Business Software Applications

Complete list of applications and software to take your business virtual.

Cloud, Hosted, and Web Application and Software

 

 

Listed below are a variety of open source, self hosted, and cloud based software solutions which allow your business to go virtual. For larger corporations and even some mid-size business there are a variety of specified solutions which will provide complete solutions specific to industry and your companies processes. There are also solutions for small businesses and even smaller businesses that provide complete solutions that combine your sales, customer service, IT, marketing, and virtual team management under one umbrella.

 

There are 2 things to consider, where do you want to keep your data? We are talking keyword strategies, internal reports, internal communication, client info, tax info, etc. There is a lot of sensitive information there to protect. Many subscription based services will retain your information on their hosted networks, which will be able to download and import but it is being stored on 3rd party or maybe 4th party servers. Most companies will want to have that data on company dedicated servers, instead of shared systems that are more prone to attack. Although the subscription based solutions listed are secure and have great reputations, we still understand the need to manage your companies data on your dedicated servers. For this option we recommend applications that are self hosted. These type of applications install through raw code or integrate into your dedicated or cloud based servers. In many cases support is not provided and you will need to have your IT team or outside web programmer to install and if open source modify the source code to the exact set up of your company process needs.

 

 

Here are our recommendations.

 

There are several complete all round solutions, which provide you many of the tools needed like Bitrix24, Odoo, PulseWay, which will cover almost all of your virtual needs including CRM, ERP, Communication, Marketing, IT, Customer Service and much more we recommend ZOHO, at $35 per month, per user it is the most complete solution that integrates all aspects of your business with a couple mouse clicks. This is a great solution for small businesses and small teams. Larger corporations will find some limitations and will most likely have the need to have more specified based solutions.

 

 

Accounting and Payroll (ERP)

 

Sage 500 ERP - Is the highest rated ERP system by users and corporations. It is one of the most robust solutions for various industries.

QuickBooks Online - Most flexible and widely used solution.

Xero - Best Mac based system.

Wave - Free Open Source based solution that can be modified to your business needs, Wave is rated as one of the best ERP systems.

Akaunting - Is a newly released Open Source Solution that has many of the features accessible to all levels of business.

ERPNext - Free and open-source integrated Enterprise Resource Planning software developed by Frappé Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and is built on MariaDB database system using a Python based server-side framework.

Dollibar - Dolibarr ERP CRM is an open source, free software package for small and medium companies, foundations or freelancers.

iDempiere - iDempiere Business Suite, also known as OSGi + ADempiere, is an open source Enterprise Resource Planning software that is fully navigable on PCs, tablets and smartphones

Opentaps - opentaps Open Source ERP CRM ecommerce Warehouse Inventory Financials Accounting Purchasing Supply Chain Management Business Intelligence

GnuCash-Free Open Source Solution for Small Business

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

Analytics

ArcGIS Enterprise - Deliver industry-leading mapping and analytics to your infrastructure and the cloud.

Panorama - offers business analytics solutions that allow businesses to connect and explore right away their data to acquire needed insights.

Jaspersoft - World's most widely used business intelligence suite leverages open source for the best, most cost-effective reporting, dashboards & analytics.
Knime- is a Free Open SOurce data analytics tool that can be utilized in a variety of ways but it is not for beginners.

ClicData - Offers a free version which supports up to 1GB of data. The solutions in this application are great for a small business.
Dataiku - Is a great tool for data visualization

Qlik Sense Cloud - Free up to 5 users, this is a great, fairly easy to use tool.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

 

 

Business Manager

PulseWay - One of the most robust and easy to use solutions to manage your business. IT, CRM, Billing, etc

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

 

Communication

Internal messaging -Private Messaging Systems

Slack- One of the most popular available tools.

RocketChat - Is an easy to integrate free chatting system

Mattermost - Open source, private cloud Slack-alternative, Workplace messaging for web, PCs and phones. MIT-licensed. Hundreds of contributors.

Ryver- Free complete chat platform

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

 

Video Conferencing

Skype - Most common and popular video conferencing tool

Facebook Group Video - With the introduction of Facebook Workspace, an online virtual office space, they can work well together.

