anywhere, at any time. Working in the cloud allows for more communication and consistency among project teams.

For both former P6 users and new schedulers, Oracle Primavera Cloud has become a very popular project management solution. As an Oracle product, OPC makes the transition from P6 very easy through an import/export process. For new schedulers, OPC features a simpler, easy-to-learn interface.

Oracle Primavera Cloud offers four different license types: Schedule, Task Management, Portfolio Planning, and Progress. Each license type allows access to different tools and features within the application. You can mix and match these licenses to allow each user access to the tools they need. However, you must purchase a minimum of five (5) user licenses per type.

For those interested in Oracle Primavera Cloud, let’s take a look at the tools available within each of these license types.

Schedule

The Schedule license allows users to create, manage, and schedule projects. This license is the “standard” license type, with the other licenses acting as “add-ons.” With this license, you can perform all scheduling functions you could in Primavera P6. Like P6, this license lets you plan, schedule and control projects and programs using the critical path method of scheduling. You can create new projects from scratch, or import in projects from Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project. Beyond scheduling, this license offers additional project control capabilities as well. You can track costs & funds, perform risk analysis, and even create interactive dashboards.

When compared to Primavera P6, this license does not only offer more capabilities – it is also less expensive. The Schedule license costs only $1440 per user per year, which is about a third of the cost of a Primavera P6 license. 

Oracle has recently incorporated the capabilities of both the Task Management and the Progress license with the Schedule license. If you purchase the Schedule license, you’ll now have access to the tools available in Task Management and Progress as well. However, you can still purchase those licenses separately if needed.

Task Management

Formerly known as Primavera Lean, the Task Management license allows you to perform lean scheduling in OPC. With this license, you’ll have access to the Tasks app, which is a collaborative task planning system. Here, you can break your CPM schedule activities into smaller tasks and plan them over time.

The Task Management license allows you to work with traditional lean scheduling processes. In the past, lean scheduling was performed by team members rearranging activities on a planning board. Managing companies, constraints, and deadlines, they would arrange tasks to ensure efficiency. In OPC, this process has come into the digital age through the Tasks app. Using a variety of pages, this app allows users to create tasks, plan them, and schedule them over time. With Tasks, users can also manage companies, constraints, and hand-offs – all of which will affect the project plan.

You can integrate the decisions made in the Tasks app with the master CPM schedule. This allows for full visibility, coordination, and communication among team members and stakeholders.

By default, the capabilities in this license are also available within the Schedule license. You do not need to purchase this license separately if you already have a Primavera Schedule. However, you can purchase this license on its own if you have users who will only need to manage tasks, rather than the overall schedule.

Portfolio Planning

Oracle Primavera Cloud’s Portfolio Planning license allows users to manage portfolios. Portfolios are groups of projects and programs that you can track from an upper-level. With portfolios, you can view and manage pipelines, estimated budgets, and capital spend requirements. This license is specifically catered towards portfolio managers. It allows upper level stakeholders to evaluate their entire organization at once.

Portfolios allow you to track costs, requirements and goals across all projects in the database. You can view this data through a variety of tools – such as customizable dashboards, performance scorecards, and investor maps. With a top-down view, this license allows portfolio managers full control over all project stages, from initial planning to completion.

This license type also provides a tool to assist with project planning: Ideas. With Ideas, users can submit ideas for projects or company improvements. Assigned portfolio managers can choose to accept or reject these ideas based on organizational goals. If they decide to accept the idea, it will become a project proposal through a predefined workflow. Managers can then analyze all projects, both proposed and realized to maximize benefits and minimize risk. KPI monitoring is available as well, letting you monitor portfolio performance as projects progress.

Unlike Task Management and Progress, the capabilities of this license are not available in the Schedule license. A Portfolio Planning license is required if users plan to create and manage portfolios. Typically, you would add this license on top of a Schedule license for more capabilities and control.

Progress

The Progress license type allows users access to their activities and timesheets. This is a more limited license type – it doesn’t allow users to view the full schedule. Instead, it allows them to access the activities assigned to them. The Progress license is best suited for users that only need to perform updates on the activities they’re responsible for. If you need outside subcontractors to update their own work within the schedule, this is the license type you should use. 

Users assigned the Progress license will only have access to two tools: My Activities and Timesheets. My Activities allow users access to a list of activities assigned to them as an activity owner or as a resource. For these activities, users can status them as having started, finished, or in progress. These status updates will automatically update the overall schedule. Timesheets, on the other hand, allow users to track the work that they’ve performed over time. Users can add the hours they’ve worked and submit their timesheets to supervisors for approval.

By default, the capabilities in this license are also available within the Schedule license. You do not need to purchase this license separately if you already have a Primavera Schedule. However, you can purchase this license on its own if needed.

How Much Does Oracle Primavera Cloud Cost?

To acquire an Oracle Primavera Cloud database, you must purchase a minimum of 5 licenses. However, after these initial 5, you can add on as many individual licenses as needed. Each license type is available at a different price point, with Progress at the lowest price and Portfolio at the highest. For an up-to-date overview of OPC license costs, please refer to our Oracle Primavera Cloud Cost page.

There are no start-up costs and all updates apply automatically to the system. Oracle Technical Support is included with the subscription. Additionally, if you purchase OPC Taradigm, we provide complimentary Administrator and End User orientations to help you start using the program.

Implementing Oracle Primavera Cloud

Here at Taradigm, we know that switching to a new scheduling application can be a daunting task. That’s why we are happy to assist you with this process as much as needed. We are an Oracle Partner, and along with selling the program, we also offer a variety of implementation services. We can assist you with  all aspects of OPC implementation, from data migration to training. Having assisted hundreds of companies in transitioning from both P6 and Microsoft Project to Oracle Primavera Cloud, we are confident that we can help you and your team begin using the program with ease.

To learn more about Oracle Primavera Cloud, please refer to our OPC page here. If you would like to set up an OPC training or implementation session, please contact us here.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please use the comment section on the bottom of this page, and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get more scheduling tips & tricks directly in your inbox!

Lauren Hecker is an Oracle Primavera Cloud, Primavera P6, and Microsoft Project instructor who teaches onsite and virtual scheduling courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!