70 Open Source Replacements for Small Business Software

While surveys suggest that 90 percent or more of large enterprises use at least one open source application, estimates place the percentage of small businesses that use open source software much lower. Yet open source software offers small businesses the same low costs and flexibility that enterprises enjoy.

So why don't more small businesses opt for open source?

First, many small business owners simply aren't aware of the number and variety of high quality open source software available for them. Because open source projects generally don't have the same kind of marketing dollars behind them as commercial options, they can be a lot tougher to find.

To make it easier, Datamation is updating our list of open source replacements for small business applications that we first published last year. This year's list contains a number of new products in categories likely to be of interest to small businesses.

Second, even if they're aware of open source software, some small business owners are hesitant to deploy open source options because of support concerns. After all, if your IT department is small or non-existent, being able to get help when something goes wrong is a big worry.

Fortunately, many of the applications on this list now offer paid support and a large and growing percentage are now available on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis. Although these offerings aren't cost-free, they're generally still much less expensive than their commercial counterparts because users don't have to pay licensing fees.

We hope you find this list of open source replacements for popular small business applications helpful. If you know of open source projects we've missed, please feel free to suggest them in the comments section below.

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