Office software includes a variety of applications used in normal office duties. These packages include word processing software, spreadsheet software, presentation software, contact management software, imaging software and often database software for corporate installations. Basic accounting software is sometimes considered to be part of office productivity software (especially for small businesses), but it is generally purchased separately.
Historically there have been several competing office products on the market (Corel - Word Perfect, Amipro, Word Star, etc), but Microsoft has clearly won the PC software battle. Many large corporations have tried using non Microsoft packages or other proprietary products, but as Microsoft has become the industry standard, most have now switched to the Microsoft product line. Word Perfect (now owned by Corel) is still available, but continues to slip in market popularity.
Some businesses (generally graphics companies, some schools, and a few other industries), have continued to use Apple computers with its accompanying OS and Office packages. Recently, even these industries are moving across to PCs and Microsoft products.
Because of the need to have the software for the office interface seamlessly, a ‘One-Solution' product should always be the first consideration for office productivity packages. Once a commitment to a product line has been made, regular updates to the software need to be downloaded. It is also important for businesses both large and small to make certain that all copies of the software are legal. In recent years there have been several crackdowns on businesses that illegally install more copies of their office suite than they have licenses for.
Major producers of office productivity software include:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Word
- Excel
- Powerpoint
- Publisher
- Outlook
- Picture Manager
- Access (MS office Pro only)
- Corel Suite (Word Perfect Office Suite)
- Word Perfect
- Quatro Pro
- CorelDraw
- Corel Paint Shop Pro
- Word Perfect Mail
- Presentations 12
- Intuit
- Quick Books
- Turbo Tax
Factors to consider when purchasing software to help manage your office productivity include:
- Cost
- Ease of input
- Integration with other applications used in your business
- Licensing for large groups in big offices
- Updates for new technology
- System resources: Not usually an issue, but sometimes small business environments are on over-taxed hardware already.