Practical IT Research that Drives Measurable Results Investigate Alternative Office Suites Should You Switch from MS Office? R: 148 G: 38 B: 84

Introduction Switching from MS Office is not popular. 99% of organizations use MS Office and 85% plan to upgrade to another version of MS Office. Disturbingly, 42% of these do not own the software upgrade and will have to invest in significant new licensing costs. Info-Tech believes these organizations should at least assess alternatives before buying upgrade licenses to document justification of this new investment. However, software licensing costs are only one of the barriers to switching. Switching also involves file format compatibility, macro compatibility, content complexity, application integration (E. G. CRM, ECM) and end-user training and support. Even if enterprise-wide migration cannot be validated, organizations licensed on a per seat basis may have an opportunity to reduce MS Office seats through limited deployment of an alternative to select user groups. This Solution Set will help you: Assess Alternative Suite Adoption Understand Enterprise vs. Limited Deployment Compare MS Office Alternatives Communicate and Implement the Migration

Executive Summary Most organizations will not realize a reduction in costs through an enterprise-wide migration from MS Office to an alternative, because non-monetary barriers to switching are too great. However, money-saving opportunities exist for many organizations by implementing a limited deployment of an alternative, to targeted groups, while keeping MS Office for most users to reduce the overall number of Office seats. When the deployment of an alternative suite is validated, OpenOffice is the alternative of choice. No other alternative suite stands up to the features and familiar feel of OpenOffice. Successful limited deployment requires a formal plan to communicate the migration to management and end users

Alternative Office Suites Strategize Adopting an Alternative Office Suite Limited Deployment of an Alternative Office Suite Compare The MS Office Alternatives Landscape Implement Communicating the Migration

Develop a Strategy for Using an Alternative Office Suite Strategize Adopting an Alternative Office Suite Limited Deployment of an Alternative Office Suite Compare The MS Office Alternatives Landscape Implement Communicating the Migration

Action: Upgrade to Office 2010 No cost savings can be derived from migrating to alternatives. Action: Assess Office 2010 and alternatives To save costs, identify target user groups who don’t require an Office upgrade. Action: Sit tight. Migrate to Office 2010 later. No ROI from any upgrade now. Re- assess Office 2010 deployment ROI annually. Action: Sit tight. Assess Office 2010 and alternatives later. Re-assess options annually. Identify groups for cost-saving alternative suite deployment. Own the Upgrade Do Not Own the Upgrade Running Office 2003 or older Running Office 2007 We’re not paying costs on the Office side. We’re just going to sit out the next 4-6 years. - Director of Corporate IS, Manufacturing, running Office 2007 Office alternatives will not benefit you if you already own the Office 2010 upgrade If you own the MS Office upgrade you will not have an opportunity to save money through an alternative suite unless you do not renew your current subscription-based licensing agreement and you are considering purchasing a future version of MS Office, three to six years in the future. Info-Tech Insight: Potential benefits from Office alternatives by decreasing MS licensing costs “ ” You’re in this binding situation where in the next 2-3 years you dish out millions of dollars or you start finding alternatives. - IT Infrastructure & Security Manager, Manufacturing, running Office 2003 ” “

Assess deployment as discrete scenarios, not as a spectrum Stay the Course with MS Office Use MS Office for all users requiring an office productivity suite No migration to an alternative suite Is still a valid option after conducting an assessment of opportunities for deploying alternative suites Limited Deployment Deploy an alternative suite to targeted worker segments based on job requirements and office needs Keep all other users on MS Office Relevant when alternative suites are the exception, not the rule Enterprise-Wide Deployment Deploy an alternative suite to the entire enterprise Potentially give MS Office to select knowledge workers who need it to meet job requirements Relevant when MS Office is the exception to the rule or non-existent 100% Office deployment100% alternative deployment

