Published on June 30th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

Office 365 Alternatives for Businesses

Office 365 is the most widely-used online office suite platform on the market. It comes with a wide variety of popular features and applications, such as:

MS Word
MS Powerpoint
MS Excel
Real-time editing
OneNote
Outlook Calendar
Excel Power Map
Office 365 Planner

It comes in a special Business edition. It allows companies to organize their virtual workspace and gain access remotely from any device. Plus, it is secure, which is one of the most important things to consider when looking for such software.

But even though it is so feature-packed, it still might not be the best fit for your company. It could be too expensive, or you might want to try something else for a different reason. If that’s the case, here are the top five Office 365 alternatives that have the potential to take your business to the next level.

Google Suite

Google Suite is one of the most comprehensive Office 365 alternatives for businesses. It comprises a wide variety of tools, including the following:

Gmail
Hangouts
Calendar
Currents
Google Drive
Google Docs
Google Sheets
Google Forms
Google Slides
Google Keep

This suite is especially suitable for companies. It includes a lot of cool collaboration enterprise features. They make your work environment much more organized and more comfortable to keep track of. Here are five features that you can expect:

Business email address
Unlimited storage space
Team collaboration features
Enhanced security
G Suite Admin Console

WPS Office

WPS Office is another great alternative that’s been gaining a lot of traction recently. The design of the platform is user-friendly, and it comes with a vast selection of specialized features, such as:

Table formatting
Collaboration tools
Advanced spreadsheets
Extended desktop support
Pivot tables
Comments
Charts
PDF-to-Word converter
Mail merge
Presentations

It also comes in the form of an enterprise edition that aims to provide high-quality solutions for a reasonable price. It’s $119,99 for a lifetime license. They also offer discounts for purchasing multiple licenses.

By opting for the enterprise edition, you can expect the following features:

Tracking changes and comments
Spell check
Over 230 different fonts
Over 100 different templates
Advanced animation
Document encryption
Online knowledge base
Video tutorials

LibreOffice

LibreOffice started as a non-profit project and has since gathered a steady customer base that swears by its quality. This free, open-source solution comes with a handful of useful features, including:

Word processor
Collaboration
Slide Show Mode
Presentations
Picture Galleries
Charts
Equation and formula editor
Spreadsheets
Diagrams
Flowcharts
Templates
Various extensions
Change-tracking

What makes it great for businesses is the fact that it has a powerful manager for all databases, as well as some other cool features such as:

QR code generator
Redaction feature that allows companies to hide classified data
No licensing fees

Since it is an open-source solution, you can pair it with business software that ensures maximum data security. One such solution is a virtual private network (VPN). You can use it to hide your IP and assign dedicated organization gateways to control remote access to your online business platforms. For example, you can enable access to LibreOffice only for devices connected to that particular network.

OnlyOffice

OnlyOffice is an online office suite designed with internal collaboration in mind. Moreover, it got PC Magazine’s 2019 award for Best Document Management Software. Here are some features that it includes:

Business collaboration tools
Calendar
CRM System
Invoicing
Email aggregator
Project management toolbox
Online document editor
Compatibility with Office 365

It is well-suited for both large and small businesses and enterprises. OnlyOffice offers a dedicated enterprise solution. It provides private servers and many other security benefits, including the following:

Full data security
Two-factor authentication
Monitoring and logging tools
Automatic and manual data backup
SSO authentication
IP restriction
Login history
Audit trail

OfficeSuite UC

OfficeSuite UC is a cloud-based, business-friendly system. Windstream Enterprise developed it to assist in dealing with complicated enterprise requirements and challenges. It has a comprehensive list of features, such as:

Live chat with other company members
Click-to-call
Video meetings
Voicemail
Office 365 integration
PDFs
Documents
Spreadsheets

Because it’s so all-inclusive, it can be an excellent solution for a business. Instead of relying on SIP or open-source, they have developed their own technology called SilNet. All communication operates via the cloud. It allows real-time, instant access to all employees, regardless of their location.

Conclusion

These alternatives come packed with a wide variety of cool features – some also have a more extensive selection of tools than Office 365. Since Office 365 tends to be more expensive, starting with one of the alternatives from the list can save you a lot of costs. This is especially useful for smaller businesses that have only begun their journey to the top.

On the other hand, using Office 365 is also great. It has deserved its stellar reputation. The important thing is to find what works best for you and your business, and stick to it.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Tags: microsoft, office, office suite, online, software

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.