Users can purchase application software from a software vendor, retail store, or Web-based business. Users typically install purchased application software on a computer before they run it. Installed software has two disadvantages: (1) it requires disk space on your computer, and (2) it can be costly to upgrade as vendors release new versions. As an alternative, some users opt to access Web applications.
As previously mentioned, a Web application, or Web app, is a Web site that allows users to access and interact with software from any computer or device that is connected to the Internet. Users often interact with Web applications, directly at the Web site, referred to as the host, through their Web browser. Some Web sites, however, require you download the software to your local computer or device. Web application hosts often store users' data and information on their servers, which sometimes is called cloud storage. Users concerned with data security may shy away from this type of Web application. Thus, some Web applications provide users with an option of storing data locally on their own personal computer or mobile device.
Many of the previously discussed types of application software are available as Web applications. In addition, thousands of games are available as Web applications.
Many Web application hosts provide free access to their software, such as Google Docs. Others, such as Google Earth, offer part of their Web application free and charge for access to a more comprehensive program. Some Web applications, such as online tax preparation programs, allow you to use the Web application free and pay a fee when certain action occurs. For example, you can prepare your tax return free, but if you elect to print it or file it electronically, you pay a minimal fee.
Experts often use the term Web 2.0 to describe Web applications. Recall that Web 2.0 refers to Web sites that provide users with a means to share personal information, allow users to modify Web site content, and/or have application software built into the site for visitors to use.
A large amount of application software is designed specifically for home, personal, and educational use. Most of the programs in this category are relatively inexpensive, often priced less than $ 100 and sometimes free. Let us discuss the features and functions of this application software.
Personal Finance Software
Personal finance software is a simplified accounting program that helps home users and small office/home office users balance their checkbooks, pay bills, track personal income and expenses, set up budgets, manage home inventory, track investments, and evaluate financial plans. Personal finance software helps determine where, and for what purpose, you are spending money so that you can manage your finances. Reports can summarize transactions by category (such as dining), by payee (such as the electric company), or by time (such as the last two months). Financial planning features include analyzing home and personal loans, preparing income taxes, and managing retirement savings.
Most of these personal finance programs also offer a variety of online services, which require access to the Internet. For example, users can track investments online, compare insurance rates from leading insurance companies, and bank online. Online banking offers access to account balances, provides bill payment services, and allows you to download monthly transactions and statements from the Web directly to your computer.
Legal Software
Legal software assists in the preparation of legal documents and provides legal information to individuals, families, and small business. Legal software provides standard contracts and documents associated with buying, selling, and renting property; estate planning; marriage and divorce; and preparing a will or living trust. By answering a series of questions or completing a form, the legal software tailors the legal document to specific needs.
Once the legal document is created, you can fit the paperwork with the appropriate agency, court, or office; or take the document to your attorney for his or her review and signature.
Tax Preparation Software
Tax preparation software, which is available both as packaged software and as Web applications, can guide individuals, families, or small businesses through the process of filling taxes. These program forecast tax liability and offer money-saving tips, designed to lower your tax bill. After you answer a series of questions and complete basic forms, the software creates and analyzes your tax forms to search for potential errors and deduction opportunities. Once the forms are complete, you can print any necessary paperwork, and then they are ready for filing. Instead of mailing forms through the postal service, the IRS allows taxpayers to file their tax returns online, called e-filing.
Desktop Publishing software (for Personal Use)
Instead of using professional DTP software, many home and small business users work with simpler, easy-to-understand DTP software designed for smaller-scale desktop publishing projects. Personal DTP software helps home and small business user create newsletters, brochures, flyers, advertisements, postcards, greeting cards, letterhead, business cards, banners, calendars, logos, and Web pages.
Although many word processing programs include DTP features, users often prefer to create DTP documents using DTP software because of its enhanced features. For example, personal DTP programs provide hundreds of thousands of graphical images. You also can import (bring in) your own digital photos into the documents. These programs typically guide you through the development of a document by asking a series of questions, offering numerous predefined layouts, and providing standard text you can add to documents. Then, you can print a finished publication on a color printer or post it on the Web in a format that can be viewed by those without DTP software.
