Databases have become an essential part of IT services, as the powerhouse for storing and retrieving data. There are different ways in which data can be recorded though, depending on how the different information you want to use is intended to be cross-referenced.

Traditionally the most common form of database was a relational one, as used in Microsoft Access and it's more powerful big brother, MySQL. In these sort of databases there is a direct relationship between the different points of data, arrange in columns and rows. 

However, these days non-relational databases have become more common, in which data is stored without explicit structure and mechanisms to link it. These have become more in demand for business intelligence, which seeks to connect underlying trends which might be otherwise hidden.

Whichever types of database you need, most providers offer the choice of different database formats to use as required. Here we'll look at the best of them.

• We've also highlighted the best cloud brokers

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line. 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, founded in 2006. It provides on demand cloud computing to individuals and businesses.   

AWS is a cloud-based program for building business solutions using integrated web services. They give users access to a wide range of cloud services such as content delivery and database storage.  

Amazon Relational Database is a Database as a Service (DBaaS). It is suitable for experienced data users, data scientists and database administrators. This is a good choice for developers already familiar with AWS services. Users need to contact a Database Administrator to get setup as the process is technically involved.

Users can build databases specifically geared around their needs. You can create templates or write code. Users can control the type of database, as well as where data is stored. Specific database formats that are supported include Amazon Aurora, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle Database, and SQL Server.

The service offers 750 free hours. There is a price calculator online to help calculate AWS costs but this is tricky to figure out. Users can get assistance from their database administrator.

AWS has three different pricing models; ‘Pay as you Go’, ‘Save when you reserve’ and ‘Pay less using more’.  

However, AWS provides a free tier. This offers users certain services for 12-months. After that, you have to choose to sign up for any of the plans above or to cancel your AWS subscription. You must have an existing AWS subscription to access the Amazon Relational Database Service.

• You can sign up for Amazon Relational Database here

Microsoft Azure was created by Microsoft to build, test, deploy and manage applications and services though their data centres. It was released in 2010.

Microsoft Azure not only offers database as a service but also platform as a service, software as a service and infrastructure as a service. With Azure, clients can use the services purely on the cloud or it can be combined with any existing applications, data centre or infrastructure you may already have in place.

Azure’s SQL database has the familiar look and feel of Microsoft. It has a strong SQL engine compatibility and machine learning. The service offers all SQL tools and applications needed for creating a database. It's easy to use.

Microsoft Azure SQL database has an online portal with access to everything you need. Setup is quick and painless but users need to have a Microsoft account to get started.

Subscribers can use the ‘Connection Libraries’ to choose which operating drivers they want to connect. From here you can also choose your preferred language settings, database name, identify a source and a price tier.

Azure offer users 12 months of free usage. This includes $200 credit and more than 25 ‘Always free’ services. The platform works on a ‘Pay as you go’ subscription so you only pay for what you use.

Online commentators have reported some issues with support.

• You can sign up for Microsoft Azure SQL Database here

Oracle Cloud Database is part of Oracle Cloud, which belongs to the Oracle Corporation, founded in 1977.

Oracle Cloud Platform works as a combination of open source technology and Oracle technology. This enable users to more efficiently build, deploy, integrate and manage all of your platform applications.

The solution uses a mixture of machine learning and AI to provide a service that offers self-repairing abilities. It also reduces business start-up costs and offers predictive insights.

Oracle Database as a Service supports any size enterprise. It provides a high level of encryption which spans multiple layers.

The database can be setup in a matter of minutes and is simple to navigate. Users can add ‘on-capacity demand’ so as they grow they can increase in scale.

All of your data and applications can be integrated. The solution enables the user to migrate all processes to the cloud. Everything is managed via a single platform. All data is encrypted by default.

Oracle Cloud Platform claims their solution does everything for you. This saves time on repetitive tasks such as system maintenance, deploying solutions and necessary updates.

The platform comes with a 30-day free trial which includes $300 credit and up to 3,500 hours. There is a ‘Pay as you Go’ tier or a ‘Monthly Flex’ plan. With the ‘Flex’ plan users commit to a monthly amount in cloud services with a contract ranging from 1-7 years. In order to sign up for either of the above, users will need to contact Oracle directly.

Users have reported some issues with customer support.  

• You can sign up for Oracle Database here

SAP Cloud Platform is a platform as a service developed by SAP SE. It creates new applications in a secure cloud environment. It was founded in 2012.

The platform includes the in-memory SAP HANA database management system. It connects both on-premises and cloud-based systems running SAP or other third-party software.

SAP Cloud Platform is geared towards larger enterprises with huge amounts of data sets. The system is generally straight forward to setup and will guide you through the process step by step.

Use the ‘Data and Storage’ option to choose which database management systems you want to use. You can also choose the type of data migration.

SAP offer users a free trial. There are two commercial pricing plans to choose from. Sap have created a PDF with all their prices clearly explained. 

Online commentators have complained that SAP is not as competitively priced as other providers.

• You can sign up for SAP Cloud Platform here

Rackspace Cloud is a set of cloud-computing products from the US company Rackspace. It was founded in 2006. The solution offers web application hosting, platform as a services and cloud services amongst others.

Racksapce allows you to choose a cloud provider with which you can then interact via Rackspace’s platform. The service has partnered with major cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and WMware. The advantage of this system is that you have the scalability of some of the biggest cloud providers around but with the customer support of a smaller company.

Rackspace offers a wide range of cloud services. These include public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud. When it comes to their IaaS and DBaaS solutions, Rackspace now builds entirely on the open source OpenStack cloud operating system.

