Two arguments underpin every platform recommendation we make, and neither is about features. The first is where the data sits. The second is that a governance method and a work-management tool are different things, and confusing them is the most common way a PRINCE2 implementation fails.
And all of it stays inside your network
This is the part that matters most to us, and it is why the licence criterion came first. Every platform on this page runs entirely on your infrastructure. None of them requires a connection to anybody else to function.
It is worth being precise about what this data actually is. A work-management estate is not incidental administrative exhaust — taken together, these systems describe your organisation in more detail than almost anything else you hold:
- Your requirements and backlog — what you are building, and therefore where your business is going next.
- Your defect history — where your systems are weak, and how long weaknesses stay open.
- Your asset and licence register — a complete map of your estate, its versions and its suppliers.
- Your ticket history — who asked for what, who approved it, and what broke.
A cloud platform will promise to keep that safe. The promise may well be sincere and the engineering behind it may be excellent. But it remains a promise made by somebody else, revocable under terms they write, subject to a jurisdiction you did not choose, and dependent on a commercial relationship continuing. On-premises replaces that promise with a fact you can verify yourself.
| On your infrastructure | Hosted elsewhere | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data sits | Inside your perimeter, on hardware you own or control. | On third-party systems, under their terms. |
| Who can reach it | Access you define, logged in systems you audit. | Their staff and processes, under their controls, evidenced by their attestations. |
| What happens if the relationship ends | Nothing. The software is yours and keeps running. | You are negotiating for an export of your own history. |
| What you can tell your own customers | That their data never left your building — verifiably. | That you trust your supplier. |
The full argument, including the honest counter-arguments, is on Why On-Premises.
How each fits PRINCE2
PRINCE2 is a governance framework, not a work-management tool. You do not replace PRINCE2 with any of these products — you use the product to operationalise the controls PRINCE2 defines.
The division of labour is consistent whichever tool you run:
- PRINCE2 — governance, roles, business case, stages, tolerances, decisions, risks, issues, progress.
- Agile — iterative delivery, backlog, sprints, user stories, continuous feedback.
- The tool — records, workflows, tasks, issues, evidence, dashboards and traceability.
| Tool | PRINCE2 fit | Agile fit | Best role in a PRINCE2 project |
|---|---|---|---|
| MantisBT | Issue and defect management within a delivery team | ||
| GLPI | IT projects involving assets, services, incidents and operational transition | ||
| ZenTao | Full agile and DevOps delivery environment under PRINCE2 governance | ||
| ProjeQtOr | Plan, cost, resource and risk control under PRINCE2, waterfall or hybrid | ||
| Leantime | Project planning and day-to-day work management under PRINCE2 |
Ratings are our assessment of fit for this purpose, not a general quality score.
The platform-by-platform comparison these arguments support is on Choosing Between Our Platforms, and the management-product mapping for the two heavyweight options is in Where each PRINCE2 management product lives.
PRINCE2® is a registered trademark of PeopleCert. IPTREK is not an accredited training organisation; we provide consulting, tailoring and organisation-specific coaching.