Smartsheet is one of the most established spreadsheet-style work management platforms in enterprise PMO. The company serves organisations from mid-market teams to global enterprises, with a product built around familiar grid interfaces, Gantt and calendar views, dashboards, automations and Control Center for portfolio governance at scale. Its spreadsheet UX, formula columns and template propagation have made it a default choice for programme offices that need structured delivery without abandoning the grid metaphor.
For teams that need to plan projects, roll up status and standardise delivery across departments, Smartsheet is genuinely capable. Its grid depth, reporting engine, resource views and enterprise admin controls earn strong adoption in operations, IT, marketing and professional services. The problem is not project management. The problem is distortion: sheets, dashboards and Control Center programs live in one layer, while strategy, pipeline, market context and commercial health live somewhere else. Elevale is built to remove that split.
Rows can turn green, portfolio RAG can look healthy and automations can fire while commercial performance drifts. Smartsheet makes delivery visible. Elevale makes progress visible, and shows whether the work connects to the business you are trying to run. See how strategy, OKRs and KPIs fit together when those layers drift apart, and explore the compare hub for other platform evaluations.
Where Smartsheet stops for a commercial director
Grid completion is not commercial performance
- They do not answer the director's core question: is the business heading in the right direction commercially?
- A company can hit 100% row completion, close every programme phase on time and still miss revenue targets, lose pipeline momentum or drift from strategic priorities.
- Elevale surfaces that gap through the Live Business Health Score , BD Logging and KPI tracking connected to strategic direction .
They do not answer the director's core question: is the business heading in the right direction commercially? A company can hit 100% row completion, close every programme phase on time and still miss revenue targets, lose pipeline momentum or drift from strategic priorities. Elevale surfaces that gap through the Live Business Health Score, BD Logging and KPI tracking connected to strategic direction. Smartsheet does not.
Control Center tracks portfolios, not commercial operating health
- That is still a work management layer.
- Control Center programs are primarily fed by sheet columns, manual status updates and integrations configured inside Smartsheet.
- They do not synthesise live commercial pipeline activity, external market context and strategic direction into a single operating indicator.
That is still a work management layer. Control Center programs are primarily fed by sheet columns, manual status updates and integrations configured inside Smartsheet. They do not synthesise live commercial pipeline activity, external market context and strategic direction into a single operating indicator. Elevale's Business Health Score, OKR framework and KPI tracking are designed for directors who need to know whether strategy and commercial performance are aligned, not just whether linked rows are complete.
Smartsheet AI is capable. Otto is connected.
- Elevale's AI Strategic Advisor, Otto , covers that operational ground too.
- Talk or type with Otto to draft wiki pages , create and update tasks , build action plans, review team performance and work through blockers, with voice chat when you do not want to type.
- The difference is not missing features.
Elevale's AI Strategic Advisor, Otto, covers that operational ground too. Talk or type with Otto to draft wiki pages, create and update tasks, build action plans, review team performance and work through blockers, with voice chat when you do not want to type. The difference is not missing features. Otto does what Smartsheet AI does, then goes further because it reads the full business context at the same time: strategic direction, OKRs, KPIs, BD activity, market intelligence and your company wiki. Smartsheet AI accelerates work inside a grid tool. Otto accelerates work while keeping it tied to whether the business is on course.
Smartsheet is configurable. Elevale is customisable and connected.
- Smartsheet's flexibility is real.
- Sheets, column types, automations, dashboard widgets, forms and Control Center blueprints can be shaped to almost any PMO workflow.
- Many teams spend weeks designing that structure before it reflects how the business actually runs, and it still does not connect pipeline, market context or strategic direction by default.
Smartsheet's flexibility is real. Sheets, column types, automations, dashboard widgets, forms and Control Center blueprints can be shaped to almost any PMO workflow. Many teams spend weeks designing that structure before it reflects how the business actually runs, and it still does not connect pipeline, market context or strategic direction by default.
No commercial operating layer in Smartsheet
- That gap shows up in practice.
- Pipeline conversations stay in the CRM.
- Strategy stays in slide decks.
That gap shows up in practice. Pipeline conversations stay in the CRM. Strategy stays in slide decks. KPIs live in spreadsheets or BI tools. OKRs sit in summary columns or separate planning tools. The director assembles the picture manually every week. Elevale is where those layers meet: strategy, execution, commercial activity and team performance in one command centre. See the strategic planning and OKR management use cases for how that works in practice.