Cloud Databases gives users simple, on-demand provisioned and open API’s. Users can deploy MySQL, Persona Server or MariaDB.

Rackspace Cloud databases allow users to add or remove replicas, move between instances sizes up to 64GB RAM and scale storage up to 1TB.

Users can schedule backups and restores. The platform offers container-based isolation for near bare-metal performance.

The platform offers 24/7 support with databases specialists available to assist with any query.  

You can sign up to Rackspace for free which includes a technical account manager, security guidance and free server monitoring and reporting. Rackspace has an in-depth guide into their prices. This way you can pick the package that best suits your needs.

Users have mentioned issues with documentation but this is balanced out by excellent service support.

• You can sign up for Rackspace Cloud here

Other cloud databases to consider

There's been a profusion in the number of cloud platforms in recent years, offered by a large range of companies. As database-driven software remains the norm, it remains key to ensure whichever cloud platform option you take that it can probably support your database types and size, and properly integrate with other IT infrastructure, not least monitoring for security or errors. Here we'll briefly cover some additional cloud database options worth looking at as well:

DataStax uses Apache Cassandra to form the backbone of its cloud platform, supporting native, hybrid, and multi-cloud services. Its Enterprise service aims to deliver a powerful, scaleable, and always-on database. DataStax also provides manage services for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The company are also about to launch their Constellation Cloud Data Platform with smart services for zero operations.

IBM Db2 on Cloud is just one of the service offerings from service giant IBM, as part of its comprehensive cloud management platform. IBM's Db2 on Cloud is a fully managed SQL database that runs in the cloud. It's quick and easy to set up and allows for flexible scaling, so you only need to pay for what you actually use in terms of resources. Security patching it automated, and it's easy to retrieve datasets as and when you need to look at them. Db2 on Cloud can also be set up on a private VPN.

Zoho Creator is something a little different - it's not so much a cloud database management platform as much as an easy way to build your own database in the cloud. This is especially useful for smaller companies who might want to build their own apps but would otherwise find a big-name cloud management package overkill. It runs through a simple drag-and-drop interface which allows full customization, and as part of the Zoho suite of apps means it will easily integrate with other Zoho products.

Couchbase is also a little different in that it allows you to build your own databases running N1QL, which allows for far more complex data storage than MySQL normally allows. This means being able to build databases in the cloud which are layered and works better for JSON. Additionally, it has built-in analytics, easy replication, and enterprise-grade security. So if you require a more innovative database platform with the flexibility of NoSQL, Couchbase may be worth looking at.

MongoDB Atlas is an automated cloud service that makes it much easier to manage databases in the cloud, allowing users to focus on application development instead. It offers global support for over 60 cloud regions and comes with distributed fault tolerance along with backup options to ensure business continuity. On-demand scaling, resource optimization, and fully automated structure provisioning means that MongoDB could be particularly attractive for innovative enterprise.

Google Cloud Database Services comes as part of Google's cloud platform services, and is the last of the big name cloud providers we'll mention here. There are a lot of options for users to choose from, not relational vs non-relational ones. The Cloud SQL option provides managed support for PostgreSQL & MySQL, while the BigTable option provides a petabyte-scale, fully managed NoSQL database service for large analytical and operational workloads.

Many people are aware of the need for a firewall on their personal computer, either as a standalone package or as part of an anti-virus or internet security suite.

However, there has been both an increasing need and demand for something similar to protect websites and their users from similar malicious activity. The solution? A cloud-based firewall know as a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

WAFs have become increasingly necessary due to various attacked vectors. These include Cross Site Scripting (XSS) attacked in which a malicious user or bot tries to leverage code executions in your database or scripting software to gain access to the underlying database, and so have a direct way into your server.

Another known threat is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacked, in which a botnet tries to flood a server or network with too much information for it to be able to handle, thus crashing the server and taking down your network and website presence with it.

There are also other user-based attacks, such as phishing, credential stuffing, and clickjacking, in which malicious software comes into play between your visitor's browser and your website itself, allowing hackers to steal information that should be secure, such as passwords or even credit card information.

These are all issues that Web Application Firewalls aim to prevent and protect against. However, a WAF should be invisible to users, so they will never know it's there. 

Usually, WAFs come with dynamic rules that are constantly updated to keep abreast of the latest threats, along with a backend dashboard to provide analytics of how it's working.

There are a number of WAFs on the market, and here we'll look at some of the best available now. 

• We've also highlighted the best cloud antivirus

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.  

CloudFlare is a company that provides content delivery services, DDoS mitigation, Internet security and distributed domain name server providers. It was founded in 2009.

The solution monitors the internet on a regular basis for any new updates such as attacks and vulnerabilities. Anything that is considered a threat to the majority of their clients automatically have WAF (Web application Firewalls) rules enabled. These will protect all internet properties. Constant updates ensure that CloudFlare’s protection is in place at all times.

Cloudflare deals with a huge number of requests every hour with the solution identifying and blocking new threats. Due to their large customer base, the platform is able to rely on a collective intelligence when it comes to eradicating threats. This means that when one customer creates a new WAF rule, CloudFlare decides whether it applies to all other domains on their network.

CloudFlare has a free tier. This includes unmetered mitigation of DDoS, global CDN, shared SSL certificate and 3 page rules. Additional rules can be purchased through CloudFlare’s dashboard.

The ‘Pro’ package is $20 per month which includes Web application Firewall (WAF) with CloudFlare rulesets, mobile optimizations with Polish and 20 page rules.

For $200 per month, the ‘Business’ plan comes with WAF with 25 custom rulesets, 50 page rules and custom SSL certificate upload. 

The ‘Enterprise’ tier includes 24/7 enterprise grade phone, chat and email support, 100 page rules, named solution and customer success engineers.

