IBIS Virtual Office

Free SME Resources

This page has been developed from the numerous requests that Ibis receives for low cost software solutions for start up operations. We are not selling these options – we cannot as they are free! We make no claims on their functionality or otherwise – you make your own decisions.

What we think is that they are worth investigating. Should there be other programmes that you have discovered and are worth adding, please contact us.

Excellent ideas organiser and simple project management tool
http://freemind.sourceforge.net

System cleaner, removing cookies and temporary Internet files
http://www.ccleaner.com

Good diary system
http://www.notesbrowser.com/

Excellent file recovery software
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm

DVD management software
http://www.dvdshrink.org/

Project management software
http://mrproject.codefactory.se/ Excellent and easy to use system. This is part of the Gnome office project http://www.gnome.org/gnome-office/ Desktop system integrated package under development. A whole range of material - which includes some that is of interest to all - such as an excellent spreadsheet

Good introduction to CAD http://www.askoh.com/freecad/index.html

Spyware and ad cleaner www.geocities.jp/baryonlee/noflash/ Good system for keeping your system clean of multimedia adds and spyware

Desk Top Publishing. Check out the free resources provided by Serif - good collection of material at http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/index.asp

Open Office. This an excellent piece of software which includes a top quality word processing module (including conversion to PDF format), good spreadsheet, reasonable database and image processing. Check it out at http://www.openoffice.org. Another option is 602 at http://www.software602.com/products/pcs/compare.html

Remember that another cheap (but no longer free) option is Star Office.

Accounting software. We have yet to find one that meets the requirements of the majority of small businesses. As many accountants operate with standard software systems such as Sage, using a free system which is not compatible does not appear to be ideal. Any user out there with a good free system – please get in contact.

Encryption software. With the increasing reliance of many businesses on security systems it makes sense to look at your core operations and encrypt mission critical data. Pretty Good Protection still seems to the leader in providing good encryption facilities. Check it out on http://www.pgpi.org

Web browser and e-mail manager. Most of the experts agree that Mozilla provides the best free option for both web browsers and e-mail managers if you are looking for an option other than the omnipresent Windows options. Make your own decision at http://www.mozilla.org

Web site promotion. One of the necessities of making your web site work is effective web site promotion. One piece of software that improves the effectiveness of your web site promotion is http://www.evrsoft.com/fastsubmit

Start up monitor. This is a useful system to check your operating system efficiency. See what it does at http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml

Spyware. A problem for those companies with broadband using the web for research. Check out the solution at http://www.deletespyware.net/

Virus scanner (internal). There are a number of good virus scanners around. The range of what is available is listed at http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Software/Anti_virus_freeware

Virus scan external. Check out what is on offer at http://housecall.trendmicro.com

System health check. Worth looking at the services provided at http://www.pcpitstop.com

Firewall. A good range of firewalls is available at http://www.free-firewall.org

HTML editor. For those involved in managing web development the software provided by 1^st Page is worth checking out at http://www.evrsoft.com

Links manager. One of the boring aspects of running a web site is to ensure that all the links are effective and maintained. Look at the Web Management system on http://aignes.com/products.htm

Fax system. Should you be running Unix, a good option for fax management is Hyal Fax. Check it out at http://www.hylafax.org

Voice over Internet. An interesting piece of software is under development to provide voice over internet protocol services. Check it out at http://www.openh323.org

Remember that free software resources are only part of a cost management plan and should be incorporated into the overall management of the company in this way. Do not choose software just on price – make sure that it does what you want and fits in with your network requirements – see the comment on accounting packages!

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19 March 2007 15:27:23

Ibis Associates

European office La Vieille Loge, La Milliere, 86700, Romagne, Poitiers, France

Tel: 0033 (0) 5 49 87 80 76

E-Mail: Info@ibisassoc.co.uk