Every office worker’s computer is equipped with a certain amount of basic software to carry out day-to-day tasks.
Usually companies pay a lot for this kind of software – but it doesn’t have to. There is a very good, moreover free, replacement for such software on the market, the use of which can bring significant savings to the enterprise.
OpenOffice – instead of Microsoft Office
OpenOffice.org, or actually Apache Open Office (as it is currently being developed under that name), is a free office suite that can successfully become an alternative to the popular Microsoft Office. It includes: word processor Writer (analogue of MS Word), Calc spreadsheet (analogue of MS Excel), tool for creating multimedia presentations Impress (analogue of MS PowerPoint), application for creating Draw diagrams (alternative to MS Visio), Base database (analogue MS Access) and Math – a master of math functions. The individual applications support not only their own file formats, but also those of their commercial competitor, MS Office, so they can be used even if the company’s contractors are using the Microsoft suite.
Gimp – instead of Photoshop or Corel
Typically, a company needs a graphics application only for very basic purposes – for example, to develop advertising graphics or minor editing of photos from a conference. However, without knowing the reasons, entrepreneurs are often drawn to expensive graphics packages such as Adobe Photoshop or Corel Draw. However, even if you need a graphics editor for very specialized applications, try the free Gimp. The program comes with popular graphics editing tools and filters, supports layers and many file formats.
7zip – instead of WinZip or WinRar
Not everyone understands that the popular WinZip and WinRar file archivers are not free applications. After the trial period, they are not deactivated, but their use is already illegal (until the fee is paid). Instead, you should use a completely free archiver – 7zip, which supports all popular archive formats (including, of course,.zip and.rar).
Comodo Antivirus – instead of a commercial antivirus package
Comodo Antivirus is one of the best free enterprise antivirus software. Although it does not boast the same effective protection as the most popular commercial solutions, it does represent a very good level. The tool provides resident protection, on-demand protection and an email scanner.
Mozilla Thunderbird instead of Microsoft Outlook
There are many email clients on the market – Mozilla’s Thunderbird is one of the best. What’s more, it’s free. Thunderbird is equipped with all the most important email program features, and one of its biggest advantages is the wide availability of many add-ons that extend the standard features of the program.
PDFill and Image Writer / Tools instead of Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat allows you to edit PDF documents. However, we usually do not need to edit the content of the document, but its processing – for example, cut several pages, rotate the document, or fill out a form. Among others, such features are offered by the free PDFill and Image Writer / Tools, which also allows you to print material directly to a PDF file.
FreeCommander – instead of Total Commander
Some people cannot imagine working with the standard Windows file manager – especially the latest version. Total Commander (formerly Windows Commander) has been the leader among alternative solutions for many years. Unfortunately, its commercial use requires payment. However, it can be replaced with the free FreeCommander, which offers similar functionality.
Ubuntu instead of Windows
Most of the applications listed above run on both Windows and Linux operating systems. In order to save money, the company should install at least some computers (those employees who can adapt to the new environment) a free Ubuntu system, which is stable, attractive and easy to use.
