Is Open Source The Way Forward

This week, the UK Government announced that they have adopted the Open Document Format (ODF) as the standard format for sharing or collaborating on Government documents. Documents for viewing only will, as standard, now be in either PDF or HTML format.

The change to open source formats, as opposed to proprietary formats such as those used by Microsoft Office, is thought to offer huge savings to the government, and therefore also to the taxpayer. But would it offer a similar solution to smaller businesses?

Open source formats do offer various benefits, which are worth considering whatever size your business.

Firstly, they solve a common problem – compatibility. Many of us have sent a document to a customer, client or partner only to get an email back saying, “Sorry, I can’t open this format...” We may also have received files from others to find that, although we can open them, they don’t look quite as intended – because our software was not really designed to open that format.

While proprietary formats are designed to be opened on the same software used to create them, open source formats are designed to be compatible with a wide range of different software packages, meaning that it is much easier to share documents with others and know that they are seeing it the way it was intended. This naturally makes collaboration much easier, as you don’t need to ensure that you and your partner have both invested in the same proprietary format.

Secondly, they can offer significant savings on software. Open source formats, like ODF, are used by a wide range of packages including both free and proprietary office suites. For a small business, purchasing software is often a large part of their IT budget. Being able to choose a free alternative can therefore have the potential to free up a lot of money.

However, many people are used to using software like Microsoft Office, and many businesses prefer to maintain familiar software rather than change to a new package which may require new training for their staff.

Whatever kind of software you choose, here at Tristar IT Support software licensing is just one of the services that we can include in our IT support in London. For more information, why not call us on 01707 378453 or contact us online?