Typically, some business owners try to run their businesses entirely on complimentary software that can be downloaded for free. They mostly use open source or free software applications for their business activities, somehow adjusting to the existing features and functionality. However, it is fine to use open source or free software to certain business activities but not to the critical aspects that affect the business bottom-line. For instance, free software can be used for internal office activities like documentation or email interface but not to the vital things that affect the business revenues. There are certain scenarios where using free software need to be avoided.
In Business-to-Business Model
In B2B model, businesses survive only if the results are delivered to the client. Since it is a competitive market, those who use right technology to serve client with better results will have long term business sustainability in the industry. For this, it is important to streamline the internal process with good software that work with higher efficiency. Additionally, if businesses have the requirement to generate reports to the client on any business aspect, the tool used should be reliable and accurate. In both cases, using free software is not viable because they have deprived features.
In E-commerce Business
In e-commerce businesses, websites play an integral role from generating leads to establishing relationship with customers. To differentiate their business from others, the ecommerce sites need to provide better user experience by maintaining good site performance. Even few seconds of website downtime or poor performance of website can make the customers move away from the website. Businesses cannot rely on free tools for critical aspects like hosting and website monitoring as these are the most valuable things for site functionality. Using a quality service is more viable for such services because they will have higher features and customization options to support the site.
When Monetizing Websites
As more and more businesses are going online, the popularity of ads is also increasing. People are using websites for business purposes as well as for generating revenues through ads. While searching for advertising systems, there are many free tools that we come across for both advertising and publishing. The free tools may not work efficiently for ad operations because many of them do not support ad tracking and reporting in one software. If ads are important for the survival of your business, then a good ad server is essential for handling multiple tasks and boost advertising activity.
In Internal Business Process
Businesses use many software applications for various internal business activities. Typically, they automate the repetitive tasks with custom software to speed up the process and enhance the productivity. For instance, many businesses use automated tools for sales, accounting, invoicing and billing process etc. Since these are the critical things for business, they cannot take chances and use low quality tools purely because they are free. Using premium software will not only minimize the chance of happening errors but increase the business productivity.