For this activity, you will become acquainted with the market for free word processing software. As you know, your assignment must be submitted in Microsoft Word format. However, there are other word processing tools, many of which are free to use.
Description Of Tools
Google Docs
Google Docs is Google’s word processing software, and it is a completely web-based application. This means that this software does not need to be installed on the computer, and one can easily use it by opening it in any browser. Since the software processes all tasks online and no data is saved on the hard drive, all the documents can be easily accessed through Google Docs across various devices such as mobile or tablets. However, to use the software, one needs to have a Google account and sign in to Google Docs through this account. As soon as we have logged in, we can easily search for Google Docs and create a new file that will be saved in the cloud storage.
Open Office
Open Office is an open-source and free suite that provides various tools similar to Microsoft Office to handle different office-related tasks such as creating documents, sheets, presentations, etc. And since this is open source, anyone can use the program free of cost and even improve it without having any copyright issues. It also enables users to share their data quite easily across different tools, such as Microsoft Office.
AbiWord
AbiWord, like Open Office, is also an open-source program that is available for free to perform all common word processing tasks such as writing, editing, and formatting. It supports all the popular file extensions such as .docx and doc and thus is an effective alternative to Microsoft Word if someone cannot manage to have MS Word.
My Experience
Being an MS Office user, I can easily compare the different word processing software. First of all, I used Google Docs to type letters and applications. Its interface is very similar to that of MS Word, and users of MS Word can easily use this software. Also, it provided great convenience in handling the documents across various devices, as in the case of MS Office, we need to synchronize the documents to one drive first and then access them through one drive from other devices. So, Google Docs, I think, is a valuable alternative, and I recommend this tool to all office users if they cannot afford to buy MS Office.
Regarding both AbiWord and Open Office, I found them extremely handy as well, but their interface does not match with modern software; they resemble classic versions of Microsoft Word. However, as far as their utility is concerned, I found many similar useful options in both of them that can satisfy the needs of users who are looking for free word-processing software.
Marketing Strategy And Positioning
Google Docs
Google does not charge any direct cost for Google Docs; however, since Google makes most of its money from advertisements, it can be assessed that the user data is somehow used for the advertisement. As far as the positioning strategy of the company is concerned, it is evident that Google attracts user by providing them with the very satisfying experience of managing their documents completely free of cost.
Open Office and AbiWord
As explained earlier, both OpenOffice and AbiWord are open-source software, so they are completely free to use. As far as their business model is concerned, neither of them makes any money from advertisements, nor does they even intend to make profits. Instead, they are developed by volunteers, and for their maintenance, only a few developers work and are paid for by different donations. So, they both market their products as being free of cost, and users can choose one of them as per their needs since Open Office provides far more features for managing business operations than AbiWord.
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