Many personal DTP programs also include paint/image editing software and photo editing and photo management software.
Paint/Image Editing Software (for Personal Use)
Personal paint/image editing software provides an easy-to-use interface, usually with more simplified capabilities than its professional counterpart, including functions tailored to meet the needs of the home and small business user.
As with the professional versions, personal paint software includes various simplified tools that allow you to draw pictures, shapes, and other images. Personal image editing software provides the capabilities of paint software and the ability to modify existing graphics and photos. The programs also include many templates to assist you in adding images to documents such as greeting cards, banners, calendars, signs, labels, business cards, and letterhead. Some operating systems include a basic/image editing program.
Photo Editing and Photo Management Software
Instead of professional photo editing software, many home and small business users work with easier-to-use personal photo editing software, which is available both as packaged software and as Web applications. Personal photo editing software allows users to edit digital photos by removing red-eye, erasing blemishes, restoring aged photos, adding special effects, enhancing image quality, or creating electronic photo albums. When you purchase a digital camera, it usually includes photo editing software. Some digital cameras even have basic photo editing software built in so that you can edit the image directly on the camera. You can print edited photos on labels, calendars, business cards, and banners, or you can post them on the Web. Some photo editing software allows users to send digital photos to an online print service, which will deliver high-resolution printed images through the postal service or allow you to pick them up at a local store. Many online print services also have a photo community where users can post photos on the Web for others to view and purchase, if desired.
With photo management software, you can view, organize, sort, catalog, print, and share digital photos. Some photo editing software includes photo management functionality.
Clip Art/Image Gallery
Application software often includes a clip art/image gallery, which is a collection of clip art and photos. Some programs have links to additional clips available on the Web or are available as Web applications. You also can purchase clip art/image gallery software that contains thousands of images.
In addition to clip art, many clip art/image galleries provide fonts, animations, sounds, video clips, and audio clips. You can use the images, fonts, and other items from the clip art/image gallery in all types of documents, including word processing, desktop publishing, spreadsheet, and presentations.
Video and Audio Editing Software (for Personal Use)
Many home users work with easy-to-use video and audio editing software, which is much simpler to use than its professional counterpart, for small-scale movie making projects. With these programs, home users can edit home movies, add music or other sounds to the video, and share their movies on the Web. Some operating systems include video editing and audio editing software.
Home Design/Landscaping Software
Homeowners or potential homeowners can use home design/landscaping software to assist them with the design, remodeling, or improvement of a home, deck, or landscape.
Home design/landscaping software includes hundreds of predrawn plans that you can customize to meet your needs. These programs show changes to home designs and landscapes, allowing homeowners to preview proposed modifications. Once designed, many home design/landscaping programs print a materials list outlining costs and quantities for the entire project.
Travel and Mapping Software
Travel and mapping software enables users to view maps, determine route directions, and locate points of interest. Using travel and mapping software, which is available both as packaged software and as Web applications, you can display maps by searching for an address, postal code, telephone number, or point of interest ( such as airports, lodging and historical sites). This software often provides driving directions when a user enters a starting and destination point. Most programs also allow you to download construction reports and calculate mileage, time, and expenses. Many are compatible with mobile devices such as smart phones and portable media players. Many navigation devices, including those in vehicles, have travel and mapping software.
Reference and Educational Software
Reference software provides valuable and thorough information for all individuals. Popular reference software includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, and health/medical guides.
Educational software is software that teaches a particular skill. Educational software exists for just about any subject, from learning how to type to learning how to cook. Preschool to high-school learners use educational software to assist them with subjects such as reading and math or to prepare them for class or college entrance exams. Educational software often includes games and other content to make the learning experience more fun.
Many educational programs use a computer-based training approach. Computer-based training (CBT), also called computer-aided instruction (CAI), is a type of education in which students learn by using and completing exercises with instructional software. CBT typically consists of self-directed, self-paced instruction about a topic. Beginning athletes, for example, use CBT programs to learn the intricacies of baseball, football, soccer, tennis, and golf. The military and airlines use CBT simulations to train pilots to fly in various conditions and environments.
