Probably not the best wording for that question but...
I understand there are things like MS Project to manage tasks within a project, however I'm looking for something one level higher. I need to be able to manage projects and available resources themselves, rather than just tasks within a project.
For instance
ProjectA 1/1/2009-1/14/2009 ResourceA, ResourceB, ResourceC
ProjectB 1/5/2009-1/12/2009 ResourceD, ResourceE
ProjectC 1/15/2009-2/20/2009 ResourceB, ResourceC
So basically I would be able to add a new project, see what resources are available, estimate when we can start and complete it all by looking at the software. (Then I could show management they're waiting until 2099 if they don't hire some more people. ;) )
Any thoughts?
It is possible to do exactly that with MS projects, just think about your company as a big project, and each projects as tasks on which ressources are assigned. Still I wouldn't recommend MS project because it doesn't scale well, but if you only want to make a gantt chart in order to support your point, it will do a good job.
In my experience, people managing multiple projects use custom excel sheet and it usually do the job well. Exemple: Timeline in the first columns, one column per ressource per projects, drop down for actual ressource.