Why is everyone talking about PMO-as-a-Service?

As an internal organizational unit, the PMO is a luxury that not every company wants to afford. Recruiting and hiring specialists in project management and setting up the PMO is often an effort you can avoid.  

With new offerings like the Project Management Office-as-a-Service (PMOaaS), external project management professionals can take over the work of the internal PMO.

This externalization allows organizations of all sizes to enjoy the benefits of a professional PMO. The services can be selected and compiled a la carte and adapted to the scope of the projects. In the context of Business Process Outsourcing for IT, Sales, or HR functions, business leaders already value the advantages of such a concept. Externally hired expertise can perfectly complement the in-house expertise. The PMOaaS is efficient, as the organization only contracts for the required support services. This way, every hour is used efficiently, and only results are paid for, not resources in idle.

Contracting external expertise also brings the added value of deploying them flexibly and unbound from a location. Especially in times like a pandemic, the safety and health of employees play a significant role. A PMO must always ensure the continuity of projects, even while many of the employees work from home. The PMOaaS can respond adaptively to such situations and can also offer all activities digitally.

What's more, hiring external project managers also promotes a culture of innovation, as externals can bring new ideas and perspectives to the project. Many internal employees appreciate this added value and enjoy learning from the expertise of the project professionals. Even if it is rare to speak about it, external project managers are also very well suited to solve internal conflicts impartially if a project has got stuck because of differences.