TrustRadius Insights for Apache OpenOffice are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Business Problems Solved
OpenOffice has gained popularity among various professionals and organizations for its versatility and cost-effectiveness. One of its key use cases is in consulting firms, where it allows professionals to open and work on different file types received from clients. This not only helps maintain a professional image but also eliminates the need to request alternative file formats. According to users, OpenOffice provides unique capabilities, such as direct editing of .dbx files in Calc, which keeps consulting firms ahead of the curve.
Another use case for OpenOffice is as a potential replacement for Microsoft Office in organizations aiming to reduce costs while still meeting their current needs. By evaluating OpenOffice as an alternative, these organizations can significantly cut down on subscription expenses without compromising the functionalities provided by Microsoft Office.
OpenOffice is also being embraced by individual users across various industries. For example, secretarial staff in offices have been convinced to use OpenOffice for general writing and calculating activities. Likewise, web developers and account managers find it valuable for creating and editing documents and presentations for customers. It offers a lightweight and smooth alternative to the resource-heavy Microsoft Office suite.
Furthermore, OpenOffice finds utility in niche professions. A professional freelance photographer relies on OpenOffice for all word processing tasks related to their business, such as creating invoices, receipts, and quotes. Users appreciate how this cost-effective solution does not compromise functionality.
Academic institutions are also recognizing the benefits of OpenOffice as an alternative to Microsoft Office 365. Apache OpenOffice is recommended as the default office suite software in a technical institute, allowing them to reduce subscription costs to zero while providing all the necessary features comparable to Microsoft Office.
Overall, OpenOffice proves useful across diverse fields and contexts. Its appeal lies not only in its affordability but also in its ability to address specific needs, provide unique capabilities, and offer a seamless user experience.
At Softronic Systems in their pharma services division, I along with my team are using Apache OpenOffice for our daily needs of composing documents, composing news articles, making spreadsheets, and preparing presentations. It is not being used by whole organization but the pharma services division is effectively using it. Previously we were paying to use Microsoft Office.
Pros
Supports a variety of formats
Open source and free
Small download package
Cons
Does not support the latest Microsoft Office formats
Layout doesn't appear exactly the same as in Microsoft Office
Theme of the application is not eye-catching
Likelihood to Recommend
I strongly recommend for my friends and colleagues to use Apache OpenOffice for drafting their documents, making spreadsheets, and preparing presentations because it is free, it is lighter in terms of application size, it supports a variety of file formats, it is available on almost all kinds of device and operating system, like Android, Windows, Linux, and many others.
Our web developers and account managers use OpenOffice to create and edit documents and presentations for our customers. The program is lightweight on our computers' resources and runs very smooth most of the time, with minimal technical glitches. It loads up fast and does not have many of the same challenges as the Microsoft Office suite. Although it's not as good for large complex documents, it is all we need for most documents most of the time.
Pros
Lightweight on our computer's resources
Loads and runs fast
Runs smoothly without technical errors
OpenOffice makes it very easy to create and edit documents fast
Cons
Not the best solution for larger or complex documents.
Doesn't integrate well with third-party software and applications.
Not as good as MS Office for document sharing and collaboration.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have no budget for office software OpenOffice might be all you need, it's fast lightweight and doesn't use a lot of your computer's resources. However, if your business thrives on complex presentations and documents that use Adobe and Microsoft it might not be as well suited. It is very easy to install and does not have a lot of technical glitches like Microsoft.
I use OpenOffice almost daily for general note taking and document formatting. OpenOffice is great for handling different document types and as a free alternative to a paid program like Microsoft Word.
Pros
OpenOffice is nice to have as an application on your computer vs. using an online word document application like Google Docs.
OpenOffice can handle a variety of file types (.doc, .rtf, .xml) , making it an essential tool for those who don't have access to Microsoft Word
OpenOffice is a deeper software than Word and is more accessible. I know, accessibility for a document typing software, I know. But, OpenOffice allows for quickly changing margins, typeface, size, etc, and I think does it better than Word, and in an easier format.
OpenOffice can handle spreadsheets, basic databases, presentations, and basic drawings. It handles all of the usual Microsoft Office tools within one application.
OpenOffice allows for user created third-party plugins so you have many options for pursuing very specific things within the program. This is great because OpenOffice is user-sourced, so there's plenty of new things to try for improving workflow.
Cons
Some people are legitimately not interested in using software outside of the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Drive, so this could be a hard sell for small-mid-sized businesses.
Likelihood to Recommend
OpenOffice is excellent for quick use to accomplish the same tasks as competitors. It's useful for personal use as well as note-taking or presentations within the business setting.
I have been a user of OpenOffice off and on from when it was Star OfficeSuite; at the time it was the only Office Suite for Linux systems, and today is cross-platform and highly compatible and indeed equivalent with Microsoft Office.
While not being used across my current place of employment, in a previous career it was the sole office suite utilized by the business entity, selected because of its price and compatibility. With it I was able to send documents to other (larger) businesses who utilized current versions of Microsoft Office, and they were able to see the issued documents with high compatibility and no display issues.
Pros
Price: the version I used was free.
Compatibility: With exception of specific tabling in the word processor and macros in the spreadsheet tool, there was perfect compatibility.
System compatibility: I was able to access and use it with fairly old systems, and did not need a new or current PC to install and operate.
Cons
The system is fairly bloated. The amount of space the office suite takes up is increasingly larger and larger with each iteration.
Macro support is weak.
Greater XLSX and DOCX extension compatibility without required "conversions" would be good.
Likelihood to Recommend
OOO is excellent for personal use or small businesses which cannot afford a Microsoft Office license. With it, you can expect high compatibility between MSO and other office suites, as well as an intuitive menu system that borrows many attributes from more widely-known office suites (particularly MS-Office).
It is a large installation, and leans heavily on JRE (Java Runtime Environment), which explains its high compatibility. Unfortunately that also means it is not optimized for the devices on which it runs, and you will find slower load/save/document conversion/export times compared to other office suites.
But the price wins. You can't compare it to others.
VU
Verified User
Administrator in Professional Services (Writing and Editing company, 1-10 employees)