In recent years, Microsoft Office applications have ruled the small to medium size business market when it came to activities like word processing, data analysis, and presentation preparation and delivery. Although Microsoft still has a very strong hold on this market, companies no longer have to completely rely on Microsoft for these type of computer applications and also don’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars per license.

If you are running a small to medium size business on a tight budget, here are a few “office suites” that are completely free and also allow you to view and edit Microsoft Office files such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Powerpoint presentation files, and more.

#1 – OPENOFFICE

OpenOffice 3 is an open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages, such as Microsoft Office. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

The various applications that OpenOffice provide include: Writer (comparable to MS Word), Calc (comparable to MS Excel), Impress (comparable to MS Powerpoint), Base (comparable to MS Access).

#2 – Google Docs

Google Docs is a set of online “office” web applications that allow you to do most of the things you do with your regular office applications. You can create and store documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online in an easy to use interface. These documents can then be shared with other employees or clients from anywhere in the world. You can also allow these documents to be edited by certain individuals and you can see the edits on your screen as they happen.

#3 – Softmaker Office 2006

Similar to OPENOFFICE, Softmaker offers a free word processor (TextMaker) and a free spreadsheet program (PlanMaker) that is compatible with MS programs. Softmaker Office is commercial office productivity suite developed by software company in Nuremberg, Germany, and is flagship application product of the company. Softmaker Office is targeted to home, small business and educational users.

#4 – Thunderbird

Looking for a free, full featured alternative to Microsoft Outlook? Try Thunderbird from Mozilla. Although Thunderbird may not have every feature that you can find in the most recent release of Outlook, it has the most used features covered. With a price of $0, how can you complain?

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