An Open Door - Open-Source Software Dominates

GnuCash: An open source program under the Gnu GPL, GnuCash is designed to function as a small business financial software. It has the quick and intuitive feel that businesses need and is easy to use; it allows businesses to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. GnuCash uses professional accounting principles to provide businesses with accurate reports and balanced books. This is a strong open source program to use, though it should be noted an accountant may still be required for some of the larger accounting principles.

Open Office: Apache Open Office is the most popular open source program suite which covers all the bases: word processing, database, spreadsheet and presentations, among other programs. It was developed over the course of the last twenty years to deliver the exact programming demands of businesses and anyone else needing to use the program. Its most universal appeal is the low price tag and the fact that anyone using the program can report bugs. This makes it a highly transparent system as well.

LibreOffice: Like Open Office, LibreOffice is a highly versatile productivity suite that offers its users six programs to draw from. Its claim to fame is its flexibility and reliability, as well as its development under a transparent process which calls upon all users to take advantage of the lack of lock-in into just one product brand.

GimpShop: One of the most expensive types of software to purchase is packages devoted to graphics editing and development. Gimp takes the worry out of your program - and pocketbook - by providing one of the most versatile free graphics editing programs on the market. It runs remarkably similar to Photoshop with downloads available for both Windows and Mac platforms, and has an intuitive user interface which allows the user to run with their graphic editing smoothly and effectively. Now, you can design logos and other graphics your business may require, such as for business cards.

WordPress: This is a very intuitive website development program that can be used virtually out of the box. In essence, the program is ready to go as soon as it is installed. With its one-button update feature, WordPress is the hottest open source website developer out today. It is generally used for blogs, but can be used for other website types. It all depends what your overall purpose is in installing the software.

Pentaho BI: This is a strong performer in the business intelligence field, allowing users the opportunity to tie together multiple data sources for parsing and analysis, among other functions. The GUI to the web-based report designer gives even the least-technologically advanced user a break and allows them to put together powerful reports. This will, in turn, allow employers stay better informed about their business requirements, as they will be getting first-rate reports quickly from multiple data sources.

Drupal: This content management program has become more intuitive with time, allowing users to have a true user-friendly experience. It now handles the evolution of HTML 5 seamlessly and also updated all its widgetry.

In short, open-source software continues to grow in popularity for both the “civilian” and business consumer. Programs are evolving carefully but in keeping with the excitement that continues to build among all open source software. It will continue to be interesting to see how other programs work to keep up to these changes, and what other programs will develop from this. Truly, though, businesses can only continue to benefit from the growth of open source software; with its collaborative spirit and its high versatility, there is no denying that open source software may be one of the chief considerations you need to make in deciding what software package to use for your business.

Joy Maiywa is a professional writer and blogger. She has worked with clients from different fields including technology, education, health, and business and entrepreneurship. She encourages everyone to blog, and is always looking for NameCheap or Godaddy coupon codes to help friends and family start their own blogs.