Without a good set of office applications, your working day can be a waste of time.
Productivity requires the right tools and, contrary to what some people think, Linux has everything you need to get you through the day without a hitch. There are applications that will satisfy everyone in the organisation, from HR to marketing to the front office.
This shortlist includes software that can easily handle much of your day-to-day office needs and do it on the Linux operating system. The software listed here is simple to use, reliable, (mostly) scalable, and business ready.
Of course, this is a generalised list. Far more specialised office-type software is available on the Linux platform. One of the best places to look for such software is in your Install Software tool, such as Synaptic or Yumex (the tool you have will depend upon the distribution you use). Look through the various categories (a good place to start is the 'Office' category) to find what you need.
1. OpenOffice
This one goes without saying, offering word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database management, drawing and web-page editing. Add to that the ability to read and write Microsoft Office files and export to PDF and Flash (among other formats), and you have a complete office suite that should meet every need your office has.
The OpenOffice user interface has little to no learning curve, so users will hardly know the difference between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. OpenOffice is also cross-platform capable, with installation binaries for Linux, Solaris, Windows and Mac OS X (both Intel and PPC).
2. Evolution
This is the Linux version of Outlook and another one-stop shop, offering email, calendar, contacts, tasks, advanced searching, desktop integration, shared vCards, junk filters, encryption, LDAP support, iCal support and much more.
If your company uses an Exchange server, you're in luck, because the Evolution Connector will be able to keep you connected. Evolution tends to be the default email client for the Gnome desktop, but that doesn't mean you can't use Evolution on KDE (or any other window manager).
3. Scribus
This is desktop publishing at its open-source finest. Scribus can do almost anything that Adobe Acrobat can do: layering, opacity, ICC colour management, CMYK colour separations and versatile PDF creation.
With this tool, your newsletters, press packets, fliers, books, manuals and so on are done in-house and on the cheap. I have used Scribus on numerous projects, ranging from simple fliers to complex books.
4. GnuCash
GnuCash is one of the best accounting packages available for Linux. It uses double-entry bookkeeping and is a suitable replacement for individual accounting, as well as small-business accounting.
GnuCash is one of the only accounting packages that is available across most all platforms (Linux, Solaris, Unix, OS X and Windows).
5. OpenProj
This is the open-source replacement for Microsoft Project. OpenProj has an equivalent user interface and functionality similar to Project and is interoperable with Project.
OpenProj is released under CPAL (Common Public Attribution License) and is available for Linux, OS X, 32-bit Windows, BSD and Unix-like operating systems. OpenProj does require Java.
6. Meeting Room Booking System
Meeting Room Booking System (MRBS) is a web-based booking system for meeting rooms but can be altered to suit your needs.
Although I wanted to include only applications that could be installed locally, I felt it necessary to include this application simply because it's so useful. For corporate environments that have multiple rooms to book, this small-footprint application is perfect.
It can also be modified for use as an appointment book. MRBS can do repeated bookings, reports, day/week/month views, multiple authorisation levels and multiple language support. The installation is simple but requires both a web server (Apache) and a database server (either MySQL or Postgres).
7. GnoTime
Formerly GTT, GnoTime is a desktop application that tracks time spent on projects and offers time-based invoice generation.
Numerous reports can be generated (Journal, Activity, Daily, Status, To Do, Invoices, Query, Primer, New Reports, Edit Reports), and the interface is simple to use.
GnoTime also includes a diary entry editor for each project. With GnoTime, you can embed simple SQL queries into report templates. In addition, GnoTime benefits from an autosave function. So, in the rare event that your Linux desktop crashes, your data is safe from loss. GnoTime runs on Linux, Unix and OS X.
8. Gimp
Graphics software isn't always included in lists of necessary office software, but, if your office does any of its PR or marketing in-house, graphics tools are a necessity. When using Linux, Gimp is the de facto standard for graphics creation and/or manipulation.
Gimp is to Linux what Photoshop is to OS X and Windows. But Gimp goes one better than Photoshop because it's cross-platform ready. You can install Gimp on Linux, OS X or Windows.
Gimp features a customisable interface, photo enhancement, digital retouching, hardware support, a huge range of file format support, plug-in support, its own scripting language, filters and a host of other outstanding features.
9. Pidgin
Many corporate businesses have started regarding instant messaging as a legitimate form of inter-office communication. Pidgin is one of the finest of the instant-messaging clients.
Pidgin works with nearly all of the instant-messaging services and can have multiple accounts configured. It's released under the GNU licence, it's free, and it works on Linux, Unix, Windows and OS X. Pidgin supports file transfer, typing notification, spell check, buddy pouncing, away messages and so on.
10. K3b
The CD offers one of the safest means of data backup. K3b makes backing up to CD simple.
Not only can you do multiple backup types (audio, data CD, data DVD, copy CD, ISO CD, ISO DVD), you can save the backup information to a file. If you do the same backup regularly, all you need to do is open up the particular backup file and click 'burn' — no more having to drag and drop or hunt for particular files/folders to back up.
K3b can also blank CDRWs, retrieve TOCs, and write cue/bin files. K3b is available only for Linux and has been optimised for KDE.
