Analogue of Office from Russia - the same capabilities, plus

When we said “electronic documentation,” we meant “Microsoft Office.” At least, that was the case until March 2022, when the American giant stopped selling its products in Russia.



What does the Russian market offer to the consumer, are there any full-fledged replacements for Office and what opportunities do they provide - this is the topic of today's article.



Tools for solving office tasks yesterday and today

Previously, the domestic market used 77.5% foreign office software, which, in addition to the named pillar, included “small” alternatives - WPS Office, Hancom, etc. 15.5% in 2020 was free software, and only 7% was occupied by Russian developments.



In 2022, sales of domestic analogues of "Office" jumped up. Thus, the most famous player on the market - "MyOffice" - increased sales by 4 times . If earlier the usual foreign product with a developed distribution system prevented businesses from taking a sober look at alternatives, today they are not only used more actively, but also prove their obvious advantages.



Although it is not entirely correct to associate the growth of the Russian office software wordpress web design agency market with the absence of foreign alternatives alone. The transition of government agencies to local developments was planned back in 2016. In order to save money and improve security, some large Russian companies were looking for alternatives even earlier.



Here are the disadvantages of Microsoft Office and its foreign analogues:



Insufficient data security. Given that the software connects to the company's foreign servers, no one can guarantee that there will be no leakage.

Mutual settlements with the brand owner include currency transactions. Taking this into account, even working through a distributor implies higher prices for software.

Difficulties with technical support and implementation of necessary business functions in the near future.

Problems with Russification.

Less flexibility of settings, imposition of unnecessary modules, integration with other Microsoft products that may not be needed by the business.

All this forced Russian organizations to look for an alternative back in the mid-2000s. Most often, it was free software, the disadvantage of which was the need for internal configuration. Since the mid-2010s, high-quality alternatives created in Russia have appeared.







Possibilities of Russian office programs

The first question that entrepreneurs asked themselves in 2022 was “Can a domestic alternative 100% replace a proven “foreigner”?



Let's ask the answer right away: with all the recognized power of Microsoft products, are they being used to their full potential in your business?



For many companies, the basic capabilities of the office suite are quite sufficient: creating and layout of documents, the simplest Excel databases and diagrams, standard presentation templates, formulas, spell checking. Some also use style schemes for design.



Researchers at SoftWatch found in 2014 that most users for whom licenses were purchased spent too little time in Microsoft Office products to be considered full use.