LONDON, ON, May 18 /PRNewswire/ - Microsoft's decision to discontinue support for Office 2003 or older means that organizations using these suites will soon have to bite the bullet and decide whether to upgrade to Office 2010 or find an alternative solution. Google has been pushing hard for organizations to make the switch to Google Docs, but Info-Tech Research Group suggests that most organizations should not make the switch. However, when a full or limited migration is validated, OpenOffice is the way to go.

"Our research shows that no other alternative suite stands up to the features, reliability and familiar feel of OpenOffice making it the best option for organizations making a full switch or planning a limited deployment of an alternative suite," said Tim Hickernell, Lead Research Analyst for Info-Tech Research Group. "Google Docs does have the collaboration aspect going for them, but when it comes to spreadsheets, presentations and word processing, OpenOffice is far superior to other alternatives."

The belief that nothing of quality comes for free has been challenged by OpenOffice. Info-Tech Research Group's recent survey shows that 54% of organizations that have decided to switch to an alternative suite have selected OpenOffice and are happy with the results.

Even with this free solution, considering an alternative to MS Office only makes sense for organizations that do not already own the Office 2010 upgrade. And after some investigation, many without the upgrade may find that the non-software costs of a switch are so great, they can't validate adoption of an alternative at all.

Info-Tech Research Group surveyed 118 organizations concerning office productivity suites and non-software switching costs and determined that less than 2% of organizations will reduce costs by totally abandoning MS Office. However, around 20% of organizations have an opportunity to reduce the number of MS Office licenses by deploying a limited number of Open Office seats to select process-oriented workers, workers whose jobs typically have a low demand for office productivity tools.

Info-Tech Research Group's Assessment tool, "Should You Switch from MS Office?" helps IT managers figure out if an alternative makes sense for their organization or not.

About Info-Tech Research Group

With a paid membership of over 21,000 worldwide, Info-Tech Research Group (www.infotech.com) is a global leader in providing tactical, practical Information Technology research and analysis. Info-Tech has been addressing the needs of IT professionals for over 10 years, and is one of North America's fastest growing full-service IT analyst firms.

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group