Some users have reported delays with analytics and log systems.

• You can sign up for CloudFlare WAF here

Amazon Web Services is part of Amazon.com. It provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals and businesses. As part of this subscription, users have access to AWS WAF. 

AWS WAF is a web application firewall which protects web applications from threats which could compromise their security or consume resources. The solution itself is straight forward and easy to use. 

Users can create custom made rules designed to block common attack patterns such as cross-site scripting. The solution has a full featured API which allows users to automate the creation, deployment and maintenance of all rules in use.

AWS WAF works by charging you for each new rule you create. You are not charged a set price every month but you do have to be subscribed to Amazon Web Services to access this feature.

Amazon Web Services include a 12 month fully featured free trial.

• You can sign up for Amazon Web Services WAF here

Sophos is a British security software and hardware company. It develops products for communication endpoint, encryption, network security and unified threat management.

Sophos XG Firewall is a unified threat manager which also acts as a firewall. It also acts as application security and wireless gateway.

Users can manage settings from Sophos’ ‘Control Center’. From here subscribers  can access the utilities dashboard. This allows you to view your network, users and applications. You can also add Sophos ‘iView’. This provides centralized reporting across multiple firewalls.

The XG Firewall management interface gives users an overview on features such as traffic insights, system statistics and firewall rules.

Sophos offers users a 30-day free trial. This includes IPS, ATP, Sandboxing, Dual AV, Web and App Control, Anti-phishing and Web Application Firewall. Subscribers need to contact Sophos directly to receive a quote.

Some commentators have complained the UI is not intuitive and cannot be customized.

• You can sign up for Sophos XG Firewall here

Akamai Technologies is a content delivery network and cloud service provider. It was founded in 1998.

Akamai Kona Site Defender integrates DDoS protection with its web application firewall. DDoS services identify and neutralize threats from IP addresses by using a scale system from 1 to 10. These scores are based on the IP addresses ability to source suspicious traffic. Scores are then used to allow, alert or block based on the severity of the score. Users can also customize settings so they can choose which IP addresses they want blocked.

The web application firewall inspects individual traffic. Any malicious attacks are eradicated. This tool only works against web-based attacks.

Users can use the management dashboard to access information such as reports and attack rates. The utility requires very little customization.

Subscribers will need to contact Akamai directly in order to start their free trial and to get a quote.

Online commentators have said they regret more information about the product isn’t available on Akamai’s website.

• You can sign up for Akamai Kona Site Defender here

Imperva is a cloud-based Web Application Firewall (WAF).  It provides web application security, DDoS mitigation, content caching, application delivery and load balancing through a global content delivery network.

The Imperva Web Application Firewall works as a gateway for all traffic coming to your online services. It filters out malicious visitors and requests such as SQL injections and XSS attacks.

The solution uses several layers of security policies to identify threats. These are maintained by a security team. Imperva uses attack information from their network to provide protection for their users.

Imperva has 25 data centers around the world which ensures 24/7 monitoring.

• You can sign up for Incapsula here

Signal Sciences was founded five years ago by the security developers at Etsy, and since then the company has grown and developed with a string of high-profile clients.

A key promotional point of the Signal Sciences WAF is that too many existing services don't properly service modern IT infrastructures, especially where there is extensive use of cloud technology, as opposed to being reliant on legacy hardware.

Setting up is so easy and quick it can be done in minutes, as there are no agents to deploy with all traffic being redirected through the Signal Services Cloud Engine, where it can be monitored and filtered as required.

There's a single management console with built-in analytics that provides real-time monitoring, so there's no need to work through multiple interfaces. There are also DevOps integration options available, not least for Slack, PagerDuty, and Jira.

Although built to cater for cloud applications, the Signal Sciences WAF can work with hybrid clouds and server hardware directly. It can also function on premise, in containers, or in the cloud.

In terms of security, it blocks all common OWASP attacks, as well as misbehaving bots, and denial of services attacks. The software is fully PCI 6 compliant.

Overall, the Signal Sciences WAF doesn't just focus on security, but also performance, reliability, as well as overall management operability.

• You can sign up to Signal Sciences WAF here

While the value of cryto currencies such as Bitcoin may have fallen over the past year, the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) still has a good long-term outlook.

Though at present crypto currencies are not regulated, the overwhelming success of Bitcoin (BTC), along with Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC), means that governments and banks are already considering how to bring them into mainstream use.

And the reason for doing so isn't hard to understand - crypto currencies present an unrivalled way to speed up financial transactions and reduce costs. Better still, ordinary people can mine their own currency, though this does require some patience.  

If you've decided to take the plunge and have bought your own Bitcoin (BTC) mining hardware or mining rig, your next step is to connect to a mining 'pool'. This allows you to share your machine's resources over the internet and receive a portion of the mining profits in return.

There are a number of programs available to help manage your crypto-mining. In this guide, we've explored five of the most popular. If you're an experienced computer user, you may prefer to install the free operating system Linux and make use of one of the text-only programs such as CGminer.

If you prefer to keep things simple and are sticking with Windows 10, mining clients with a GUI such as MultiMiner may suit you better.

Before getting started, if you want to be sure a mining program will work with your particular device or operating system, the Bitcoin Wiki has a very helpful list.

• We also show you how to mine Bitcoins

CGMiner has been around for over six years and is coded in C, meaning it’s compatible with almost all operating systems. It works via a simple command line interface and supports multiple mining pools and devices. It's primarily designed to be used with hardware mining devices but can make use of any GPUs connected to your machine as well.