Entertainment Software
Entertainment software for personal computers, game consoles, and mobile devices includes interactive games, videos, and other programs designed to support a hobby or provide amusement and enjoyment. For example, you might use entertainment software to play games individually or with others online, make a family tree, or fly an aircraft. Many games are available as Web applications, allowing you to play individually or with other online players.
In addition to business software, many people work with software designed specifically for their field of work. Power users such as engineers, architects, desktop publishers, and graphic artists often use sophisticated software that allows them to work with graphics and multimedia. This software includes computer-aided design, desktop publishing, paint/image editing, photo editing, video and audio editing, multimedia authoring, and Web page authoring.
Many graphics and multimedia programs incorporate user-friendly interfaces and/or have scaled-down versions, making it possible for the home and small business users to create documents using these programs. The following sections discuss the features and functions of graphics and multimedia software.
Computer-Aided Design
Computer-aided design (CAD) software is a sophisticated type of application software that assists a professional user in creating engineering, architectural, and scientific designs. For example, engineers create design plans for vehicles and security systems. Architects design building structures and floor plans. Scientists design drawings of molecular structures.
CAD software eliminates the laborious manual drafting that design processes can require. Three-dimensional CAD programs allow designers to rotate designs of 3-D objects to view them from any angle. Some CAD software even can generate material lists for building designs.
Desktop Publishing Software (for the Professional)
Desktop publishing (DTP) software enables professional designers to create sophisticated documents that contain text, graphics, and many colors. Professional DTP software is ideal for the production of high-quality color documents such as textbooks, corporate newsletters, marketing literature, product catalogs, and annual reports.
Although many word processing programs have some of the capabilities of DTP software, professional designers and graphic artists use DTP software because it supports page layout. Page layout is the process of arranging text and graphics in a document on a page-by-page basis. DTP software includes color libraries to assist in color selections for text and graphics. A color library is a standard set of colors used by designers and printers to ensure that colors will print exactly as specified. Designers and graphic artists can print finished publications on a color printer, take them to a professional printer, or post them on the Web in a format that can be viewed by those without DTP software.
Paint/Image Editing Software (for the Professional)
Graphic artists, multimedia professionals, technical illustrators, and desktop publishers use paint software and image editing software to create and modify graphical images such as those used in DTP documents and Web pages.
Paint software, also called illustration software, allows users to draw pictures, shapes, and other graphical images with various on-screen tools such as a pen, brush, eyedropper, and paint bucket.
Image editing software provides the capabilities of paint software and also includes the capabilities of paint software and also includes the capability to enhance and modify existing images and pictures. Modifications can include adjusting or enhancing image colors, adding special effects such as shadows and glows, creating animations, and image stitching, which is the process of combining multiple images into a larger image.
Photo Editing Software (for the Professional)
Professional photo editing software is a type of image editing software that allows photographers, videographers, engineers, scientist, and other high-volume digital photo users to edit and customize digital photos. Professional photo editing software allows users to save images in a wide variety of file formats. With professional photo editing software, users can retouch photos, crop images, remove red-eye, change image shapes, color-correct images, straighten images, remove or rearrange objects in a photo, and apply filters.
Video and Audio Editing Software (for the Professional)
Video editing software allows professionals to modify a segment of a video, called a clip. For example, users can reduce the length of a video clip, reorder a series of clips, or add special effects such as words that move horizontally across the screen.
Video editing software typically includes audio editing capabilities. Audio editing software lets users modify audio clips, produce studio-quality soundtracks, and add audio to video clips. Audio editing software usually includes filters, which are designed to enhance audio quality. For example, a filter might remove a distracting background noise from the audio clip. Most television shows and movies are created or enhanced using video and audio editing software.
Multimedia Authoring Software
Multimedia authoring software allows users to combine text, graphics, audio, video, and animation in an interactive application. With this software, users control the placement of text and images and the duration of sounds, video, and animation. Once created, multimedia presentations often take the form of interactive computer-based presentations or Web-based presentations designed to facilitate learning, demonstrate product functionality, and elicit direct-user participation. Training centers, educational institutions, and online magazine publishers all use multimedia authoring software to develop interactive applications. The applications may be available on an optical disc, over a local area network, or via the Internet.
