How we tested
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For each package we loaded a large and relatively complex MS Word 2000 document that included: 76 pages, 18,454 words, table of contents, 44 headings, 86 JPEG images, 8 charts, and 10 tables.
We timed how long the load and conversion process required for each suite and then compared the load times of the same file but in the word processor's native format. We also kept tabs on the amount of memory consumed by the word processor with the MS Word format file and native format file loaded.
Why bother testing the suites' compatibility with Microsoft file formats you may ask? The answer is quite obvious, with the majority of the planet using MS Word, you will no doubt need to import files provided by clients, business partners, and other contacts that are in Microsoft format. Microsoft's pervasiveness is just too far reaching to ignore.
Finally we created a representative subset of each of the documents, spreadsheet, and presentation test files using the suite's native applications to compare and contrast usability.
Interoperability
What operating systems will the office suite run on?
Futureproofing
What file formats can the office suite read and write? Can you open documents you receive from others?
ROI
Does the suite provide for your complete needs, or will you need to supplement with other applications?
Service
What support is provided as standard and how much will ongoing support end up costing you?
Company: OGC Communications. This company is is looking to upgrade its office software, but is fed up with Microsoft's licensing schemes and is looking for alternatives.
Approximate budget: Open, as long as it saves money compared to Microsoft Office.
Requires: An office suite with word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.
Concerns: Staff are familiar with Microsoft Office, so the company wants to avoid a steep learning curve for the new package. The company wants staff to be able to load up old documents (in Office format) and documents from customers with a minimum of fuss.
Best solution: StarOffice or OpenOffice would do the trick here, and the best choice of the two would depend on the company's desire to save money balanced against the IT department's ability to provide support to its end user community.
Editor's choice
StarOffice and OpenOffice
StarOffice and OpenOffice have the best integration of any suite we have tested to date, and both proved to be robust and very simple to drive, and the features set was pretty darn good, too.
If you are a stickler for a pretty box, manuals, and vendor-provided phone support--and don't mind paying for it--then stick with StarOffice 7, it also offers limited database support, something not provided with OpenOffice.
On the other hand, if your IT support guys are up to speed on OpenOffice, you can download a copy absolutely free. While OpenOffice may be cheap, it is certainly not nasty: the applications were robust and in general were just as feature rich as any of the other suites tested. We can well imagine OpenOffice putting the wind up Microsoft in much the same was as Linux has been doing for the last couple of years.
Database access http://dba.openoffice.org/