This post is inspired by @seanprice who recently asked:

"How do you manage projects either single projects or mulitple at the same time either personal or professional ones?" (Twitter: http://twitter.com/seanprice/status/7314573214)

Firstly, systems. For me Drop.io and Box.net jump to the front of my mind.

As background, both Drop.io and Box.net are designed for simple sharing and collaboration. Drop.io is built around drops which are realtime repositories of content which can then be shared, embedded, commented, downloaded and much more. Box.net is visually more analogous to a traditional files and folders system with much the same features as Drop.io but via the OpenBox eco-systems of integrations allows for use within structured business workflows.

For example with Box.net it is possible to collaboratively author an agreement which, from Box, can be issued digitally via Echosign and the final signed copies be stored within Box making it a workflow hub. Other notable integrations include Salesforce, Google Apps, Zoho

With Drop.io the collaboration functionality is equally there but inherently being designed around the drop, the workspace sits relatively outside the wider business workflow.

And so to specifically answer @seanprice's question I would suggest that if for repeatable or always similar project workflows, especially within an established business environment of process and policy, the answer is Box.net. For everything else, be it small, larger, ad-hoc, personal or professional, then Drop.io.

The second part of the answer is processes. Which to follow / learn from?

Project management I believe has long suffered a schizophrenia of being about the personality of people whilst also having the cold regiment of repeatable, scalable process. Some project managers are successful for managing people, others for managing the process.

In context of the social collaboration environment business are moving in to, I believe the people principle of project management will take a lead over success through process. Especially when considering the versatile tools such as Drop.io and Box.net which do not need nor care for a set process.

So to answer @seanprice, the process for successful projects is to not rely on one. Instead focus on the facilitation of communication and collaboration. Within such an environment, inherently all the data needed to tweak and nudge productivity in the right direction, towards the team's common goal, will be available. Applications such as Milestone Planner from @socialoptic are a good example of this. The app is a gantt chart but the real feature of the app is bringing out the communication across the project team.
So for @strawberryway, the processes and systems, either personally or professionally for project management are:

Human and collaborative (for which Drop.io and Box.net are ideal).

For further reading:

Box.net for Project Management - http://www.box.net/solutions/project-management
Drop.io - http://drop.io/blog
Milestone Planner @socialoptic - http://socialoptic.com/

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As a special promotion, Strawberryway is able to offer a fantastic deal on Box.net for your business and throw in a free Dell Mini netbook. If you're not already familiar with Box.net then take a look at a previous post on the product. In a nutshell it's simple sharing and collaboration. Our promotion is for any business to sign up for Box.net Business for one year at a special price and receive a free Dell Mini. The package:

• Box.net Business - Advanced collaboration for project collaboration and workflow, version history, content search and discovery, mobile access, extensibility and API access
• 10 user acccounts
• 100GBs of storage
• Live user training and support from Strawberryway and Box.net Inc
• Dell Mini netbook

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A few weeks ago, Launch48 took place at PayPal's offices in Richmond. If you missed out on the event, you can catch up on the details here.

Strawberryway were one of the sponsors at the event; we provisioned all of the teams with free Box.net Business accounts to be used for the weekend and beyond. We thought of Box.net Business being the right web application for the emerging enterprises of Launch48 as it facilitates so much of the team's activities over the weekend and beyond.

Now after the weekend, it's worth highlighting how Box.net Business as a collaboration tool can be used by the teams for their ongoing development.

Online workspace:

The teams can turn any folder of content into a shared online workspace and invite others to view, edit or add their own files. Given most of the teams members have other commitments, they will be operating virtually for which this feature is perfect.

Discussions and commenting:

Add comments to specific files or exchange feedback with team members using discussion threads, so everyone's in the loop. Again great for the virtual nature of the teams and removes the inbox overload of email conversations which can lose the context of the content being discussed; further it avoids issues with attachment sizes and corporate mail filtering etc.

Version History:

Box Business and Enterprise users can view previous versions of files even after changes are made and new versions are uploaded. Most of the teams are developing rapidly; with this feature they can always keep track of their previous iterations without the complexity of sorting through multiple copies and erroneous duplications.

Web Documents:

Create wiki-style documents right inside Box to share meeting notes, ideas and manage projects. Invite others to contribute and edit. As most meetings will be virtual for the teams, this functionality will be key for centralised, collaborative management. Add in the bundled Box.net Business web conferencing from Fuze and the teams have a complete solution.