On first run, CGMiner will ask you to enter the URL, username and password (if necessary) for your mining pool, and it will automatically detect any hardware you have connected such as an ASIC device. 

Although you have to work with CGMiner via the command line, the layout is very easy on the eye: mining devices are listed at the top and you can use simple keyboard commands to change your settings (e.g. to enable verbose mode or detect new hardware).

During our tests using CGMiner 4.9.2 on Windows 10, we found that Windows Defender and our antivirus software tried to block the download. This may be because hackers using their own versions of this program could secretly install CGMiner on someone else's machine to mine for their own benefit. You can configure your system to make an exception for CGMiner if you wish, or use the Linux version.

• Download CGMiner here

The Bitminter Mining Pool has been around since 2011, and as one of the longest-running and most reliable services out there, it's perhaps unsurprising that its creator Geir Hansen has also produced an excellent mining client too.

The Bitminter client has an extremely clear graphical interface and can work with GPUs and external ASIC devices equally well. A simple dial on the left displays your hashrate in MH/s. Simply click 'Engine Start' to begin mining.

You can check progress at any time by reviewing the 'Stats' section which lists vital info such as the number of proofs of work accepted/rejected by the server, as well as the time spent working. You can reset these values at any time.

The Bitminter client also has a text console at the bottom of the window which provides you with updates such as when a device is connected, or when it has successfully connected to a mining pool.

The software has been designed for use only with Bitminter's mining pool. This means you'll need to create an account via the website. You also need to be happy with the location of Bitminter's servers (US, Canada and Europe), as well as the way in which the company shares mining rewards.

• Download Bitminter here

BFGMiner is based upon the aforementioned CGMiner, but is designed specifically for ASIC mining hardware. The client is also compatible with FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) devices and can be configured to work with some graphics cards – but it's unlikely you'll make a profit from these.

As BFGMiner has a narrow focus, it has more features to allow you to tinker with mining devices, such as overclocking and using a remote interface. It also monitors the temperature of most devices and can connect to multiple mining pools. Furthermore, BFGMiner will stop connecting to unreachable pools, saving you precious system resources.

The interface is text-based, but as with CGminer, options are very clearly laid out. You can make use of hotkeys to perform routine tasks such as monitoring pools, identifying devices and enabling extra features.

Besides offering a simple text interface and an arsenal of features, BFGMiner is available for Windows and all major flavors of Linux. BFGminer can be installed on a Raspberry Pi, too, as part of the free Minera operating system.

• Download BFGMiner here

MultiMiner is a graphical frontend for BFGMiner. As such it has many powerful features but is also much kinder to newcomers.

When you first install and launch Multiminer, the application will guide you through the process of entering your pool information, using helpful tooltips to explain potentially unfamiliar terms.

After setup is complete, MultiMiner will automatically scan for mining devices and list their details in a helpful table, such as the pool used and average hash power. Most importantly, the client will also display your daily projected profit with your current mining hardware.

You can use the 'Pools' tabs to connect to multiple pools if you wish. The 'Strategies' section provides an easy way for you to choose how you want to mine: for instance you can choose to mine automatically based on which coin is most profitable, or choose to mine coins with low difficulty.

During setup the software developer requests that you send 1% of your profits to his wallet as a way of saying thank you for creating this awesome mining software. This is entirely voluntary – you can enable/disable this from within the app in the 'Perks' section.

Multiminer is cross-platform but you need to install additional software to get it working on macOS and Linux.

• Download MultiMiner here

EasyMiner serves as a graphical frontend for the mining programs CGminer and CPUMiner. On first run, EasyMiner enters 'MoneyMaker' mode which allows you to automatically create a paper Litecoin wallet and start mining right away with a private pool. As convenient as this is, it's unlikely to generate much profit at the current difficulty rate.

The dashboard has a neatly laid out interface to allow you to configure mining pools, amend network settings and view your wallet. You can also use the settings feature to enable ASIC hardware such as an Antminer. This done, simply click 'Start Mining' to begin.

EasyMiner includes a console which informs you of the progress of CGminer (cgminer.exe) and CPUMiner (minerd.exe), which by default are used to mine Bitcoin and Litecoin respectively. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to switch off CPUMiner if you're only interested in Bitcoin.

During our tests on Windows 10, Avast Antivirus also automatically removed both the main EasyMiner program and CPUMiner, as malicious hackers have previously installed their own versions of these programs on other people's machines to mine coins for themselves as part of a botnet.

If you're interested in EasyMiner but don't want to deal with antivirus alerts, the program will work on Ubuntu Linux using Wine (see here for more info).

• Download EasyMiner here

Top image credit: Targaryen (Wikimedia Commons)

• We’ve also picked out the best graphics cards for mining Bitcoin, Ethereum and more
• Check out also the best VPN service 

As with any great endeavor, web design is about both inspiration and perseverance. Back in the day, creating web pages was the sole province of hardcore coders, but that’s not the case anymore given that there are numerous tools to simplify the process. Some of these even have a visual interface, allowing you to drag and drop links, text and images as if you were designing a poster or presentation.

Other web design tools are geared towards programmers, acting as advanced text editors, and allowing for building a website line-by-line. However, most web design tools exist somewhere between these two extremes.

In this guide we have focused on five of the very best tools currently available. When weighing up which to include, we have focused on ease of use, supported web languages, cost, and how easy the tools make it to upload the finished project once you are done.

If this is your first time building a website we recommend using a free tool such as Bluefish before spending any money. All premium tools covered in this guide offer a trial version, in any case, so you can get an idea of what they’re about before you commit.

If web design software is too complicated for you, then you might want to try online website builders that focus on simplicity and ease of use rather than on offering an extensive feature set.

