Microsoft office and some cloud based alternatives

Microsoft Office has been a well-known product in our work and homes for many years. Recent concerns over security, improving the ability to collaborate, and growing software and maintenance costs, have driven individuals and companies to free (or minimal cost) Microsoft Office alternatives and cloud based solutions. The three most popular of which are Zoho Docs, Google Docs and Office Web Apps.

For the average home user, any of these services will work “well enough,” at a minimum. They are all able to create common file types like slideshow presentations, text documents, spreadsheets, etc. They all include a reasonable amount of off-site file storage to store your documents and other files types, providing you with a mobile workspace to keep you up and running, even in the event you don’t have access to your home or office computer. You can even use collaboration features to share documents with various permissions and they also have email, contact and calendars management. For personal use, your best option will be trying these services and seeing which fits your preference. It may also be important to consider what your family and friends are using since being on the same service(s) will improve your collaboration experience.

When choosing a cloud based office solution for your company, you will want to be much more selective. The ability to manage multiple users from one administrative account will be a priority for most business owners. This is one area where all three services differ, providing their own layouts and features for administrators; you’ll want to choose the one that best suits your company’s needs. There are different costs for each, based on the amount of storage, features and number of users. It will also be important to keep in mind, most companies need to be able to open documents from and send documents to clients and other companies. Compatibility should be something to consider, as well.

Many companies prefer to keep a full Microsoft Office install on their client machines because of how long this product has been around. Compatibility is seldom an issue since so many other people and companies are still using the same products. It is possible to offset this issue by creating specific file types and keeping local copies of certain files, but these extra steps are possibly defeating the purpose of a cloud based solution. Microsoft Office 365 creates a unique solution to this problem. It allows business and individuals to pay for a subscription, renewed monthly or annually. Included in this subscription is a full, local Microsoft Office installation, as well as a SkyDrive account with which to keep your files synchronized to the cloud for access “on-the-go.” This solution works well in many situations since it creates the best combination of offline software, and file access and cloud integration. Also, there is a set of features specifically intended to integrate this product with your Windows Server(s) to allow even more control.

For advice on which solution may work for you and/or pricing for the new Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions, please contact us, today.