Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems

Using case studies, this is an exploration of problems most small businesses share. It explains which open source technologies provide the best solution for these problems and provides a cookbook-style 'recipe' for easy implementation of the technologies in a real-world setting.

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Ninety percent of companies in the United States qualify as small businesses. Every day these employers have to deal with common computing problems, such as tracking electronic documents, scheduling, accounting functions, managing contact lists, and reducing spam. Many expensive software products are available to help solve these problems, but they often have features small businesses don't need (or are missing the ones they do). Open source software presents easy-to-implement solutions at a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, these solutions are relatively unknown to most small businesses. Open Source Solutions for Small Business Problems explores operational problems most small businesses share. It identifies good open source software that can help businesses solve these problems, and compares them to their proprietary counterparts. The strengths and weaknesses of the open source packages are discussed, and additional information is included on how to integrate open source with existing proprietary systems to achieve specific goals.
This is the perfect reference for the tech professional looking for help choosing and understanding excellent open source software to deploy in a business setting, as well as for small business proprietors interested in streamlining their business problems using computer-based solutions.