Elevale replaces the stack, not another layer on top
- Teams do not normally run Smartsheet and Elevale together.
- They move to Elevale when they want one connected platform instead of a grid tool plus everything else held together manually.
- That replacement decision is common for C-suite executives , BD managers and strategic planners who outgrow sheet-level visibility.
Teams do not normally run Smartsheet and Elevale together. They move to Elevale when they want one connected platform instead of a grid tool plus everything else held together manually. That replacement decision is common for C-suite executives, BD managers and strategic planners who outgrow sheet-level visibility.
What Smartsheet does genuinely well
For cross-functional teams managing complex delivery at enterprise scale, Smartsheet remains one of the most capable spreadsheet-style work management platforms available. Grid and Gantt views, deep automations, dashboard widgets, forms, proofing workflows, resource management and Control Center governance make it a credible hub for day-to-day execution and PMO standardisation. Smartsheet earns its reputation on delivery breadth and enterprise PMO depth. So does Elevale, with the commercial operating layer included from the start.
What stands out
- Spreadsheet UI. For cross-functional teams managing complex delivery at enterprise scale, Smartsheet remains one of the most capable spreadsheet-style work management platforms available.
- Control Center. Grid and Gantt views, deep automations, dashboard widgets, forms, proofing workflows, resource management and Control Center governance make it a credible hub for day-to-day execution and PMO standardisation.
- Enterprise PMO. For cross-functional teams managing complex delivery at enterprise scale, Smartsheet remains one of the most capable spreadsheet-style work management platforms available.
- Automations. Grid and Gantt views, deep automations, dashboard widgets, forms, proofing workflows, resource management and Control Center governance make it a credible hub for day-to-day execution and PMO standardisation.
Where Smartsheet fits
Smartsheet's template gallery and Control Center blueprints help PMO teams propagate standards quickly across business units. That matters for organisations that need governance at scale. Elevale takes a different path: a connected operating model built around strategic direction, OKRs, KPIs and commercial intelligence from the start. For teams weighing work management options, see our comparisons with Wrike, monday.com and Asana.
Where the gap appears
Where Smartsheet stops is connection. It coordinates work and portfolios well. It does not connect that work to live commercial performance, market context and strategic direction in one place. That is the gap Elevale fills for directors who need more than green rows and portfolio RAG status.
When to choose Smartsheet vs Elevale
Choose Smartsheet if your only requirement is a spreadsheet-style platform for project tracking and enterprise PMO governance, and you are comfortable holding strategy, pipeline, KPIs and market context elsewhere. It remains a credible tool for delivery teams and programme offices that do not need a director-level operating platform.
Choose Elevale if you want tasks, docs, chat, OKRs, dashboards, AI and commercial intelligence connected in one platform. Elevale does what Smartsheet does for day-to-day execution, adds strategic direction, BD logging, market intelligence and the Live Business Health Score, and removes the manual stitching between tools. That is usually a replacement decision, not a side-by-side stack.
Start a 14-day free trial, bring your team structure and priorities in, and see whether one connected platform replaces the distortion Smartsheet left behind. Review pricing or explore related use cases: strategic planning, operational excellence and business scaling.
For teams comparing options, see Wrike, Monday, Asana and the compare hub.
The verdict
Smartsheet is a powerful spreadsheet-style work management platform with credible grids, Control Center governance, dashboards, automations and AI features. Elevale is the stronger choice for business directors who want that execution capability connected to strategy, commercial intelligence and business health in one platform.
If Smartsheet has become another place where rows look organised but the business picture still feels fragmented, Elevale is where the connection was missing.
Read how to set OKRs and how to set KPIs, browse the full compare hub, or see how Elevale stacks up against other platforms: Wrike, monday.com and Asana.
For teams comparing enterprise PMO breadth, also review ClickUp and our about page for Elevale's operating philosophy. Directors focused on knowledge management, remote team management and customer journey mapping will find native modules in Elevale that Smartsheet does not offer. Explore certification pathways, digital transformation, change management and multi-location management when you map your rollout.
Contact us via enterprise if you need a structured migration conversation from Smartsheet to a connected operating platform.
