Ciaron Dunne of Broadband Genie on Basecamp:
Broadband Genie, the broadband comparison website, has been going since 2003 and we're old-time Basecamp aficionados. Right from the start (just like at a lot of internet companies) the Broadband Genie team has been scattered far and wide across the UK because we needed people with the right skills more than people in the right places. Remote working and collaboration tools have therefore been unimaginably important to us; we just wouldn't exist without them.
Everything in one place
We fell for Basecamp after a brief and misguided flirtation with Microsoft Sharepoint and some experimentation with open-source solutions such as NetOffice. The biggest thing straight away was quite simply the ability to upload graphic designs, specifications and so on and have everybody comment on it in one place, then iterate and so on. Attempting this sort of thing with a large group via email is pretty much a non-starter and can end badly. What Basecamp gave us was a single place where everybody could see everything that was going on, and (just as importantly) a record of what had gone on previously.
Working at different times
Another benefit was that Basecamp facilitated people working at different times. We had programmers and designers who only came out when the sun went down, and it was beautiful to get up in the morning and see a whole load of progress without cluttering up my inbox.
The TO DO list
As Broadband Genie has evolved, I guess our use of Basecamp has changed. The TO DO list is the central project and task management tool for the whole country, and we seem to be able to use it for everyday thoughts and queries as well as for major projects. The ability the comment on TO DO items has really, really made this so much better. We barely use the message board functionality any more. We recently project managed a major web development for us - our mobile broadband comparison site - entirely through the TO DO list, co-ordinating a team of up to ten people.
"You name it, we manage it through Basecamp!"
It's also true that Basecamp has permeated other areas of the business. We also offer some internet marketing consultancy services, and so we just set up projects for our clients and give them access, while still being able to pull everything together into one uber TO DO list. Consultancy, accountancy (even my wedding) - you name it, we manage it through Basecamp!...
We've not seen anything on the market to touch it - so keep up the good work.
Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.
