Doing business these days almost demands a computer. In the small and medium sized business environment, the tasks that have been moved onto computers are significant. For some small businesses, and particularly for start-ups, investing in the array of software is not the best use of scarce cash.
We have developed a series of posts on the Open Source Software (OSS) movement, and the products it makes available for free. This index summarizes those posts.
Software by Functionality
- word processing for letters, proposals, quotations, reports, guides, and policies
MS Word, alternative Open Office Writer
- spreadsheets for business plans, accounting analysis, marketing management
MS Excel, alternative Open Office Calc
- presentation software for internal briefing, selling meetings, and corporate proposals
MS Powerpoint, alternative Open Office Impress
- accounting software for ,well, bookkeeping and cashflow
Quickbooks and Simply Accounting, alternative (still hunting)
- project management software for change transition, new product introductions …
MS Project and CA SuperProject, alternative (still hunting)
- archive compression tools for storing digital files and resources
Winzip and WinRar, alternative 7Zip
- information acquisition tools for accessing and organizing external data
MS IE/Outlook, alternative Mozilla Firefox/Thunderbird
- database tools for larger volume numeric data and analysis
MS Access, alternative MySQL
and the list goes on!
The Blog Post Index
Open Source Software (OSS) Movement
Understanding where this software comes from, and why it is free.
Free may mean no price tag, but there are still related expenses - like what?
Are OSS Vendors Qualified as “Vendors”
What is a qualified vendor, and does OSS meet the test?
What about Quality and Vulnerability
We’ve all heard nasty stories about viruses and spyware - is OSS a greater risk?
Software Qualification and Compatibility
What should your selection criteria be for a software solution?
All my people know software X - how much resistance is there going to be to OSS?
An Example : Archiving Software
For example, selecting OSS 7Zip instead of Winzip.
Putting Open Source Archives to Work
Actually getting and implementing 7Zip.
The Open Office Productivity Suite
A bigger step- assessing OSS Open Office Suite as an alternative to MS Office.
Implementing OSS Open Office.
Up the spreadsheet learning curve for Calc. How hard it isn’t.
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As further reviews are conducted, they will be blogged and added to this index. The next target is likely to be an accounting platform.
Disclaimer : we have absolutely no affiliation with any of the software discussed here. Our sole interest is in eliminating roadblocks for our colleagues that want to use tools like our business plan simulation models, but can’t for lack of software. No more excuses my friends. We are not going to use shoeboxes and napkins any more. Nope.