Web Page Authoring Software
Web page authoring software helps users of all skill levels create Web pages that include graphical images, video, audio, animation, and other special effects with interactive content. In addition, many Web page authoring programs allow users to organize, manage, and maintain Web sites.
Application software, such as Word and Excel, often includes Web page authoring features. This allows home and small business users to create basic Web pages using application software they already own. For more sophisticated Web pages, users work with Web page authoring software. Many Web page developers also use multimedia authoring software along with, or instead of, Web page authoring software for Web page development.
Business software is application software that assists people in becoming more effective and efficient while performing their daily business activities. Business software includes programs such as word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, note taking, personal information manager, business software for phones, business software suites, project management, accounting, document management, and enterprise computing software.
The following sections discuss the features and functions of business software. Word processing and spreadsheet software have a heavier emphasis because of their predominant use.
Word Processing Software
Word processing software is one of the more widely used types of application software. Word processing software, sometimes called a word processor, allows users to create and manipulate documents containing mostly text and sometimes graphics. Millions of people use word processing software every day to develop documents such as letters, memos, reports, mailing labels, newsletters, and Web pages.
A major advantage of using word processing software is that users easily can change what they have written. For example, you can insert, delete, or rearrange words, sentences, paragraphs, or entire sections. Word processing software also has many features to make documents look professional and visually appealing. For example, you can change the shape, size, and color of characters; apply special effects such as three-dimensional shadows; and organize text in newspaper-style columns. When using colors, however, they print as black or gray unless you have a color printer.
Most word processing software allows users to incorporate graphical images, such as digital photos and clip art, in documents. Clip art is a collection of electronic drawings, photos, and other images. Word processing software usually includes public-domain images. You can find additional public-domain and proprietary images on the Web or purchase them on optical disc. With word processing software, you easily can modify the appearance of an image after inserting it in the document.
With word processing software, you can define the size of the paper on which to print and specify the margins – that is, the portion of the page outside the main body of text, including the top, the bottom, and both sides of the paper. A feature, called wordwrap, allows users to type words in a paragraph continually without pressing the ENTER key at the end of each line. When you modify paper size or margins, the word processing software automatically rewraps text so it fits in the adjusted paper size and margins.
As you type more lines of text than can be displayed on the screen, the top portion of the document moves upward, or scrolls, off the screen. Scrolling is the process of moving different portions of the document on the screen into view.
Word processing software typically includes a spelling checker, which reviews the spelling of individual words, sections of a document, or the entire document. The spelling checker compares the words in the document with an electronic dictionary that is part of the word processing software. You can customize the electronic dictionary by adding words such as personal names. Some word processing programs also check for contextual spelling errors, such as a misuse of homophones (words pronounced the same but have different spellings or meanings, such as one and won).
Word processing software also enables you to insert headers and footers in a document. A header is text that appears at the top of each page, and a footer is text that appears at the bottom of each page. Page numbers, company names, reports titles, and dates are examples of items included in headers and footers.
In addition to these basic capabilities, most current word processing programs provide numerous additional features.
Developing a Document
With application software, such as a word processing program, users create, edit, format, save and print documents. During the process of developing a document, users likely will switch back and forth among all of these activities.
When you create a document, you enter text or numbers, insert images, and perform other tasks using an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, digital pen, or microphone. If you are using Microsoft Word to design a flyer, for example, you are creating a document.
To edit a document means to make changes to its existing content. Common editing tasks include inserting, deleting, cutting, copying, and pasting. Inserting text involves adding text to a document. Deleting text means that you are removing text or other content. Cutting is the process of removing a portion of the document and storing it in a temporary storage location, sometimes called a clipboard. A clipboard also contains items that you copy (duplicate) in a document. Pasting is the process of transferring an item from a clipboard to a specific location in a document.
When users format a document, they change its appearance. Formatting is important because the overall look of a document significantly can affect its ability to communicate clearly. Examples of formatting tasks are changing the font, font size, and font style.
