Computer application
buying tip
Purchasing a software
application or program can be a big consideration, especially when purchasing
advanced and usually expensive programs such as Microsoft Office or Adobe
Photoshop. When considering purchasing these programs it is important that you
or your staff be familiar with the program and are sure it's going to be
capable of what you need it to do.
On this page we've
listed different considerations to think about before buying a computer
software application.
Competition
Before buying any
application make sure there is not a competing program that may be cheaper or
even free. If available and something that's capable of doing what you want it
to do this could save you hundreds of dollars.
A good example of such
a program is OpenOffice and Corel WordPerfect that would be a competitor to
Microsoft Word. Both programs are an excellent choice for a word processor but
can be a considerable price difference. In the case of OpenOffice, it's 100%
free.
Documentation
Make sure proper
documentation is included. Many programs today will include on-line
documentation that is more than sufficient. However, it is also useful to
obtain a manual or user guide for the software program or application.
Licenses
If you are a company
who plans on having software programs used by its employees (more than one
person), you need to consider licensing options. It is required that for each
computer a product is installed onto that it have a software license. If a
company purchases the program and shares it with all its employees without the
proper licensing, this would be illegal and can cause your company to face a
criminal lawsuit.
Price
Look at your overall
price and shop around. Because a software price can change often, you can
sometimes save hundreds of dollars on expensive software. If possible, do not
purchase directly through the company; many times, the company's price doubles
a retailers price.
Be cautious of OEM
software. Many resellers will sell a program as OEM, which requires you buy a computer
or motherboard. OEM software is software that is included with large
manufacturers' computers and only includes either just a CD or a slim manual
and CD. This is not what you would find at a retail store. This option is not a
bad option, it is only important that you are aware of what you are getting.
Package
Look at the overall
software package. How many CDs or diskettes are included, what inserts and
documentation is included, and is there any bonus or extra software included?
Media
Today, the majority of
software is included on CDs and DVDs. When looking at a program, make sure you
have an acceptable drive that's able to read the media, While not common today,
an example of why this is important is it's better to receive one CD instead of
32 floppy diskettes.
