You've got a few options. Quite generously, Microsoft (and others) provide enormous discounts for much of their software through DonorTek - but there are very strict rules around who is allowed to take advantage of the discounts, and limits on the number of individual transactions a single organisation may make in a certain time period. You need to read the fine print carefully. That being said, it's a great service.
There are also alternatives to Microsoft Office which are completely free to use. Two of the most popular are OpenOffice and Google Apps.
OpenOffice is a program you can download and install on your computer. It does most of what Microsoft Office can do, and it can open and save Microsoft Office files. Some of Office's advanced features might not work properly though, so it's best to test compatibility before committing to anything important.
Google Docs is a set of programs that you use whilst on the Internet. There's nothing to download or install into your computer. When you save a file, it's saved into Google Docs on the Internet - which means it's accessible wherever there's an Internet connection. You can also share the document with anyone else online, and edit it simultaneously. Google Docs can do the bare minimum of what you might want the programs to do. The big benefit is the collaborative aspect. If more than one person have the document open at once, everyone's edits will show up on everyone else's screen - while they're happening! It's spooky, but useful.
More information is available in the free alternatives to Microsoft Office article.
Google searchYes! The solution is to put your files onto the Internet, either by creating them there in the first place (see Google Apps, above), or by having your computers maintain synchronised copies of file folders in multiple places. It sounds complicated, but there's services out there (some are free!) to help you with that. We've got an overview of services that help with that, which should get you started.
Google searchWhat a mess! What you're looking for is "online document collaboration". There's several out there to choose from. Some offer spooky "instant" collaboration, where you can actually see you collaborators typing. Others provide a version control system, where historical versions of the document are kept forever, so you can roll it back, or at least look at older versions. Some stand alone, and others work as part of a larger suite of online packages. Have a look at our document collaboration article for more information.
Google searchCRM is the big buzzword of the moment (or is it "buzz acronym"?). This genre of programs started out as a way for an individual person to manage their contacts - a bit like a more powerful address book. Since then, the genre has evolved to applications that enable shared contact directories within organisations, highly structured metadata, the ability to send information automatically, modules to track the sales cycle, integration with supply chains, telephone systems, and pretty much everything else. As you can imagine, there are some incredibly large CRM applications out there.
Please have a look at our CRM articles for more information.
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