• We’ve rounded up the best website hosting services

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

Best web design software - at a glance

1. Adobe Dreamweaver CC
2. Wix
3. Wordpress
4. Weebly
5. Webflow
6. Bluefish
7. Atom Text Editor

Adobe Dreamweaver is a long-established app that allows you to code your website design directly, without having to know too much about programming. The software works through a mix of visual editing and HTML editing, which means it shouldn't have too steep a learning curve for most users.

Additionally, while coding your own website design requires you to put in more effort than simply using an existing readymade template, at least you have the chance to ensure you get the look you actually want, rather than trying to work around someone else's design specifications.

A particularly good feature of Dreamweaver is that it allows you to produce a responsive design, which means your website can be optimized to display on desktops as well as mobile devices, without limiting the user experience.

However, if you are a more advanced user you may be pleased to note that Dreamweaver provides multi-monitor support for Windows. It also supports the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) to work with HTML5 elements and CSS grids. Additionally, there's also support for Git to allow you to edit source code directly from within Dreamweaver. 

Dreamweaver is available as part of Adobe's mid-range packaged app subscription service, Creative Cloud, which also includes Photoshop. The subscription costs from $20.99 a month if you pay annually, and also comes with a month's free access to Adobe Stock image. Alternatively, if you only wish to pay monthly, it costs $31.49 per month.

• Sign up for Adobe Dreamweaver CC here

Wix is more of a website builder than a coding platform, but it is one of the most popular online website creators, offering a range of plans and products. The free version has Wix branding, limited storage space (500MB) and bandwidth, but move up to the most popular plan (unlimited) and there’s no Wix ads. You get unlimited bandwidth (hence its name) and 10GB storage, along with a free domain, Google Ad vouchers and much more. The e-commerce plans start with the "Business Basic" plan with a price of $17 (£13.30) per month.

An excellent collection of 500 plus templates gets the design process off to a quick start. The drag-and-drop editor gives you all kinds of tools and features to explore – an image editor, video backgrounds, animations, social buttons, an integrated site blog – and just about everything can be tweaked, tuned and restyled. Furthermore, as of recently, Wix introduced Wix Turbo, which increases the speed and performance of websites substantially.

All the core editing functions are really smartly designed, and operate more like a native app than your average website builder. Wix does have some weaknesses, with tech support seeming a little sluggish and limited in some respects. But there’s no denying that the superb editor and range of top-notch templates make it easy for web building novices to create something impressive.

• You can sign up for Wix here.

WordPress is an alternative way to set up and design your website, being rather different to the other offerings we've highlighted here because it's actually a content management system (CMS). The power here is that it is a simple matter to set up a website in minutes. Indeed, many web hosting packages include a one-click install of WordPress from their Control Panel, but even without that, WordPress is relatively easy to install.

Once installed, the backend for administration and management is very user-friendly. You can use the existing WordPress design templates for your website, but more likely you will want to download and install an existing free or premium WordPress template – all of which can be done with just a few clicks.

Even if you would prefer to work with your own design, you can often do so using drag-and-drop functions, usually from a downloaded design with an in-built framework. This can allow you to create a professional-looking website without having to learn programming or coding at all.

Better still, there are so many free add-ons available to download and install, often requiring nothing more than a few clicks. This makes the whole process of customizing your website very simple, and it does not require any professional skills.

Overall, WordPress is a very easy CMS to use, and can provide a very quick way to get any form of website online fast. The huge variety of template designs and additional community supported features mean that getting something which is near the mark of what you want isn't hard at all. Just ensure that in the settings you select to turn off comments so as to avoid spam.

• You can download Wordpress here

Weebly is another online CMS, this time targeted at people with little or no coding experience, by providing easy to use drag and drop tools for creating a website. Weebly also provides the ability for users to create online stores using existing templates to work with their simply website-building framework.

The number of themes available for Weebly is somewhat limited, but the designs are clean and professional-looking, plus there are options to personalize accordingly. Additionally, the themes are responsive, which means they are optimized to work with mobile devices, plus they have in built SEO, analytics, and even a feature for posting ads directly to Facebook.

There's a free tier available for basic use, and allows you to get used to the service, with paid plans starting from $6 per month. However, to use your own domain and get rid of ads, you'll need to start with the $12 per month Professional plan.

• You can sign up for Weebly here.

Webflow is a cloud-based service which has been created specifically to allow people with no coding knowledge to get started with web design.

Aside from being truly cross-platform, as it's web-based, Webflow emphasizes the concept of 'smart codelessness'. In the first instance this means a crisp drag and drop interface allowing you to drop elements such as text and images seamlessly onto a page using one of the freely available templates.

Unlike many WYSIWYG editors, the code produced is very clean and well-written even if you choose the 'I have no coding experience' option during setup. Webflow's automation tool will create the necessary HTML/CSS code for you. You can make granular changes to individual elements using the panels on the right.

Webflow offers a free demonstration of its features via the website, and you can also subscribe for a free Starter package which allows you to create up to two projects. If you require more than this, prices start at $12 a month for the basic package, rising to $36 a month for the business package. This is a little pricey compared to equivalent tools, mind you.

• Sign up for Webflow here

Bluefish is amongst the smallest web design tools available today. The tiny installer weighs in at just under 53MB and setup takes only a few moments. While the interface is text-only, it's clearly designed with novices in mind as it employs clear-cut toolbars, user customizable menus and syntax highlighting.

While the main focus is on HTML, Bluefish supports a huge range of other languages including PHP, Java, JavaScript, SQL, XML and CSS. Unlike visual WYSIWYG web design tools, the text interface makes for much cleaner code.