A font is a name assigned to a specific design of characters. Two basics types of fonts are serif and sans serif. A serif font has short decorative lines at the upper and lower ends of some characters. Sans means without. Thus, a sans serif font does not have the short decorative lines at the upper and lower ends of the characters. Cambria is an example of a serif font. Calibri is an example of a sans serif font.
Font size indicates the size of the characters in a particular font. Font size is gauged by a measurement system called points. A single point is about 1/72 of an inch in height. A font style adds emphasis to a font. Bold, italic, underline, and color are examples of font styles.
During the process of creating, editing, and formatting a document, the computer holds it in memory. To keep the document for future use requires that you save it. When you save a document, the computer transfers the document from memory to a storage medium such as a USB flash drive or hard disk. Once saved, a document is stored permanently as a file on the storage medium.
When you print a document, the computer places the contents of the document on a paper or some other medium. You can print the same document many times, with each copy looking just like the first. Instead of printing a document and physically distributing it, some users e-mail the document to others on a network such as the Internet.
Spreadsheet Software
Spreadsheet software is another widely used type of application software. Spreadsheet software allows users to organize data in rows and columns and perform calculations on the data. These rows and columns collectively are called a worksheet. For years, people used paper to organize data and perform calculations by hand. In an electronic worksheet, you organize data in the same manner, and the computer performs the calculations more quickly and accurately. Because of spreadsheet software's logical approach to organizing data, many people use this software to organize and present non-financial data, as well as financial data.
Like word processing software, most spreadsheet software has basic features to help users create, edit, and format worksheets. Spreadsheet software also incorporates many of the features found in word processing software such as macros, checking spelling, changing fonts and font sizes, adding colors, tracking changes, inserting audio and video clips, providing research capabilities, recognizing handwritten text and drawings, and creating Web pages from existing spreadsheet documents.
The following sections describe the features of most spreadsheet programs.
Spreadsheet OrganizationA spreadsheet file is similar to notebook that can contain more than 1,000 related individual worksheets. Data is organized vertically in columns and horizontally in rows on each worksheet. Each worksheet usually can have more than 16,000 columns and 1 million rows. One or more letters identify each column, and a number identifies each row. Only a small fraction of the columns and rows are visible on the screen at one time. Scrolling through the worksheet displays different parts of it on the screen.
A cell is the intersection of a column and row. Each worksheet has more than 17 billion cells in which you can enter data. The spreadsheet software identifies cells by the column and row in which they are located. For example, the intersection of column B and row 4 is referred to as cell B4.
Cell can contain three types of data: labels, values, and formulas. The text, or label, entered in a cell identifies the worksheet data and helps organize the worksheet. Using descriptive labels, such as Gross Margin and Total Expenses, helps make a worksheet more meaningful.
CalculationsMany of the worksheet cells can contain a number, called a value, that can be used in a calculation. Other cells, however, contain formulas that generate values. A formula performs calculations on the data in the worksheet and displays the resulting value in a cell, usually the cell containing the formula. When creating a worksheet, you can enter your own formulas.
A function is a predefined formula that performs common calculations such as adding the values in a group of cells or generating a value such as the time or date. For example, the function = SUM (B9:B13) instructs the spreadsheet program to add all of the number in cells B9 through B13.
RecalculationOne of the more powerful features of spreadsheet software is its capability of recalculating the rest of the worksheet when data in a worksheet changes.
Spreadsheet software's capability of recalculating data also makes it a valuable budgeting, forecasting, and decision making tool. Most spreadsheet software includes what-if analysis tools, where you change certain values in a spreadsheet to reveal the effects of those changes.
ChartingAnother standard feature of spreadsheet software is charting, which depicts the data in graphical form. A visual representation of data through charts often makes it easier for users to see at a glance the relationship among the numbers.
Three popular chart types are line charts, column charts, and pie charts. A line chart shows a trend during a period of time, as indicated by a rising or falling line. A column chart, also called a bar chart, displays bars of various lengths to show the relationship of data. The bars can be horizontal, vertical, or stacked on top of one another. A pie chart, which has the shape of a round pie cut into slices, shows the relationship of parts to a whole.
