How to Determine Which Productivity Suite to Use

 Many businesses have turned to the productivity suite as they’ve added more and more useful tools. Traditionally, the productivity suite came with a word processor, spreadsheet program, note-taking program, and presentation software. Today, we will take a look at the variables that decision makers need to confront when choosing the right productivity suite for their business.

Cost

The first variable is cost, which is typically true for most business decisions. It’s got to be tempting to just go with the most inexpensive one, given that most productivity suites today have much of the same features in their applications. Today, however, some of the top options do bring in some serious benefits that add value. 

Compatibility

People use all sorts of platforms. PCs, Macs, Android, iOS, or they may need to access their software in the cloud. For this reason, when a business selects productivity software, it has to work on any platform that their staff may need it to.  For example, if your staff has ChromeOS-fueled laptops, and your productivity suite only supports Windows 10 and macOS, the solution is basically worthless. You will want to make certain any platform you choose is available on most or all of the major computing platforms.

Mobility

Nowadays, any software that you use needs to have a mobile option. The reasoning is two-fold. Firstly, mobile devices are far-and-away the most utilized computing devices; and secondly, with so many people working remotely, having anytime/anywhere access on multiple devices adds to the value of the platform. 

Security

Two of the most-utilized productivity suites, Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, are delivered through the cloud. This means that Microsoft and Google, respectively, will host your files and data as well as the software. Years ago this would have been really concerning, but today’s cloud platforms prioritize security. 

Communications

Today’s business depends on its employees’ collaboration. Communication tools baked into a productivity suite provide easy access to the collaborative tools teams need to get things done. Today, most of the major players come with some sort of video conferencing option and email. Some come with a VoIP platform.

If you are searching for the IT tools that can help take your business to the next level, call the IT experts at Computerware today at (703) 821-8200.