Bluefish has an excellent search function, allowing you to find text across multiple projects. The tool also has no trouble juggling hundreds of documents at the same time. Although Bluefish supports working with remote files, the varied and useful dialogs and wizards don't currently support direct upload of web pages via FTP.

Despite the best efforts of the developers, Bluefish may take some time to get used to. The tool is available free of charge, however, so you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. During our test on a Windows 10 PC we found we had to install GTK+ 2.24.8 in order to run Bluefish. A download link for GTK is available via the Bluefish website.

• Sign up for Bluefish here

Atom is an open source editor for designing, developing, and editing code. It's very easy to use and there are developer tools to simplify the process. The integrated packet manager also means you can add additional features directly from Github, who developed Atom, and there's a drag-and-drop feature for moving files and folders around.

While a lot of people may be intimated by the idea of coding if they have no programming experience, at some point in the web design process it can be important to be able to edit code directly. This is particularly helpful if you want to customize code for existing software add-ons in order to get the features you want for your website. 

Note that existing text editing apps are not good for working with code as they insert additional formatting that can render your code useless. Hence the need for a dedicated code editor.

However, Atom is free to download and use, and the extensive range of libraries available could be especially helpful. Furthermore, Atom's user interface can be tweaked and customized directly or via installing the third-party themes that help you work best, or the ones which simply make the program easier to use. Atom also comes with a very strong support community.

• Sign up for Atom Text Editor here

Other web design tools you might find useful

If you're involved in web design, the chances are you'll also need some graphic design skills and assets. Here we'll look at a couple of other resources and assets you'll properly need to help with your website design process:

1. Graphics program

You don't need anything too expensive or fancy unless you're chasing a career in graphic design or illustration. However, you'll probably find yourself wanting to create simple logos, headings, text features, as well as manipulate photos, all as part of your website design.

There are a lot of different packages out there, from GIMP which is a completely free software platform, to older software such as Jasc's Paint Shop Pro which remains a competent program that can be bought on the cheap at Amazon.

Alternatively, check out these other features for the latest in best, and sometimes free, software you might want to use:

• Best drawing and painting software
• Best graphic design software
• The best free photo editor

2. Stock photos

On top of creating your own graphics, there's also a good chance you'll want to use stock photos to really give your website a professional look.

Stock photos are available on almost any subject matter, and on top of that there are also an increasing number of stock video websites, in case you want to add video media.

Even better is that there are a number of free stock image and video websites, but be advised that these tend to be much more limited than paid-for stock image sites.

Here you can check out some of our features on these, to help you choose the best ones:

• The best free stock photo sites
• The best free stock video sites

You might also want to look at our many web hosting guides:

• Best WordPress hosting providers 
• Best cloud hosting providers
• Best Linux web hosting services
• Best e-commerce hosting
• Best dedicated server hosting
• Best small business web hosting
• Best Windows hosting services
• Best managed web hosting
• Best business web hosting
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• Best cheap web hosting

The world has become mobile. No longer are we expected to work only from clumsy desktops - now we can work from wherever we are, using cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

Software has developed with the hardware. Mobile apps have given rise to a profusion of services run from the cloud. These are simple and easy to download, install, and update. 

The user has become empowered with the ability to work wherever they are, wherever they like, and this is made all the more clear by the range of office software available that now runs from the cloud.

Whether it's for home or business use, you can now create, edit, even collaborate, on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, on the go if needed. Even better, not only are the documents you work on saved in the cloud, as a safe backup option, but older versions of the same documents are also commonly saved, making it easier to recover previous notes as required.

Here we list some of the biggest and best, and most powerful, cloud office suites that are currently available. There are familiar names listed, such as Microsoft and Apple, as you would expect, but also other feature-rich products that are also worth considering as you move to working in the cloud.

• We've also highlighted the best free office software

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line. 

Microsoft Office 365 is a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft. It was launched in 2011.

It is comprised of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and OneDrive amongst others.

Subscribers receive 1TB of storage through OneDrive. Users can share files with others. You can control who edits each file and how long they have access to it.  

OneDrive includes multi-party video sharing, content sharing, shared calendars and team chat.

Subscribers also have access to Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Users do not need to download these applications. They are readily accessible online through a subscription.

Microsoft Office for Home is priced at $9.99 per month and includes up to five computers.

‘Office 365 Business’ is $10 per month per user. The ‘Premium’ tier is $15 per month and includes Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams.

• You can sign up for Microsoft Office 365 here

G Suite is a brand of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google. It was first launched in 2006.

The software is made up of Docs, Sheets and Slides as part of Google’s cloud office suite. It also includes Gmail, calendar and hangouts.

Users can upload their own documents, spreadsheets and presentations for customizing their own office templates.  

Users can create documents in your browser with Google Docs. It allows multiple users to work at the same time. Users can view other users edits as they type. You can also communicate through built-in chat and insert comments. Users can export in most formats such as .docx, .pdf, .odt, .rtf, .html and .txt. All changes are saved. Previous versions of your documents are kept indefinitely at no extra cost.

Google Sheets enables users to view their spreadsheets through charts and pivot tables. Users can work on Sheets even when they are offline. Sheets is compatible with other formats such as Microsoft Excel.

Users can work and collaborate on presentations with multiple users using Slides. Admins get to control who can edit, view or add comments. There are multiple presentations to choose form or users can create their own presentations from scratch.

The ‘Basic’ package is $5 per user per month and includes 30GB of storage.  

The ‘Business’ package is $10 per month per user and comes with unlimited storage and archiving.

The ‘Enterprise’ plan is $25 per month per user and offers advanced controls and capabilities.  

