Thread: Open Office vs. Office 2007 Ultimate

I'm not really into Open office, so I thought I'd see if any one can give me a comparison. Office 2007 Ultimate incudes: Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007 Excel 2007, Access 2007, Outlook 2007 with contacts management, One Note 2007, Small Business Accounting 2007, Visio 2007, Groove 2007, and Info Path 2007

You are asking a lot for something you can do yourself in side-by-side comparisons at websites that sell software, on top of not following up with your earlier posts to see some specific answers that might help.
>> Take a look

It really comes down to what your motivations are, and how much expertise you have using technology to get certain jobs done.

For instance, are you looking to get as much as you can for free, or do you have a heavy email reliance for CRM, or are you into using PowerPoint for document preparatiuon, or do you want to merely have a stable integrated platform to perform medium volumes of regular office functions?

You keep mentioning Office 2007 with the enhanced contacts......is this really the key feature you are looking for?
Do you use Quickbooks for either invoicing or Client list integration, and are looking to weave 2007's Outlook into your QB function? If so, you woyuld be better off getting ACT, which has all the CRM and email functionality already built in together with the perfect match up to QB (second only to either SAP or SalesForce). Do a lot of word processing? Want an integrated stand-alone browser built-in? Do a lot of email blasts? How many seats will access your system? Are you on an internal server, or are you not even up to the LAN stage yet? etc.

You need to think things out for yourself, to pinpoint the real need you should focus on. Then compare the products that offer the best solution with room to grow that is within your budget (not everything is free, but bargains are out there, if you know how to spend accordingly).

I have compared them, but I was just making sure that I wasn't looking at the most basic edition. It only includes five programs. Is quicken better than Small Business Accounting? I have Office files so I don't think Open Office will work for me.

Originally Posted by pyro01

I have compared them, but I was just making sure that I wasn't looking at the most basic edition. It only includes five programs. Is quicken better than Small Business Accounting? I have Office files so I don't think Open Office will work for me.

SBA 2007 is nothing more than MS Money re-packaged, and has the reputation of not being easily integrated into other foundations than other MS products, and is most definitely not the 'standard' that Quickbooks Pro has become (from accountants to tax professionals, to even how QBP is compatible with your bank and reports they generate). So, if you are leaning to a platform with DB and financials as elevated need, then I would suggest looking into a single foundation that has aleways led the pack, like ACT.

Honestly, ACT has an accounting module that out-performs even QBP, but most people seem to take a long time learning how to use ACT ... I guess it is intimidating. Matter of fact, the financial module in ACT has been spun off and is now being sold in modules to business under new names with "specialties" added!

I really think you would be better off getting an OEM copy of Office 2003 Pro (TigerDirect.com, and while you are there, get an OEM CD of XP Pro for $139 also) and ACT (get an older version on eBay for $30, and then buy the upgrade for $65 from ACT to get the current capabilities -- save $200+ that way).... you will have everything you are musing about in a world-class solution set and it will remain "stand-alone" far into the future (even ACT's browser will not be affected by all the shenannigans MS is and will continue to play): keep in mind Vienna is rolling out in 2008-2009, and will force all users to accept Microsoft's dictate of online applications as the only way they will be able to effectively use thier computer -- without an internet connection, there is not much you machine will do. Thus, the more you focus on independence via stand-alones that are truly robust and expandable, the better off you will be.