10.3 Moving forward with information systems  (Page 2/3)

All of the options have their advantages and disadvantages and we discuss them later in this chapter.

While it is certainly possible for you to hire a programmer and have him or her develop the software programs your organizations need, it is rare when a start-up company needs to do this as there are so many software programs available for you to use (and some of them are free). In all likelihood, you will begin to move your organization into the “information age” in one of two ways, either (1) acquiring a suite of commonly-used programs designed for meeting the needs of both individuals and organizations, or (2) acquiring software programs designed specifically to meet most needs of a small organization. Each of these options is discussed below:

Acquiring a suite of commonly-used programs

Perhaps the best-known suite of commonly used programs is Microsoft Office. A basic version of Office, Microsoft Office Standard 2007 includes four programs:

1. Microsoft Word, used for preparing documents
2. Microsoft Excel, used for preparing spreadsheets (most commonly used for accounting analyses but also useful for basic record-keeping such as customer lists or checkbooks).
3. PowerPoint, used for making presentations, and
4. Microsoft Outlook, used for managing email. ( Microsoft 2009 )

There are several other open-source options available as well, typically at no cost to you. Some of these are:

1. Open Office ( Openoffice 2009 )
2. Google Docs ( Google 2009 )
3. Zoho ( Zoho 2009 )

In addition to being free, the open source options have the ability to read and write computer file a format compatible with the more widely used Microsoft products.

When to think about using database management software

As your business grows and you need to keep accurate records on a computer beyond what is reasonable to do with a spreadsheet program, you should consider adding database management software.

Karen Stille placed a good comparison of the features of database and spreadsheet software a website, QCISolutions. In summary, she states that:

“As a general rule of thumb, databases should be used for data storage and spreadsheets should be used to analyze data.

“In a nutshell we use a database if...

• the information is a large amount that would become unmanageable in spreadsheet form and is related to a particular subject.
• you want to maintain records for ongoing use.
• the information is subject to many changes (change of address, pricing changes, etc.).
• you want to generate reports based on the information.

Use a spreadsheet if...

• you want to crunch numbers and perform automatic calculations.
• you want to track a simple list of data.
• you want to easily create charts and graphs of your data.
• you want to create "What-if" scenarios.

“In most cases, using the combination of a database to store your business records and a spreadsheet to analyze selected information works best”.( Stille 2009 )

Microsoft’s widely-used database management software is called ACCESS, and versions of Microsoft Office that use ACCESS are available for purchase. More information is available on the Microsoft site (Microsoft). On the other hand, open source database management software is also available at no cost to you. You may wish to examine one of the following open source packages to see if one of them meets your needs: