Businesses that have been around the block a
time or two may have discovered specific software titles that yield
little-to-no results. Some might even be security risks that you simply aren’t
willing to expose your data to. The free or cheap software found by some
organizations to make up for operational deficiencies don’t always cut it, and
some can even put your business at risk. This week’s tip is dedicated to
finding the best software for your business.
Free
Software
Open-source software titles can be used by
individuals if a budget is an issue. Software developers generally charge
licensing fees for businesses to use their software, but open source software
simply doesn’t have that. Open-source software actually allows people to
distribute and alter the source code as they see fit, whether to improve it or
customize it for individual use.
What these software developers create with
their open-source software are opportunities for people who might not otherwise
be able to afford licensed business software. Here are some of the most popular
open-source software titles out there:
- Linux (operating system)
- Android (mobile operating system)
- Gimp (image editing)
- Mozilla Firefox (Internet browser)
- Audacity (sound editing/mixing
software) - VLC media player (Media player)
- Apache OpenOffice (Productivity
suite) - Wordpress (Internet website
creation program) - MySQL (relational database
management) - SuiteCRM (customer relationship
management) - Elgg (social networking)
Enterprise
Software Strategy
Running a business isn’t always about what is
most cost-efficient, though. You have your business’ security to think of, too.
Paid services could potentially give your business additional security
protections that are integrated right into the software. One way this can be
accomplished is when you assign all applications that are whitelisted by your
business to each workstation, be it a desktop or a laptop. Granted, not
everyone will need the same software, but you should have a way to keep track
of what software is running on which devices at any point in time.
Another strategy you can use is to assign
applications by department. If one person in a department has certain software
assigned to them, then each other worker in that department will have it. This
gives you control over how many licenses your business needs, reducing cost and
providing all needed applications to each department.
A third strategy involves using some
open-source software to limit costs while providing each user with specific
applications that they need to be as productive as possible. This gives your
organization a considerable amount of flexibility, and the cost reduction might
be worth looking into. The problem with this approach is that managing
decentralized solutions can increase the cost of management.
Shadow
IT
Again, it’s very important that your business
provides the right tools to its employees, as failing to do so could open up
the doors for employees to look outside the proper channels for the right tools
for the job. This creates a situation called shadow IT, where your employees
implement software without first consulting your organization’s IT
professionals to ensure that they are safe and secure. These software solutions
could pose a risk to your business in the form of security issues and downtime.
Emerge can help you implement the right tools for the right job. To learn more, reach out to us at 859-746-1030.