When you modify data in a worksheet, any associated charts automatically update to reflect the worksheet changes. Charts, as well as any other part of a worksheet, can be linked to or embedded in a word processing document.
Database Software
A database is a collection of data organized in a manner that allows access, retrieval, and use of that data. In a manual database, you might record data on paper and store it in a filing cabinet. With a computerized database, the computer stores the data in an electronic format on a storage medium such as a hard disk.
Database software is application software that allows users to create, access, and manage a database. Using database software, you can add, change, and delete data in a database; sort and retrieve data from the database; sort and retrieve data from the database; and create forms and reports using the data in the database.
With most personal computer database programs, a database consists of a collection of tables, organized in rows and columns. Each row, called a record, contains data about a given person, product, object, or event. Each column, called a field, contains a specific category of data within a record.
Users run queries to retrieve data. A query is a request for specific data from the database. For example, a query might request clients whose balance is greater than $ 45. Database software can take the results of a query and present it in a window on the screen or send it to the printer.
Presentation Software
Presentation software is application software that allows users to create visual aids for presentations to communicate ideas, messages, and other information to a group. The presentations can be viewed as slides, sometimes called a slide show, that are displayed on a large monitor or on a projection screen.
Presentation software typically provides a variety of predefined presentation formats that define complementary colors for backgrounds, text, and graphical accents on the slides. This software also provides a variety of layout for each individual slide with clip art, a picture, a chart, a table, or a diagram. In addition, you can enhance any text, charts, and graphical images on a slide with 3-D, animation, and other special effects such as shading, shadows, and textures.
When building a presentation, users can set the slide timing so that the presentation automatically displays the next slide after a preset delay. Presentation software allows you to apply special effects to the transition between slides. One slide, for example, might fade away as the next slide appears.
To help organize the presentation, you can view thumbnail versions of all the slides similarly to how 35 mm slides look on a photographer's light table.
Presentation software typically includes a clip gallery that provides images, photos, video clips, and audio clips to enhance multimedia presentations. Users with an artistic ability can create their own graphics using paint/image editing software and then import (bring in) the graphics into a slide. Some audio and video editing programs work with presentation software, providing users with an easy means to record and insert video, music, and audio commentary in a presentation.
You can view or print a finished presentation in a variety of formats, including an outline of text from each slide, audience handouts that show completed slides, and speaker notes for each slide. Current presentation software enables users to work with multiple monitors, for example, displaying the presentation on one monitor and the speaker notes on another.
Presentation software incorporates some of the features found in word processing software such as checking spelling, formatting, providing research capabilities, recognizing handwritten text and drawings, and creating Web pages from existing slide shows.
Note Taking Software
Note taking software is application software that enables users to enter typed text, handwritten comments, drawings, or sketches anywhere on a page and then save the page as part of a notebook. The software can convert handwritten from. Users also can include audio recordings as part of their notes.
Users find note taking software convenient during meetings, class lectures, conferences, in libraries, and other settings that previously required a pencil and tablet of paper for recording thoughts and discussions.
Business Software Suite
A software suite is a collection of individual programs available together as a unit. Business software suites typically include, at a minimum, the following programs: word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and e-mail. Popular business software suites include Microsoft Office, Apple iWork, Corel WordPerfect Office, and Google Docs.
Software suites offer two major advantages: lower cost and ease of use. When you purchase a collection of programs as a software suite, the suite usually costs significantly less than purchasing the programs individually. Software suites provide ease of use because the programs in the suite normally use a similar interface and share features such as clip art and spelling checker. For example, once you learn how to print using the software suite's word processing program, you can apply the same skill to the spreadsheet and presentation programs in the suite.
Personal Information Manager Software
A personal information manager (PIM) is application software that includes an appointment calendar, address book, notepad, and other features to help users organize personal information. With a PIM, you can take information previously tracked in a weekly or daily calendar, and organize and store it on your computer.