Understand that most organizations do not undertake enterprise-wide alternative deployment due to non-software switching costs N=81 Non-software switching costs are significant. HighMediumLow Formatting/Template Needs36%45%19% Convincing Management39%34%27% End User Resistance39%41%20% Macro/Automation Needs41%38%21% Help Desk Issues45%41%14% Training Needs46%31%23% Integrated Appliction Needs56%34%10% Document Exchange79%15%6% N=118 Deployed only MS Office, didn’t thoroughly evaluate alternatives 59% Deployed both MS Office and alternatives (Limited) 25% Deployed MS Office and thoroughly evaluated alternatives 14% No MS Office deployed. An alternative suite was deployed 2% Enterprise-wide deployment is rare. Most organizations don’t even consider it. Source: Info-Tech Research Group

Enterprise-wide migration from Office? Unlikely. Limited migration for some users? Maybe. Alternative suites have compatibility issues with MS Office complex documents (e.g.: Manuals, User Forms, Advanced Excel sheets) Collaboration with MS Office formats is very difficult Compatibility & Collaboration Requires cultural and functional training of end users Help Desk must build a knowledge base to support a new set of applications Support Many Enterprise Applications (E- mail, CRM, ERP, Industry-specific) can only interact with MS Office Integration MS Office macros are incompatible with all alternatives Formatting documents for MS Office use creates headaches Document Complexity Most end users are familiar with MS Office and don’t want to use anything else Software limitations can make many job requirements difficult Resistance Of 118 enterprises surveyed by Info-Tech, just 2% underwent an enterprise-wide migration to an MS Office alternative; the switching costs are simply too high for most enterprises.. Process BarriersPeople Barriers Info-Tech suggests targeting these user groups, which do not exhibit the above barriers, e.g.: Reception/Clerical Data Entry Clerks Manufacturing/Operations Field Service Personnel Inside Sales/Customer Service Call Center Other Process-Driven Workers (see Appendix).. yet 25% have adopted a limited migration; targeting alternatives to specific user groups.

Make sure targeted cases for Office alternatives are tightly scoped to minimize switching costs Once deployment of an alternative suite reaches a saturation point in the enterprise, typically 40-60%, implementation becomes comparable to that of an enterprise-wide deployment. Using the alternative as the primary suite creates new potential switching costs.. Collaboration with external parties using MS Office documents becomes extremely difficult Integration with many enterprise applications will no longer be possible End user will require functional training A surge in help desk tickets is likely..which require new solutions.. Increasing help desk resources to manage demand and ensure solutions are known Providing computer-based or instructor-led training Minimize Switching Costs..or destroy the ability to perform duties Power users can no longer create complex documents Application integration becomes impossible Unless your enterprise needs surrounding document complexity, collaboration, and integration are extremely low, do not deploy an alternative as a primary suite. Determine at what point deployment would create these new switching costs, and make sure you do not reach it. Target only user groups who can abandon MS Office without compromising job requirements or necessitating a new support structure. Info-Tech has created a tool to assist with this decision, which follows in this Storyboard.

With low requirements and 500 dollars a seat, it just doesn’t make sense for these [inside] sales people to have Office. Limited Deployment Case Study: Open Office is viable for process-driven users, even when compatibility and collaboration with external partners is an issue Industry: Segment: Licensing: Source: Advisory Services Mid-Sized Enterprise MS Volume Licensing (per seat) CEO, CIO, Business Analyst, Help Desk Technician Situation The majority of the organization comprises R&D MS Office power users The Inside Sales Call Center requests MS Office for its users This would require 52 new seats (25% of enterprise, $442/seat) Users mainly view documents but require compatibility with Office formats Action The organization refreshes PC images with OpenOffice for all 52 users The other 75% of the organization keeps MS Office No training is provided, formally or informally No additional help desk resources are allocated No migration of data or change in standard document format The organization saves $23,000 (33% of total cost) by averting new licensing costs Issues arise around end user cultural resistance and compatibility limitations The issues are satisfactorily overcome and both management and IT deem it successful Impact “ “ Chief Executive Officer

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