They say businesspersons are always looking to cut costs. If that's you, look no further. We present a range of freely available software - calendars, online and offline document managers, for e-commerce, for project management, personal organizers, to get a Web presence, to enhance Websites and even save on hardware costs. What more could you possibly want?

First it was dead. Now it's come alive. Huh? If that has you confused, I'm talking about the Web. Or more precisely, about what has become known as Web 2.0, the second generation Web that is no longer solely about putting information out there, but about connecting with a milieu of online personas, so as to create synergies and grow together. In this regard, Wiki quotes Web 2.0 as a second generation of Web-based communities and hosted services - such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies - which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users.

However, it's not as though the Web has technically changed. Web 2.0 simply refers to the new way in which software developers, and consequently, end-users use the Web. Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, Inc., and an activist for open standards regards Web 2.0 as business embracing the Web as a platform and utilising its strengths. In fact, the very concept Web 2.0 became popular after the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004.

Web 2.0 signals the rise of an online community

Perhaps to highlight the fact that nothing has changed technically, actor, author and broadcaster Stephen Fry describes Web 2.0 as "an idea in people's heads rather than a reality. It's actually an idea where the reciprocity between the user and the provider is emphasized. In other words, genuine interactivity if you like, simply because people can upload as well as download." And this is the crux of Web 2.0 - its social element permits users to do much more online which has consequently enhanced the value of the Web.

Parallel to Web 2.0 is the increasing focus on freely available open source software as its development has gained momentum following the ease of online collaborations. This movement has gone so far as to actually change the entire perception of software - especially that which is of use to SMEs. For instance,  Sunil Abraham, director - international relations at Mahiti Infotech Pvt. Ltd. opines that "SMEs should not waste their money on software like MS Office that supports proprietary standards and formats, because as soon as your license expires, your right to access the data, information and knowledge that you have created also expires!" Abraham equals this ‘lock in' of sorts with "digital colonization at the individual, organizational and national level." He recommends "avoiding the risk of such (product and hence) data obsolescence by using open standards, which cannot be controlled by any single person or entity with any vested interest. It evolves and is managed in a transparent process open to all interested parties; is platform independent, vendor neutral and usable for multiple implementations; is available on a royalty free basis." 

Document management

Every office generates documents, for which Abraham suggests using software based on the Open Document Format. Some such software is proprietary while others are free open source software (FOSS). For instance, OpenOffice.org is the most famous and free offline implementation, while Google Docs is a proprietary yet gratis online implementation of the standard.

So who's using such software? Well - practically everyone. Writer, actor and events producer Shaun Williams confesses to using free Google docs and Google spreadsheets very often, for its easy accessibility and the peace of mind that comes from knowing that docs are safely backed up in case of a PC crash, and that he hasn't pirated MS Office! The only snag, is work stoppages when the net is down, as he has no offline version to continue work that then automatically updates the online version. So when offline, Williams uses Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org) which as mentioned offers an entire open source software suite downloadable for no charge!

E-commerce applications

Speaking of the value of freely (or cheaply) available Web applications and open source software,  Samir Jhaveri, director of AwareINDIA says businesspeople simply need to address three main issues before adopting any such option - safety, support and ease of implementation. If these issues are answered in the affirmative, the alternative is a worthy choice.

"But sadly," he continues "lack of awareness leads businesspeople to pay through their nose to have expensive applications developed. I know someone who paid rupees 3.5 lakhs for a project management application and he was shocked when I showed him that PH-Projekt could do much more for free! Yet another person I know of paid close to rupees 3 lakhs for an online shopping cart system. I then showed him a Website http://www.Malamaal.com which had some better features like automatic shipping calculation according to the buyers' geographical location, tax calculation, etc. He loved the backend administration of the system, but was shocked when I told him that it didn't cost a single paisa! The Website uses open source software called OScommerce which is available for free to all our hosting clients and can be installed at the click of a button!"

Web calendars and more...

In other words, Jhaveri's advice may be summed up as - "research, research and still some more prior to choosing an IT application." His firm http://www.AwareINDIA.net encourages its Web hosting clients to apprise themselves of what they offer (free) as part of their service before they purchase any expensive software. Some of these software and applications that may be integrated into Web sites at the mere click of a button are blogs, discussion boards, portal software or content management systems, customer support software, e-commerce applications, and miscellaneous add-ons like an image gallery, mailing list, guest book script, project management, polls and surveys, form generator, web calendar, etcetera....