Mobile devices such as smart phones and PDAs include, among many other features, PIM functionality. You can synchronize, or coordinate, information so that both the mobile device and your personal computer and/or organization's server have the latest version of any updated information. Some mobile devices synchronize with the computer wirelessly. With others, you connect the mobile device to the computer with a cable, or you insert the device in a cradle, which has a cable that plugs in the computer.
Business Software for Phones
In addition to PIM software, a huge variety of business and other software is available for phones. Some software is preloaded on the phone, while other programs can be downloaded or accessed on memory cards that you insert in a slot on the device.
Business software available for phones enables users to create documents and worksheets, manage databases and lists, create slide shows, take notes, manage budgets and finances, view and edit photos, read electronic books, plan travel routes, compose and read e-mail messages, send instant messages, send text and picture messages, view maps and directions, read the latest news articles, and browse the Web. Many of the programs discussed have scaled-down versions that work with smart phones and other mobile devices.
Project Management Software
Project management software allows a user to plan, schedule, track, and analyze the events, resources, and costs of a project. Project management software helps users manage project variables, allowing them to complete a project on time and within budget. An engineer, for example, might use project management software to manage new product development to schedule timing of market analysis, product design, marketing, and public relations activities. A customer service manager might use this software to schedule the process of administering customer surveys, evaluating responses, and presenting recommendations.
Accounting Software
Accounting software helps companies record and report their financial transactions. With accounting software, business users perform accounting activities related to the general ledger, accounts receivable, account payable, purchasing, invoicing, and payroll functions. Accounting software also enables business users to write and print checks, track checking account activity, and update and reconcile balances on demand.
Most accounting software supports online credit checks, invoicing, bill payment, direct deposit, and payroll services. Some accounting software offers more complex features such as job costing and estimating, time tracking, multiple company reporting, foreign currency reporting, and forecasting the amount of raw materials needed for products. The cost of accounting software for small businesses ranges from less than one hundred to several thousand dollars. Accounting software for large businesses can cost several thousand dollars.
Document Management Software
Document management software provides a means for sharing, distributing, and searching through documents by converting them into a format that can be viewed by any user. The converted document, which mirrors the original document's appearance, can be viewed and printed without the software that created the original document. Some document management software allows users to edit and add comments to the converted document.
A popular file format that document management software uses to save converted documents is PDF (Portable Document Format), developed by Adobe Systems. Because of the widespread use of PDF files, some current business programs such as Microsoft Office include a feature that allows users to save their documents as PDF files. To view and print a PDF file, you need Acrobat Reader software which can be downloaded free from Adobe's Web site.
Many businesses use document management software to share and distribute company brochures, literature, and other documents electronically to the public. Home users distribute flyers, announcements, and graphics electronically.
Larger enterprises use more sophisticated document management software that enables users to check in and out documents or sections of documents from a central library, which stores all documents. Depending on their needs, users are granted access to certain parts of documents in the library.
Enterprise Computing Software
A large organization, commonly referred to as an enterprise, requires special computing solutions because of its size and large geographic distribution. A typical enterprise consists of a wide variety of departments, centers, and divisions – collectively known as functional units. Nearly every enterprise has the following functional units: human resources, accounting and finance, engineering or product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, distribution, customer service, and information technology. Software used in functional units is not mutually exclusive; however, each functional unit uses specific software, as outlined below.
Human resources software manages employee information such as benefits, personal information such as benefits, personal information, performance evaluations, training, and vacation time.
Accounting software manages everyday transactions, such as sales and payments to suppliers. Financial software helps managers budget, forecast, and analyze.
Engineering or product development software allows engineers to develop plans for new products and test their product designs.
Manufacturing software assists in the assembly process, as well as in scheduling and managing the inventory of parts and products.
Marketing software allows marketing personnel to create marketing campaigns and track their effectiveness.
Sales software enables the sales force to manage contacts, schedule meetings, log customer interactions, manage product information, and take customer orders.
Distribution software analyzes and tracks inventory and manages product shipping status.
Customer service software manages the day-to-day interactions with customers, such as phone calls, e-mail messages, Web interactions, and instant messaging sessions.
Information technology staff use a variety of software to maintain and secure the hardware and software in an enterprise.