Tasks:
Keep workflow organized by assigning tasks to approve, review or update files. The teams all have a project management methodology in place which requires varying degrees of task management; with Box.net Business this is made easy for them.

Update feeds, user profiles and email notifications:

Discover new and updated content with a real-time activity feed on file uploads, downloads and comments, as well as individual activity feeds on Box user profiles. Customize and receive email notifications on activity within your Box account. As most of the teams have other commitments it can be overwhelming to have email overload; this isn't an issue with the RSS feeds available and optional daily email summaries so team members can digest as much as they want in their preferred medium.

Looking at this list of features we're glad to have chosen Box.net Business as our sponsored product for the teams at Launch48. We will continue to work with them to get the most of the product for their ultimate success.

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This weekend is Launch48. Strawberryway are excited to be sponsors of this great event.

Our sponsorship for Launch48 is providing all the teams with full Box.net Business accounts.

Using Box.net will allow the teams to simply store, share and collaborate on all of their new businesses files. There's loads of features like tagging, publishing widgets, full search, assigning tasks and much more will be explained to the teams at the event. Box.net also has some great integrations with tools like Google Apps, Echosign, Twitter and Wordpress. Also mobile devices such as the iPhone.

This is achieved through the OpenBox API. The OpenBox API allows developers to take advantage of Box.net's great storage, sharing and collaboration features and use them in a complementary application.

We're sure Launch48 already have great ideas for the weekend. As well as those ideas we'd be interested in seeing if anyone can come up with some great new apps based on the OpenBox API. Strawberryway will be there to support the teams in getting the most out of Box.net.

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Strawberryway are pleased to be involved as sponsors for the upcoming Launch48 event.

About Launch48: "Launch48 – be involved in creating and launching a web business in 48 hours! The aim of Launch48 is to bring together participants from different backgrounds and levels of experience in the web industry to think/plan/develop and launch one or multiple web apps in one weekend. That’s right, in 48 hours! It’s a frantic, energy fuelled, entrepreneurial event designed to engage all participants while offering the opportunity to learn and meet new people. If you’re interested in web apps, the internet, business, meeting new people, and want to be involved in launching a brand new web app, register for Launch48"

For Launch48, Strawberryway are sponsoring free Box.net Business accounts for the teams taking part throughout their journey as well as providing ongoing free service and support. Box.net facilitates the way we work today; sharing and managing content; project collaboration and workflow; content search and discovery; mobile access; and extensibility and third party apps.

Strawberryway are excited to be involved with Launch48 and ensuring the teams have the tools in place to produce fantastic results. Strawberryway will be sponsoring 8 weeks of Box.net Business for the teams taking part in Launch48, with full support at the event and before the follow up event.

We're very excited to be sponsors for Launch48 along with Paypal, Google, Sun Startup Essentials, Dennis Publishing, Just FDI, TheCube and TechCrunch Europe. We hope to see you there creating some fantastic applications with our support.

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All teams need to share materials, but marketing departments – including advertising, sales, research, and PR – frequently need to collaborate across globally dispersed offices, with other departments, and across the whole company.

Images, logos, and other creative assets need to be centralized to encourage re-use, lower costs, and reduce the time it takes to share with partners and other coworkers.

Here's some quick info on Box.net which is a 2.0 solution for managing the workflow.

Box.net from Strawberryway

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Box.net  - Simple, online, powerful collaboration. The world's leading online content and collaboration platform. Perfect for businesses interesting in implementing or upgrading their collaboration tools, but want to avoid the complexities of implementation, support and maintenance.

• Improve productivity and efficiency - Box.net customers estimate they save tens of thousands in improved efficiency by replacing existing collaboration methods such as FTP and email.
• Reduce overhead of IT - Box reduces support costs, maintenance issues and traditional implementation hassles. 99.9% guaranteed uptime and 24/7 phone support
• Shorten project completion time - Project management tools to improve project efficiency such as version history, commenting, discussions, and bookmarks

Here's a short introduction...

How we can help?

Business Design - Get extra help when migrating from current systems or integrating current work flow and processes.

Implementation and Set Up - We'll handle all implementation and setup activities. This can entail importing users, setting up accounts, managing user allocations and permissions, setting up team workspaces and conducting end user training sessions.

Data Migration - We can assist in moving company files from their current location to your new Box.net account. This can involve transferring files from FTP  and other services, uploading content from employee hard drives and organising files into relevant folders.

Service Management - Use our team as your account administrator to manage users, track account usage, manage space and handle queries from users.

Get in touch if you would like help with with implementation, service and support of Box.net for your business.

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