Inter-industry deal-maker Sanjiv Swarup of Synergy Consultants is all praise for eDeskonline (www.eDeskOnline.com), a free Web information-manager which includes applications like address book, mail, project monitoring, and calendar. He says, "I have been using it without a hitch for the past two years. All my SME clients use it to turbo-charge their operations from ONE online server. What's more - I enjoy using this interface on my GPRS enabled mobile too. The site offers free support by staff who hand-hold newbies through their efforts."

Create a Web presence for free

Also amongst the many freebies you should use to promote your business and your skills is Wordpress - http://www.wordpress.org Balaji (Labsji) Sowmyanarayanan, a social entrepreneur in the area of combining handicraft with technology(ICT) for sustainable development believes that Wordpress is far more than merely a service - it is a platform - both in the technical sense and from where to shout out your service - and a thriving community created by Automatic Inc. He points out that if you desire a Web presence (who doesn't?) nothing could be easier than Wordpress. Even its free option (it has a ‘paid for' service too) offers you a variety of ‘looks' to choose from to design your Web presence. Although design is perhaps not such an accurate word, as Labsji says you only need "point and click skills to get on with Wordpress even for its advanced features and functionalities."

If that sounds easy, what are you waiting for? In fact, Labsji goes a step further to point out that Wordpress exemplifies a business trend to watch and learn from. Quite asides that, Automatic Inc earn revenues from its novel Askimet spam filter technology/implementation widely used in Wordpress. Although the spam filter is made available free of charge for the Wordpress community, Automatic Inc charges commercial, enterprise and power users for the use of its Askimet filters. Co-creation is kept alive as the free (community) users contribute by occasionally identifying spams in their Wordpress instance thereby making Askimet better and smarter for everyone - free as well as paid users. In short, Wordpress is a tool that exemplifies how lowering the entry barriers for contribution, constant architectural tweaks, and business ingenuity/leadership pave the way to success. Its key business takeaway - community, community, community!

Reduce your outlay on multiple servers

Vishwanath Ramdas, vice president - projects & delivery, with an IT consultancy firm www.techvoyant.com explains how his company has successfully implemented ‘virtualization software' to consolidate what would usually be different servers dedicated to email, the Web, CRM, content management, file store, and development into a single piece of hardware. Ramdas explains that an SME should avoid investing in multiple small servers by making use of nifty software that virtualizes many instances of a single server. He explains how "free open source virtualization software from XEN helps setup any number of virtual servers to work as hosts for different applications - email, firewall, data storage, CRM, document management, workgroup-ware, maybe a project server, Web server etcetera. Your only constraint is the configuration of the hardware box you choose - a 1 TB, 16GB 4 dual core machine can easily run 24 to 32 virtual machines." Ramdas also recommends free open source software for Web content management, email, firewall and other desktop utilities.

Message your way to success

Ever observed youngsters hanging out, seemingly doing nothing, yet busy all the same text twiddling their mobiles? The camaraderie and the gossip bonds them. Now you can not just beat them in their game, you can jump in and join them! That seems to be the message that Labsji sends out in recommending Twitter, a ‘free' Web based group texting service from Obvious Inc. In many ways, Twitter scores ahead of plain cell texting. But Twitter comes with a twist, for although it is Web based wherein it is feasible to offer a virtually limitless message size by design, Twitter ‘SMS' messages are restricted to a maximum size of 140 letters. This design choice makes Twitter available via the most basic phones.

Labsji is all praise for this restriction, as he says "the restriction of 140 letters though technically motivated tends to bring out the surreal in the mundane - that changes the entire dynamics for the group." Why? Forced brevity ensures smart conversations. In the personal sphere, less works as more, brevity of the mundane knits relationships that get more interesting with time! Over time, the network of twittering people that you know expands, which is invariably handy in advancing business or career goals. After all, as Web 2.0 and the open source software movement indicate, business development is now all about conversing and sharing, not so much targeted advertising.

In this regard, Labsji talks of the Internet and the Web predecessor - Usenet, both of which were strong proponents of the common denominator approach. This approach has come a full circle in Twitter, as the service is all about establishing a common denominator and giving an impetus to community dynamics. If you think of it, isn't that what Web 2.0 and open source software are also all about?

Charu Bahri is a freelance writer and author of two books. She also writes funding grants and software for a charity working in the health sector.

Issue BG80 Nov07

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