Online users have complained that the functionality of Sheets and Docs is not as broad as online versions of Word and Excel.

• You can sign up for Google G Suite here

Zoho Workplace is an online suite of office tools, with a large variety of different applications for different and specific tasks. Like Microsoft Office, many of these can also run individually as standalone apps on a mobile device.

Workplace provides the core office suite you'd expect, with Writer, Sheet, and Show, respectively covering documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

There is also a set of specific collaboration tools, not least for documents, as well as training and conferencing options for text, voice, or video.

On top of that there are also tools for email, communications, and project management through Zoho Mail, Cliq, and Connect.

If that wasn't enough, there are also individual apps available for each of these tools through the Apple AppStore and Google Play store.

The best news of all is that Zoho Workplace is free to use for up to 5 users, with 5GB of storage space available for each user. 

Paid-for plans are available for larger teams. The Standard plan costs $3 per user per month, when prepaid for a year, which offers 30GB of space. 

The Professional plans adds more space and more advanced tools from $6 per month when paid for annually. 

• You can sign up for Zoho Docs here

OnlyOffice is an open source office suite developed by Ascensio Systems SIA who are based in Riga, Latvia. It is available in over 22 languages and boasts Oracle as one of their leading clients.

The free tier, known as the 'Community Edition' is most suited for small business and allows up to 20 connections at once. This suite does not just offer the usual features such as word processing or spreadsheets but is very useful for order fulfilment and for documenting sales.

The handy calendar feature allows users to keep up to date with personal and work-related tasks as well as keeping an eye on deadlines. Third party integration is also supported. You can create your own Mailboxes with the 'Mail' tool.

As with other office suites you can create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Users can collaborate on projects and make comments in files where necessary.

Users have reported that support can be hard to find and that the online chat forum community that is used to provide help can be tricky to navigate.

• You can sign up for OnlyOffice here

iWork is Apple's own office suite. It consists of Pages, Keynote and Numbers. The suite is eclusive to macOS but there are versions on the cloud that can be enjoyed by users of other platforms.

There are three separate apps, each for word processing, preparing presentations and for creating spreadsheets. Numbers, Apple's spreadsheet software, shows a blank canvas on launch, rather than a daunting grid view. It’s very easy to add images, tables and charts as you go. 

The word processor, Pages, is very simple and is perfect for straight forward documents. It is not inundated with layers of options that exist within MS Word. Pages also allows users to collaborate on their work and has now added a feature that supports EPUB which can be created and shared to iBooks. 

The presentation app, Keynote, has been referred to as the better alternative to PowerPoint by online users as it is straight forward and easy to use. It creates beautiful presentations without the hassle that can be associated with PowerPoint.

MS Office may not be able to open iWork created documents but all iWork applications can export formats that are compatible with other suites.

• You can sign up for iWork here

Brainstorming can be an exclude way to develop new ideas, workflows, and opportunities for your business. However, organizing a disparate range of suggestions into working solutions and actionable insights can be something of a challenge.

This is where mind map software comes into play, providing a way in which to chart all this. While some are available just for individual use for organizing projects, others other collaborative features for business users.

Ultimately, mind-mapping software isn't simply about putting ideas into a list, but instead about connecting processes with suggestions, and developing how this could enhance efficiency, productivity, or customer service. 

This means that whichever mind mapping software you use, it's likely to take a diagrammatic form in which clear workflows and outcomes can be highlighted, modified, or replaced as required, allowing a summary to remain which can then be written up into a project management report or similar presentation.

Here then are the best in mind map software platforms.

• We've also highlighted the best productivity apps

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.  

Scapple enjoys the distinction of being developed by writers for writers. The group 'Literature and Latte' was formed in 2006 with the sole purpose of offering writers a simple way to develop their skills.

The result has been one of the best-known mind map tools on the market today. On first launch, Scapple invites users to double click anywhere on the blank canvas to create a note. You can repeat this process as many times as you wish to offload your initial 'brain dump'. Scapple also supports importing text files, PDF's and even images. You can then work out how to link various ideas together.

Scapple has been particularly praised for being easy to master compared to other mind map software due its small number of mind map tools. This does mean however that more advanced features such as embedding audio & video aren't supported.  

Although the program itself is lightweight, Scapple won't burden your purse too heavily. There's a 30-day free trial, which only counts down those days on which you actually use the software. After this a standard license costs $14.99 (£17) per platform. Educational licenses are $12 (£13.60) each.

• You can sign up for Scapple here

Mindomo was originally released in March 2014. The stated aim of its developers is to create, "useful, easy to use and beautiful software".  

While beauty is subjective, most users will be delighted to find that the free version of the software supports creation of up to 3 mind maps, which is include all basic features.

'Premium' users enjoy a range of extra features denied to the free tier such as syncing projects such as iOS/Android, audio and video emdedding and backing up to cloud-based services like Dropbox. Mindomo also allows paid subscribers to export mind maps in a variety of formats including images (PNG), Adobe PDF (PDF), plain text (TXT) and Microsoft Powerpoint (PPTX). The program can also import data from a number of file formats.

If you need to collaborate on a project, 'Professional' subscriptions support 1 user and up to 5 guests. All Mindomo paid subscriptions support password protection of mind maps to make sure only you and your team can see them.

Premium subscriptions are $42 per user for 6 months, which include 1GB storage quota. Professional subscriptions cost $105 and offer a generous 5GB quota.

While these advanced features are acknowledged by the online community, Mindomo has come under criticism for its bare bones interface which offers little guidance to new users.

