Businesses can look forward to more choices for office software.(TECH COSTS)

Kiplinger Letter, The, September, 2007

Businesses can look forward to more choices for office software as IBM, Google and others give Microsoft a run for its money. Their newest products are more efficient, without the complicated steps once needed to convert from Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

The latest is IBM's Lotus Symphony, which includes spreadsheets, word processing and presentation software. It can be downloaded free. Among others are OpenOffice.org and Google Docs, an online service.

But the free software is best for employees with limited needs... occasional spreadsheets and relatively simple documents for customers.

Those requiring complex formats will stick with Microsoft Office, especially if documents need graphics or involve complicated templates.