Saving Money with Software Suites

By Cavyl Stewart

As the New Year gets started, many of us begin to think of ways we can start cutting costs in the future so that our businesses continue to become more profitable.  While you may be able to trim a few dollars off the budget by streamlining your staff or using your marketing budget more efficiently, you can also save money when you go to purchase software for your company.

Let's face it; if you are like most companies of any size today, you rely on your software to keep your business moving whether that software is simply your accounting program, your graphic design package, or a word processing program.  You may also realize the need to update your software or to add new programs in order to stay ahead of your competition and to continue to efficiently meet the needs of your clients.  All of that may make you believe that you need to pay top dollar for the software your business uses, but you can actually save money if you buy software suites.

Software suites are collections of programs put out by a single company.  Probably the most well-known software suite is Microsoft Office, which includes Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Publisher all in one handy collection.  Purchased alone, those six programs would cost a user over $1200.  Purchased as a suite, the software would cost only $499.  That's a significant savings. Plus, by having all of the programs together, they are more easily integrated so you can import Excel spreadsheets into Publisher reports or Word outlines into PowerPoint presentations.

With the popularity of Microsoft Office, other companies started packaging their products into suites as well.  Corel, for example, has suites dedicated to their lines of office-related and graphics programs while Norton's SystemWorks is a combination of popular utilities including antivirus software and more.   Again, the appeal of all these collections is primarily that they provide users like you with all of the software you need at a more affordable price while also making it easier for the software to work together seamlessly.

One of the newest suites on the market, which may be of interest to business owners, are two collections created by Adobe.  Both the Creative Suite's premium and standard editions come with fully integrated versions of some of Adobe's most acclaimed products and, as we've seen with the previous examples, with a more affordable price tag.  The standard edition includes PhotoShop, Illustrator, and InDesign for $999 while for $230 more you can get the premium edition that also comes with GoLive and Acrobat Professional.  While these prices may seem steep, they actually do reflect a significant savings to users.  Purchased separately, the components of the standard edition would cost more than $1800!  In fact, just to purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional would set you back $450!  Another benefit is that if you do already own last year's version of one of Adobe's programs that are included in the suite, you can upgrade to the entire suite at a reduced price:  $549 for standard and $749 for premium.

Software suites like Adobe's aren't for everyone.  If you only need Acrobat, for instance, there's no reason to spend the extra money to buy the full collection.  However, if you do plan on purchasing or using two or more of the programs in most suites, you'll find that they will save you money in the long run while also providing you with some valuable added features that may come in handy down the road.  After all, you never know when you may need to create a PowerPoint presentation or a web site using GoLive.  The bottom line is that if you want the best software and you want to save money, then purchasing a suite may be the best solution for your business.


Cavyl Stewart is the owner of http://www.find-small-business-software.com. Everything you need to know to save time and money when buying software. Get your Free copy of my Security Report here... http://www.find-small-business-software.com/securityreport.html