Your new PC has arrived, and this will be your tool to run your business. It powers up, you find a browser and then look for an email and spreadsheet app. Disappointingly, you cannot find any obvious software solutions preloaded. That’s because they don’t come included, and if they are, they are probably not very good, or you have paid extra to have something added! This guide will discuss your options for adding office productivity software to your computer.
If we cut to the chase, you will most likely consider products from Microsoft or Google.
Office productivity software is application software used for producing information such as documents, presentations, spreadsheets, databases, charts, graphs, etc.
WHY do I need Microsoft Office or Google G Suite?
Suppose you want to create these documents. You have to have some sort of office productivity solution. Whether you will pay to be able to use the software will depend on how you use it.
Your choices are:
- Free: Both Microsoft and Google allow you free access to some of their applications from a browser connected to the internet. These will enable you to read, edit or produce files via a cloud solution.
- Buy: You can buy Microsoft Office as a once-off price for installing onto your PC (1 device only). The cost will depend on which of their applications you want to use and how many copies.
- Subscribe: You can subscribe to Google G Suite or Microsoft Office in different variants and costs. The subscription version of Microsoft Office is called Microsoft 365, and it can be used across multiple devices.
- Microsoft is PC installed software with web app also available
- Google is a web-based app but can also work offline
- Both offer cloud storage and collaboration (you can share files between workers)
- Both always have access to the latest features and productivity enhancements.
If you can get a free version, why pay? Because the paid version will offer improved security and management, collaboration, and flexibility for your business. A simple example is being able to use your email domain correctly, i.e. [email protected] vs [email protected]
WHAT type of applications do office productivity software provide (in some combination):
- Word processing – create documents such as a letter
- Spreadsheet – numbers can be arranged in grid patterns to manage calculations
- Presentation – used to create a pleasing document to back up a speech or sales pitch
- Email – read and compose emails
- Calendar – control your weekly schedule with possible sharing with office colleagues
- Contacts – database of your contacts
- Video conferencing- allows video calls with others
- Messaging – instant text-based messaging between workers from their PC
- Note-taking – ability to produce to-do lists and capture content for later reference
| Microsoft Office/365 | Google G suite | |
|---|---|---|
| Word Processing | Word | Docs |
| Spreadsheet | Excel | Sheets |
| Presentation | PowerPoint | Slides |
| Outlook | Gmail | |
| Calendar | Outlook | Calendar |
| Contacts | Outlook | Contacts |
| Note Taking | OneNote | Keep |
| Video conferencing | Skype | Meet |
| Cloud Storage | OneDrive | Drive |
HOW to decide between Google and Microsoft?
Both companies’ solutions are great, but both have differences. When comparing, consider the following questions to help you choose between the two:
- If you will use file collaboration, do you need it in real-time? (Google better)
- How does security compare? (Microsoft better)
- How do the costs compare to what you need? (See links below)
- Is there good integration between email, contacts, and your calendar? (Microsoft better)
- How much cloud storage is included? (Depends on edition)
- Do the features of each application support your working needs?
- What extra apps are included, like to-do lists? (Google offers additional)
- What support is available?
Microsoft pricing link here.
Google pricing link here.
SUMMARY – research which office productivity software
One thing is for sure, with this software, you will never use all the features they offer, but with continual updates and fierce competition, your life will continue to get easier. You can find a feature-by-feature comparison here.