Google Hangouts - Is another option and already plugged in especially if you are using the Google Business Suite

Free Confrenece Call - lets you video conference for free with up to 1,000 participants, plus you can record and save your meetings. That's a lot of video conferencing muscle

Any Meeting - Free Video confrencing with screen sharing

EzTalks Meetings - Free for up to 100 Participants, Fluent Group Video/Audio/IM Chat, Screen Sharing and Annotation, White Board and Collaboration, Record and Playback

Apache Open Meetings - Audio/Video conferencing, Meeting recording and sharing, File explorer and sharing, Moderating system, Whiteboard collaboration, Chatrooms, User and room management, Private instant messaging, Meeting planner and calendar, Data backup

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

 

 

CRM

SalesForce - Needs no introduction, it is the most recognizable name in business software offering a variety of solutions.

Sugar CRM - One of the most popular and widely used solutions with great capabilities of lead generation and research tools.

Bitrix24 - Is one of the best available and affordable solutions.

Zurmo - Zurmo is an Open Source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application that is mobile, social, and gamified.

Hubspot CRM - HubSpot CRM makes it easy to organize, track, and grow your pipeline. Get deeper insights on every lead and monitor deals with ease.

CiviCRM -Non Profit - Specilized Non-Profot CRM system

EspoCRM- Free Open Source is a self hosted application that offers sales automation, calendar integration, Email/Communication Archiving, Customer Support, Document Support, Inventory Management, Voip Integration, Analytics and more.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

OpenDocMan - Offers hosted and self hosted service. Self hosted is free and without limits. Hosted options start at $49, we only recommend this as self hosted, as there hosted fees are high.

SeedDMS - Self Hosted PHP based Document Management System, doesnt look pretty but its functional.

MayanEDMS - Free Open Source Document Management System.

OPenKM - Self Hosted PHP based Document Management System, doesnt look pretty but its functional.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

Forum

MyBB - Self Hosted, free open source Community Forum which can be used for IT, Customer Service or Intern communication and training within your team.

Vanilla - Free Self Hosted or Cloud Forum service which is used by companies suchs as Acer, ZTE, and Edmunds to name a few.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

 

 

Marketing

 

 

EMail Marketing

MailChimp - MailChimp is a marketing automation platform and an email marketing service. It is integrated into many other applications.

AWeber - AWeber is one of the most popular email marketing service providers in the world. They offer a wide-range of tools for small and medium sized businesses to manage their email marketing. ... You get access to ready to use email templates, list management, autoresponders, and email tracking with detailed insights

Constant Contact - Constant Contact makes it easy to create, share, and track emails—and better engage your customers. Get your first month free.

GetResponse - All-in-one Online Marketing Platform to Grow Your Business

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

phplist - Free Open Source Self Hosted Email Marketing Solution, ready to send emails.

 

 

Social Media Marketing Manager

SocioBoard - Open Source, Self Hosted, Social Media Marketing

HootSuite - Enhance your social media management with Hootsuite, the leading social media dashboard. Manage multiple networks and profiles and measure your success.

Kuku.io - Social Media Management and Scheduler which can integrate into your site or application.

Stacker - All Social Accounts you can connect to Stacker, Twitter,Facebook Profiles, Pages & Groups, LinkedIn Profiles & Pages, and Pinterest for free.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

 

 

Social Media

Social Engine - PHP based, free open source application that allows you to create your own social media website.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

 

 

 

Marketing Analytics

Crowd Fire - personalized mini-marketer for all of your social platforms. Link everything from your Instagram to your Etsy shop, and each day Crowdfire will suggest new ways they they can help grow your audience organically (and automatically!).

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Odoo - CRM, POS, Sales, Project Management, Time Sheets, Helpdesk, Inventory, Purchasing, Website Builder, Ecommerce, ERP, Email Marketing, etc

 

 

Automated Marketing Tools

Post Planner -  Let them know what websites you align yourself with, and they’ll collect all of the best content from around the web in real time. To save you even more time, Post Planner also rates each piece of content based on engagement and can automatically post the best to any of your accounts at a future time.

 

 

-Email Finder

Hunter.io - Is an amazingly great marketing tool. Will help you locate the email of any individual in any organization.

 

-Email Tester

Mail Tester - Provides a score based on the percentage of a chance that your email will end up in the spam folder.

VoilaNorbert - Find any corporate email.

Text Magic - Email Validation tool tells you if an email address exists.

 

Text

Text Magic - All-In-One Bulk SMS Service for Business. TextMagic is a business text-messaging service for sending notifications, alerts, reminders, confirmations and SMS marketing campaigns.

