Apache OpenOffice Hits 50 Million Downloads in One Year ^Featured

OpenOffice is the free solution to those who do not have or cannot afford the Microsoft Office Suite. In fact, I just recommended it to two of my son’s classmates who had lost data on the school server using Word. It is easy to download, looks like Microsoft, is compatible with Microsoft products, and is free. Hard to believe that a company would be so giving? Read on…

When downloading the latest version of Apache OpenOffice, users are given an opportunity to donate to the OpenOffice project. The project strives to provide free productivity applications on a global scale. They are seeking contributors for a variety of jobs, including coding, bug fixing, and design. OpenOffice offers a volunteer orientation for those unsure of how to help as well as a student page for students to contribute as part of their school projects. In other words, they seek volunteerism as donation, rather than fiscal donations. Any fiscal donations go toward the technical infrastructure.

This is a huge non-profit project that has gained Apache an amazing following. 50 million downloads of the latest version of OpenOffice was hit within one week of the anniversary of the release of OpenOffice 3.4 on May 8, 2012. It is also significant that Apache OpenOffice is the number one free and open source office application suite for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The first version was released in May of 2002. It is offered in more than 50 languages.

OpenOffice is not the only open source software that Apache offers, but it is the most widely used. You may have heard of SpamAssassin, a free spam blocker software that is used on college campuses and in small businesses as well as personal computers to reduce spam. Many more open source programs are available through Apache as development continues.

As for OpenOffice, this product has components nearly identical to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Paint, Access, and Publisher. The menus look very similar and the results are nearly the same. In fact, the user can choose to save their projects in Microsoft formats. They may be opened and worked on with Microsoft software.

So, why bring up a non-profit business? Two reasons. The Apache business model is very successful and could extend itself into a for-profit business if they wished to do so. The second reason is likely more applicable to the entrepreneur. Apache is offering OpenOffice and all of its other programs, from coding to programming, to cloud network management, to large data storage for free. How much do you think these necessities might cost for a startup? The latest version Microsoft Office alone costs between $139.99-$399.99 and that’s for only one computer. For a business it can be as high as $12.50 per user per month for a small business plan. That adds up quickly over time. Large business plans go up to $20 per user per month.

Starting your business? Go to http://www.apache.org/ and see what they can offer to your startup. And once you are up and running, don’t forget to volunteer and give some of your time and expertise back to this thriving, wonderful organization.