You only see a few hosting companies because hosting Project Server is
neither cheap nor easy. If you want to play on a hosted environment that you
have all to yourself, then licenses involved are expensive for the provider.
You might chat with your client's Microsoft representative. Microsoft
offers a hosted EPM for evaluation purposes. Of course, it is configured
their way, not yours, and it may not meet your evaluation needs.
Another solution, depending on your client's size (and potential revenue to
MS) is to get a free evaluation license, usually good for 60 days. You might
even get Dell to lend a server. Then, you could install and run a live
system on the client's hardware/infrastructure. Of course, you'd have to
either be experts or hire experts to install and configure. But the
configuration challenge would be the same on a hosted environment anyway.
We occasionally offer hosted Project Server solutions to our clients, but
the economics generally make sense only to an organization that wants to put
their toe in the water for 6-12 months, say for a Pilot, before fully
committing to a purchase.
If you are set on using a hosted solution for short-term evaluation, then
the big providers you have found likely are the best bet, because their setup
fees are a little lower than smaller providers like us.
Reid McTaggart
(e-mail address removed)
Alegient, Inc.
Microsoft Cetified Partner
Project Server Experts
