Open Source Solutions For Small Business Problems

by John Locke

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.

Paperback

First published May 15, 2004

Reviews

[Philip Oakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Even if a little out of date now it is still worth a read as there is no other book out there that covers so much and is so useful at explaining how open source can help small businesses (or anybody for that matter).

[Tim Chase · Rating 2 out of 5]

one minute the audience consists of folks that don't know about open-source apps, the next minute, it unevenly rockets down into Apache configuration files or tweaking MTA settings.