How to Determine Which Productivity Suite Is Right for Your Business

The productivity suite is one of the most utilized software combos going. Usually it comes with a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a note taking program, and a presentation creator. There are other pieces of software included in some of today’s most dynamic options, but for our purposes we are going to limit it to these. 

It’s not a surprise that most businesses choose tools they can both afford and work for their needs. This typically has more to do with integrations it has with other pieces of software the organization uses. Let’s look at some of the variables that businesses have to consider when determining what productivity software is right for them. 

Cost

For businesses, it’s no secret that cost really matters. Most organizations, when comparing productivity suites, will find little differences between the actual software itself. Sure, one particular word processor is better than another, one spreadsheet program works best with your existing tools, and so on...but as a suite, the cheapest option is probably going to give you the ability to do what you need to do. That said, this software is going to be used for storing (and sharing) presumably sensitive company data. For that reason it has to be a reliable option. 

Compatibility

Your staff has a way of functioning that is different from another set of people. As a result, your productivity software has to be compatible with as many platforms as possible. If you have a team that uses ChromeOS-fueled laptops, but your productivity suite only supports Windows 10, it’s not going to do them any good. Make sure that the apps can be available on most or all of the major computing platforms. 

Mobility

The ability to access files on a mobile device has to be considered essential for today’s business. Today, many of the top productivity suites are available as a cloud-hosted service. This provides much of the mobility that users who access business data on the go would need.

Security

This kind of goes hand-in-hand with reliability, but it’s always important to prioritize security when you are picking software for your business. Two of the most-utilized productivity suites, Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace, come as cloud-hosted solutions. This means that Microsoft and Google, respectively, will host your files and data as well as the software.

Communications

Today, communications that happen over the Internet are extremely important to any business with remote workers. Most of the top productivity suites also come with hosted email and the ability to at least integrate a video conferencing solution. This ensures that your team will have options in which to communicate and collaborate in innovative ways.

Regardless of which appset you choose, you should know that Directive can help your organization design a computing infrastructure and deploy all the tools your staff needs to keep your company productive. Call our expert technicians at 607.433.2200.