As the capture process for bid and proposal professionals becomes increasingly complex, teams must have the capability to respond accordingly.  Cutting-edge collaboration tools have become the foundation for any successful bid proposal team. Choosing the right tool is often the key to acquiring the competitive edge, particularly in an industry with such slim margins between the winners and the losers.  Privia's whitepaper, "Beyond SharePoint: Capture and Proposal Management That Helps You Win," provides a comprehensive comparison between two popular proposal management, bid capture, and team collaboration systems – Microsoft Office SharePoint and Privia’s custom-designed solution. 

Contractors often begin working in Microsoft Office SharePoint, which, with its simple integration with Microsoft Office applications and number of free, downloadable features, can seem like a solid starting point. We explore whether this option can actually deliver what contractors need, particularly in comparison to Privia, which is an application designed specifically for businesses bidding on state, local and federal contracts. 

SharePoint offers four basic tools: a portal server, a collaboration system, a document repository and a development platform.  It seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office, and if only Word or PowerPoint documents are being shared, the program offers easy collaboration. It is a reasonable solution for a small number of bids that will not result in multiple award contracts.  

While free features and superficial convenience are hard to ignore, capture and proposal professionals need to be aware of the "High Cost of ‘Free’." Other areas to consider when evaluating a solution include: Security, Procurement Awareness, Workflow, Openness, Version Control, Continuity, and Scale.  

While SharePoint may be an option for some, Privia clearly provides a solution that cutting-edge professionals need in order to rise to the top of the capture and proposal competition.  The Paper details specific, compelling benefits that Privia provides to all levels of contract businesses, including

• Business Development Teams (automation of repetitive tasks, one-click import, central repositories, adaptability and more)
• Proposal Teams (support of industry best practices, tracking of milestones and reporting exceptions, efficient collaboration facilitation, and more), and
• IT teams (out-of-the-box solutions, integration with external capture sites, utilization of virtually all document types and browsers, and more). 

Make those important decisions about your collaboration tools only after you are fully informed; read more and access the information essential to making strategic choices for your complex bid process needs.