ProjectLibre is an open source alternative to Microsoft Project. It is
compatible with Project 2003, 2007 and 2010 files and runs on Linux, Mac or
Wiindows. ProjectLibre is perfect as a compliment to OpenOffice and
LibreOffice. Microsoft Project is on 7% of all desktops so this is a
significant addition to the open source ecosystem.
Well to be fair, I raised three points that seemed to me were the
arguments of MS feature-wise.
Other arguments are listed, and my suggestion was to create a new wiki
page where we could compare (side-by-side) LO and MSO.
Summary of arguments from MS against LO
*Arguments about $$*
- Total costs: Business impact; like software issues, integration,
incompatibility, run-time errors, downtime, unreliable support and
security vulnerability.
- Total benefit: Such as reliable supports, updates, accessibility,
and security.
- Integration cost: The cost associated when you decide to use a
different software platform.
- Management: Can it be easily managed? Large companies tend to have
this issue because they don’t have a unified system.
- Deployment costs: Can it handle corporate size business
productivity? In addition to the compromise or extra benefits of
software alternatives.
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice does not provide the same depth of
functionality as Microsoft Office as a result do not meet the needs of some
end users. This will force your organization to manage multiple software
suites potentially increasing IT costs.
- When running a mixed software environment you are also running the
risk of interoperability issues which could further increase IT and
helpdesk costs, inhibit productivity, and generate end users frustration.
- Additional factors that could create higher costs include
integration with your existing systems and applications like ERP and
content management systems and software updates.
- *LibreOffice*/OpenOffice *does not allow for incremental software
updates. *Instead it requires a complete uninstall and reinstall every
time you need to update the software.
*Arguments more about features*
- Office drives increasing business value through innovations that
span basic functionality, like copy and paste, to advanced features like
business intelligence.
- LibreOffice/OpenOffice does not deliver a complete productivity
suite. Critical components like email and calendaring are absent, not
to mention equivalent software to Publisher, OneNote, Business Contact
Manager and SharePoint Workspace.
- LibreOffice / OpenOffice also lack some commonly used components,
for instance; they do not ship with commonly used functionality like
user friendly ribbons, clipart, SmartArt or Pivot Charts.
- Organizations may have to fill these application gaps with product
extensions, additional software or customizations adding to cost and
complexity.
*Arguments about collaboration*
- Collaboration technology should facilitate ease of sharing, and
trust in the fidelity of information shared. To facilitate collaboration,
Office 2010 has many new features including co-authoring, integration with
the Microsoft Unified Communications technologies in addition to the new
online companion applications, the Office Web Applications.
- People using OpenOffice/LibreOffice are limited to using
disparate email and document repositories to share and edit documents one
person at a time. To take advantage of advanced collaboration
technologies will require additional software and possibly more
customization. In addition to sharing documents, information
formatting integrity is critical.
- LibreOfice/OpenOffice can read and output many file types, however vital
information like formatting structures, calculations, layout, and macros
may not be preserved when sharing with non OpenOffice/LibreOffice
users.
- Whether you have a mixed group of users or plan to share documents
with people outside of your organization you may not be able to trust that
people receive the document with the intended content and formatting.
*Security/Sensitive information*
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice are limited to only password protecting
files. Although password protected documents can be effective, they do
not ensure security and may cause additional complexity.
- Advantage and also weakness of OpenOffice/LibreOffice for being an
open source software means that many users have the ability to alter
the state of the software by integrating their own design, which could lead
to security vulnerability issue.
- Microsoft Office provides a robust set of features for securing
documents that reduces the risk and cumbersomeness of password only
protection.
- Information Rights Management (IRM) allows individuals and
administrators to specify permissions to documents, workbooks, and
presentations. This helps prevent sensitive information from being printed,
forwarded, or copied by unauthorized people. After permission for a file
has been restricted using IRM, the access and usage restrictions
are enforced no matter where the information is.
*Arguments about "Cloud"*
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice does not provide any other deployment option
besides the desktop.
- Microsoft provides a seamless experience across the PC, phone,
and browser.
*Future-looking arguments*
- OpenOffice/LibreOffice may be limited in providing the next
generation of productivity, cloud computing, lacking the ecosystem of
enabling server and consumer collaboration technologies likeSharePoint and SkyDrive.
- Choosing Microsoft Office will help ensure that you can take
advantage of the next generation of productivity software.
Is it possible to add this to a wiki or something please. We can work on
it collaboratively :)
Cheers,
Immanuel
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