Technology Blogs by Members
Explore a vibrant mix of technical expertise, industry insights, and tech buzz in member blogs covering SAP products, technology, and events. Get in the mix!
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Former Member
0 Kudos

Every product goes through ups and downs and Basecamp – despite its popularity – is no different. Although thousands of individuals and companies use Basecamp as their online collaboration tool, there are times when these Basecamp customers outgrow the product. There’s no dearth of people and companies looking for Basecamp alternatives and here are a few specific reasons why companies do that:

37 Signals – the company – is getting too comfortable

It happens all the time until trouble starts brewing up. Microsoft was sitting on the mantle of monopoly for too long and it’s now furiously trying to find its own foothold in the face of stiff competition. Even a great brand like Apple is now slipping without any obvious, market-changing innovation – a trend that made Apple an icon in the first place. Throughout history, there have been numerous instances of greatness reduced to ashes due to complacency.

37 Signals – the company behind Basecamp – is inching its way towards being judgmental. According to Douglas Karr – the CEO of D K New Media and the founder of The Marketing Technology blog – narrates his own story of how 37 Signal’s Blog tone changed considerably.

Basecamp is still a great product. If the company behind it gets complacent, however, it’s time to look for alternatives.

Basecamp refuses to change with times

Any good online collaboration tool must change with the times. On the Internet, times change fast. Basecamp Classic to Basecamp new, there hasn’t been much change. Sure, new features do add up for every upgrade but for the price you pay, there isn’t much on the cards.

For instance, there’s no time tracking while it’s the new way of work for most businesses – many web design companies, content development contractors, social media managers, and coding experts still work on time basis. Even if projects weren’t hourly type, businesses would love to know the amount of time spent on every task, project, or client. Further, Basecamp still doesn’t have a native App, which is discouraging for most businesses. 

You’ll grow out of it and leave because it remains too simple

Jason Fried, CEO of 37 Signals, is keen on keeping Basecamp the way it is. You’ll see minor features getting into the tool but it won’t be anything major. He expects you to outgrow the product and leave out of the backdoor. 37Signals has a simple strategy: it wants to stay in the “Simple project Management Solution” market. It’s a half-baked product with a simple target base: companies that are too small and can do with what Basecamp has to offer.

Go look for Basecamp alternatives if you’d like, because you need to and 37 Signals knows that.

The New Basecamp Launch Fiasco

When you start piling up your projects on Basecamp, you’ll find that searching for what you want is impossible. It’d take you more time than the tool is meant to save for you.

Further, you do not have the ability to create private projects. So, if you start with a project on Basecamp, it’s available for everyone to see. Lack of time tracking, a slow and clunky interface, and the fact that a much better product like Basecamp classic has been retired are all factors causing many companies to look for Basecamp alternatives.

You’d also expect to see brand new features such as Gantt Charts, better file versioning, seamless document sharing, efficient file management, manageable and task-based conversations, etc. The new Basecamp launch didn’t see any of that.

In fact, the new Basecamp version is worse than the previous one.

Sometimes, you’d need to take a call on your choice of online collaboration products.

What’s your call?

Labels in this area