I have been researching this quite a bit and have read many blogs and articles and have become intrigued at the options of using something other than Microsoft Office in our church office. A big concern I have heard voiced is the countless updates to MS Office and the high costs, not only for the software package, but the license fees associated with every system you want it loaded on.
HIGH COSTS ARE AN ISSUE
Right now I am faced with around $3000 in just renewing our software licensing alone! Then there is the decision whether to upgrade to Office 2007 or stay with the old 2003 suite. That will cost as well!
IS FREE A BAD WORD FOR BUSINESS SOFTWARE
In my brief research I have found that businesses are using free software such as Google Docs, OpenOffice, Star Office, and the many other titles. Just Google alternatives to MS Office and see what I mean. The word FREE seems to be a deterrent for many administrators. It’s cheap software, no support, and not comparable with MS Office, which may be good points. The real issue at hand for me; is there a comparable alternative to MS Office that should be considered.
We use Firefox now instead of IE. I use Gmail and Yahoo for personal email and have very few problems. I am using WordPress for free for this blog and have had no problems to speak of. So FREE is not automatically a bad word given our advancement in IT the past 10 years.
WHAT DO YOU USE?
So, give me your input. Do you use FREE software in your church? Have any of you made a complete change from MS Office to another suite? Your comments please!
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