Computer Repair in Kalamazoo

In the world of small business (especially independent start-ups), every penny can count.  Dropping several hundred dollars on the latest and greatest software isn’t always an option.  Especially if the software isn’t “mission critical” to the business.  One of the benefits of starting a business in this Internet age, is that there is a plethora of free or nearly free alternatives to the popular and many times expensive productivity software.  Below we will show you some of our favorites, with why they are favorites, and hopefully provide you with a way to get work done within your budget!

Office Suites

Office suites are the productivity standard for today’s offices.  A suite is a collection of related software applications that usually contain a word processor, a spreadsheet, and presentation software.  They can also come with other applications such as email, database software, and software for designing websites or flyers.

Google Apps for Work (Our First Choice)

Google Apps for Work is what we use as a company here at Geek Easy Computers.  We like it for various reasons.  One of the major reasons is the fact that it’s web based so we can access it anywhere, and on most devices. This suite is a perfect starting place for a small business as it encompasses many aspects in one package. As your business grows, Google Apps for Work can grow with you as they offer a variety of business packages.

The basic (free) version of Google Apps come along with any Gmail address, so if you’re just starting up and need basic functionality, Google gives you plenty free of charge: Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Slides (word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software) along with email, calendar and chat functionality with 15GB of Google Drive storage to share between your email, files and photos. The Google suite ties in wonderfully with smartphones and tablets, so if you’re a very connected individual, Google is great to have.

The business version comes with 30GB of cloud storage to share between your email and Google Drive (document and file storage). It offers video, voice and chat via the Hangouts app between co-workers and integrated calendars. Plus it has the support and expertise of Google behind it. Plans are $5 per user per month for the above or $10 per user for advanced controls and as much as 1TB of Drive space if you have fewer than 5 users.

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office. A versatile office suite, LibreOffice  is highly configurable and cross-platform. It supports OS X and Linux in addition to all flavors of Windows. It contains the following components:  Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), Base (database), Impress (presentation), and Math & Draw (formula rendering and shaping).

LibreOffice’s interface is enough like Microsoft Office’s that few users will have trouble adjusting to it.  Customisable keyboard shortcuts makes it easy to emulate a program you might be more familiar with, or to streamline your workflow by hiding features you don’t use. It can open and edit most Microsoft formats and has the ability to save in those formats for compatibility (although you need to select the format or change the settings to do this every time). Minor formatting differences happen when translating from Microsoft to LibreOffice and vice versa, but if cost is a factor, it’s worth a little bit of hassle.

Microsoft Office Online

Can’t talk about office suites without mentioning Microsoft.  In this case, they also have a free offering, to compete with the alternatives.  It’s called Office Online.  It’s web based like Google Apps, meaning that it can be accessed from just about anywhere you have a connection.  Office Online is a collection of apps that run in a browser. These include Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online, and a few others — Outlook.com, Calendar, OneNote Online.  The catch is although it’s free for personal use, businesses would need to purchase a subscription to Office 365 (starts at $5 per user per month for email, cloud storage and the Office Online apps).

Office Online works with any recent version of  the major browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari).  The main “selling point” for Office Online is if you absolutely require 100% compatibility with traditional Office documents, this is going to be a better choice than LibreOffice and especially Google Apps.

The Take Away

Take time to evaluate what you and your businesses needs are. If cost is a heavy factor in your decision making, there is likely a free or low-cost option instead of the major league software packages (especially if you are willing to sacrifice a minor feature here or there and put up with a learning curve). Geek Easy Computers is available to help you find the best solution for your business and your budget.  Give us a call, talk to one of our experts.  We want to make your technology easier!