PDWare ResourceFirst

Overview

PDWare ResourceFirst is enterprise portfolio and resource-capacity planning software for organizations balancing specialist skills, project demand, and budgets. It suits PMO directors, engineering and R&D leaders, operations, finance, executives, and portfolio teams with substantial project labor costs. Its central advantage is making portfolio choices against measurable capacity; custom pricing, enterprise licensing, and implementation work make it a poor match for a small team wanting an inexpensive self-serve tool.

Key features

ResourceFirst models prioritized skill demand against actual capacity across portfolios, teams, and time. Shortfall and utilization views show where requested work exceeds available people or where capacity is sitting unused. The Waterline method places funding behind work that clears the capacity line and defers work that does not, giving portfolio leaders a concrete rule for turning rankings into an achievable delivery plan.

Scenario planning compares alternative portfolios against the same constraints before headcount or budget is committed. Project and assignment forecasts can be developed separately from the current plan, then approved changes can be posted back. That separation is valuable for testing trade-offs without disturbing the operating plan, especially when several funding or staffing options are under consideration.

Financial controls cover cost of capacity, demand and unused capacity, cost centers, chargeback, and Waterline budget planning. Labor and financial waterlines, project ranking and score analysis, roadmaps, swimlanes, and pivot reports for projects, resources, finances, and skills support both executive review and detailed analysis. Project intake, budget tracking, and executive reporting are included, so the product reaches from incoming work through portfolio oversight.

An open architecture provides a secure full API, while grid-style entry supports Excel import and export for resource, project, assignment, asset, and scenario data. Listed integrations include SAP, Oracle Financials, Workday, Snowflake, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira, Excel, and Oracle Time & Labor. User rights and organizational structures control which objects and functions each person can view, change, or administer.

Deployment is either cloud SaaS on Microsoft Azure or a thin-client on-premise installation. PDWare describes SSO through SAML or LDAP, encryption in transit and at rest, network controls, and regular audits; qualified prospects and users may request SOC 2 certification details. A staffed support desk handles tickets through resolution. Level-1 implementation typically takes 4–6 weeks, and a pilot using an organization’s own data is a sensible way to validate the model before a long subscription.

Pricing

ResourceFirst uses paid, custom pricing. PDWare directs buyers to request a quote and review onboarding options with its team; there is no published price or stated free plan. Licensing depends on planning-group size and user types, with workgroup packages for 50 or 100 users and enterprise licensing. Those structures fit organizations that can budget for a formal rollout, but they offer neither a transparent entry price nor a small-team tier for quick comparison.

The documentation set covers ResourceFirst version 9 resources, projects, assignments, scenarios, time tracking, financials, and administration. Prospective customers should use the pilot and pricing discussion to establish the required user mix, implementation scope, and ongoing subscription terms.

Platforms

ResourceFirst is offered on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and the web, with API and extension support. Buyers can choose Azure SaaS or a thin-client on-premise deployment, making it workable for organizations with cloud or self-hosting requirements.

Who it's for

This is a strong fit for PMOs and portfolio leaders that must rank work against scarce skills, for R&D and engineering groups coordinating specialist demand, and for operations or finance leaders tying labor forecasts to budgets and chargeback. Executives benefit from waterlines, score analysis, roadmaps, and reporting when portfolio decisions need a financial and capacity rationale.

It is not the natural choice for a small team needing a low-cost project tracker, a published monthly price, or a lightweight setup with no planning-group administration.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Capacity-led prioritization: Waterlines connect funding decisions to real skill and staffing limits instead of ranking projects in isolation.
• Useful what-if planning: Separate scenarios let leaders compare portfolios before changing the live plan or committing budget.
• Broad financial scope: Cost of capacity, unused-capacity analysis, cost centers, chargeback, and budget waterlines support finance-grade portfolio decisions.
• Enterprise connectivity: The API, Excel exchange, and integrations with ERP, HR, work-management, and data platforms reduce dependence on manual re-entry.
• Flexible governance: Azure SaaS, on-premise deployment, SSO, encryption, network controls, audits, and granular rights address controlled environments.

Cons

• Opaque cost of entry: Pricing is on request, and licensing is organized around 50-user, 100-user, or enterprise workgroups rather than a published small-team plan.
• Implementation commitment: Even Level-1 implementation typically takes 4–6 weeks, so it is not an instant deployment.
• Data discipline required: Capacity-based decisions are only as dependable as the demand, skill, and availability data entered into the system.

Alternatives

Choose Planforge when a freemium route matters: its Free plan supports up to four users on cloud with no time limit and no credit card, while paid options include Lean at €4,500 a month.

Nimble is the better starting point for a small group wanting a free tier for 10 users and 10 projects, with paid plans offering unlimited users and projects.

Project Insight suits small and midsize businesses seeking a free-forever three-user plan or a Pro plan at $9 a month.

Pick Rillsoft Project for Linux, Windows, web, or self-hosted deployment with a single-user Light license at €357 a month.

Tempo Portfolio Manager is an option for teams that can work within a free tier of 10 members, three projects, and 300 tasks, or Essentials at $15 a month.

FoxPlan offers freemium portfolio planning, including a free three-user tier and self-hosted or web access.

ITM Platform is worth considering when unlimited team members, timesheets, task-progress reports, documentation, collaboration, and an Agile panel are the priority in its free Team Member plan.

TeamAlloc is an alternative for accredited universities and public research institutions seeking a free plan with unlimited resources, users, projects, and scenarios.

For a broader category comparison, see Project Portfolio Management Software.

Verdict

Choose ResourceFirst if your organization needs portfolio decisions grounded in constrained skills, capacity, and financial forecasts, and can support a structured implementation and enterprise licensing conversation. Look elsewhere if you need transparent pricing, a genuinely small-team free tier, or a lightweight project-planning tool that can be adopted without a formal data and governance model.