 

 

 

Networking

 

 

 

 

VPN

 

OpenVPN - Free Open Source Self Hosted. Your private path to access network resources and services securely
PureVPN - Cloud Subscription based, as low as $3 per month paid annually.
Outline - Jigsaw, an incubator that’s part of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has launched Outline, an open-source virtual private network (VPN) that you can host on your own server at no charge.

 

 

Cloud Storage

Aurora - Free Open Source, self hosted. Your files in your cloud on your rules. Aurora Files is an open-source file storage platform for small teams and personal users.

Cozy - Free Open Source, self hosted. Allows you to control your personal data in a secure and private space. Welcome in your new digital home. Free for personal use, or Upgrade to business.

DropBox - Has expanded from offering cloud based storage as we have gotten to know to providing modern workspaces designed to reduce busywork-so you can focus on the things that matter.

Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.

 

 

 

Human Resources OnBoarding Solutions

Custom Silicon Staffing Solution

 

 

Phone Systems

 

Voip

Skype - Still is a great affordable and basic option that provides a local number, voicemail, call forwarding, video, chat, screensharing, and video conferencing in one basic easy to use application.

Grasshopper - One of the most complete and affordable phone systems with complete extension and messaging options.

RingCentral - One of the most popular and complete phone systems for business.

 

Virtual Hold

VHT - The technology is limited to a few companies only, so this may not be in the range for all types of companies.

 

Virtual Que

This is an amazing system that retrieves customers and increases sales numbers but it doesnt come cheap, starts at $15,000, they are listed below.

VHT || Fonolo || Avaya || Cisco

 

 

Call Center Management

 

Bitrix24 - Offers many business tools including Call Center Management.

CrazyCall - CrazyCall is an user-friendly call center software which makes it easy to make and take calls from clients, analyze them and optimize call campaigns in real-time in your browser.

EspoCRM - Free Open Source, self hosted CRM integrates your CRM and Call Center Management.

 

 

Project Management Tools

 

Open Project - Free Open Source Self Hosted, dependable, robust. Project planning and scheduling, Product roadmap and release planning, Task management and team collaboration, Agile & Scrum, Time tracking, cost reporting and budgeting, Bug Tracking 

Libreplan - Free Open Source Self Hosted, Project Planning, Management and Monitoring.

HubStaff - TimeSheets, Scheduling, Payroll, Employee Monitoring, Computer Monitoring, Productivity Measurement, Invoicing, Project Budgeting, Advanced Reporting, GPS, App and URL Tracking

MeisterTask - MeisterTask is an incredibly intuitive online task management tool that runs inside your standard web browser.

Trigger - Project Management, Time Tracker, Calender, Team Schedule, Invoicing, Dashboarding reporting, Milestones and more.

HumHub - Flexible free open source self hosted,Group and team communication for the 21st century.
Zoho - One of the most complete and affordable business management tools available.

Bitrix24 - An Open Source, Self Hosted well rounded virtual staff management resource with a one-time fee that starts at only $1,490, you really own Bitrix24 source code.Odoo - CRM, POS, Sales, Project Management, Time Sheets, Helpdesk, Inventory, Purchasing, Website Builder, Ecommerce, ERP, Email Marketing, etc

 

 

 

 

Public Relations

 

Reputation Tracker

Webimax - WebiMax's reputation management tools include a full slate of services, such as crisis response, brand preservation and strategic PR. WebiMax boasts a reasonable cost for its robust services and a commitment of only one month

 

 

Security

 

TCPViewer - TCPView is a Windows program that will show you detailed listings of all TCP and UDP endpoints on your system, including the local and remote addresses and state of TCP connections.

WireShark - Wireshark is a free and open source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocol development, and education.
PreyProject - Free, proven tracking software that helps you find, lock and recover your devices when stolen or missing. For Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad & Android.

LockItTight - Location Tracking, In/Out Zone, Screen Captures, Camera Shots, Keylogger, Clipboard Logger, Browsing History, Site Blocking, Call Logger, Text Logger, App Tracking, Encrypted Reports

 

 

Scheduling

 

SquareUp - Square Appointments: Now free for individuals and really affordable for teams.

Easy Appointments - Free Open Source, self hosted, complete booking system.

Calendly - Popular subscription based booking system.

SimplyBook - Popular subscription based booking system.

ScheduleOnce - Subscription based booking system.

 

 

TimeSheets/Tracking

 

TrackingTime - Provides easy to integrate time tracking solutions

Todo.vu - Affordable CRM, task manager, Time Tracking and reporting.

Rescue Time - A personal and time use analytics service that shows you how you spend your time and provides tools to help you be more productive.