• You can sign up for Mindomo here

Bubbl.us is a cloud-based mind map service and can be accessed from virtually any internet compatible device. Its existence is thanks to a flash of inspiration by project founder 'Levon'. While at college, he was leafing through a copy of David Allen's Getting Things Done and discovered a chapter on brainstorming. Levon started doing this on pen and paper but later teamed up with fellow programmer 'Kirill' to begin development of Bubbl.us.

The beauty of Bubbl.us lies in its simplicity: the service is designed for mind mapping only, doing away with any redundant features. As it's cloud-based there's also no software to download. Users can get started right away and the project website claims that these include millions of musicians, artists, writers, teachers and people with dyslexia.

Like Mindomo, Bubbl.us offers a free tier which supports up to 3 mind maps with basic features. The Premium tier costs $4.91 per month per user, if paid annually, and allows for real-time collaboration as well as revision history. There's also a 30-day free trial to try out more advanced features.  

Online reviews of Bubbl.us praise the fact that it's online and cross-platform, making very popular with students and teachers. Some reviewers have complained about lag problems when using Bubbl.us from mobile devices as well as difficulties with moving several bubbles at once.

• You can sign up for Bubbl.us here

MindManager stands on the shoulders of giants having been acquired by software giant Corel (of CorelDRAW fame) in 2015. It is designed primarily for business users and has been adopted by big names like Proctor and Gamble.

As an enterprise-focused program MindManager is capable of integrating with Microsoft Office and indeed the overall interface will be very familiar to Word and PowerPoint users, right down to the built-in text editor and spreadsheet program.

Users are introduced to this gradually, as on first launch MindManager only displays a virtual whiteboard from where you can easily add ideas, then drag them into place. Maps are accessible via an easy to use dashboard.  

The general look and feel is extremely professional, meaning the finished map would be suitable for all purposes, from notes for a book to a presentation at a board meeting.  

This professional pedigree doesn't come cheap. The Windows version of MindManager costs a heavy $327 per license, though the Mac version is around half the price. The Mac version which has fewer features is only $209. Whichever version you choose there's a 30-day free trial to check if you and/or your team are comfortable with the interface. This is especially important if any users are unfamiliar with Microsoft Office.

• You can sign up for MindManager here

XMind is the flagship product of Hing Kong based X Mind Ltd. It was originally released in November 2008 and the project website now claims over 1 million users.

Like MindManager, XMind seems to be more focused on enterprise level solutions. The 'Idea Factory' is a great place to start listing items and there's even a useful built-in countdown timer to help regulate your mind mapping sessions.

XMind 8 Pro costs $129 per perpetual license, or alternatively pay monthly with plans starting from $1.24 for mobile only, and $4.58 for desktop as well. The dedicated brainstorming module allows you to group items and concepts, as well as create links between them.

Business users can also make use of the presentation mode which can display maps as slides, as well as list tasks in chart form e.g. in 'tree format'.

X Mind has been singled out for praise online for its clear focus on business users, as well as its minimalist interface which allows for easy mind map creation through a series of templates. Other respectable features include 'XMind cloud' which can sync your mind maps across devices and 'day and night' mode which dims the screen to protect your eyes.

• You can sign up for XMind here

Other mind map software to consider

We've only featured five of the best mind mapping software solutions above, but there are plenty more to consider. Here we'll list a number of others worth considering. And as we mentioned that Scapple at the start, which was built for writers, we're going to open with what is the most popular dedicated writing platform:

Scrivener may be thought of more as an author's toolkit, but at its heart it is built on the concept of mind mapping concepts into a document of work. While this may have been built for a single writer to develop a novel, there's no reason why it can't be used for any other type of project. The way it allows you to bring notes together and organize them around a central document can seem a little daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it it's difficult not to imagine working on a project without it.

Coggle is all about flow charts, connecting ideas and concepts together. It's a simple app that's easy to use, as all that's require is for you to put down and join together ideas and the connections between them. You can then export your work as an image file or PDF as required. A handy feature is that the software continually autosaves so it's easy to roll back to an early version. Even better, the software is free to download.

WiseMapping is a web-based app which means you should have no problem with cross-platform compatibility. It can also be used collaboratively, and your finished mind map can be shared easily, including to online blogs. There's a free version available for individuals, but you can download a copy to your own company servers if you want to use it for business. Either way, it's free to use.

IdeaFlip is another web-app that runs in your browser, so it shouldn't matter which operating system you use, whether on desktop of mobile. It's a more developed collaborative platform than some of the others, and has both team and management features built in. Also unlike some of the others listed here, it's not free, with monthly plans costing between $9-$16, depending on how many users and features you want.

LucidChart is also focused on collaborative flowcharts for business users, and is probably best described as a diagramming app more than anything. This means that it is good for more than just mind mapping but also project flows. The flexibility built into the program means it has a large corporate following and boasts a number of Fortune 500 companies as clients. Even still, it's not that expensive to use, with plans starting at just $4.95 per user per month.

Apple iPhones and iPads have become an integral part of many modern businesses. 

With native apps and web apps for mobile devices available across the range of productivity and creativity applications, as well as easy accessibility for Software as a Service (SaaS), mobile Apple devices have established their place in the office.

However, despite the number of integrated apps, there are still a wide range of individual apps that can be valuable to have for general office duties. 

For example, productivity suites for dealing with documents and spreadsheets still form the core of office work, plus there are a variety of related services available as apps to support that role, not least for document scanning and printing. 

There is such a huge volume of different apps for similar purposes available in the Apple AppStore, however, that it can be difficult to sift through which ones may be the most important.

We aim to make that decision easier for you, by listing the best in iOS office apps for the iPhone and iPad.

• We've also highlighted the best iPhone apps for business

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line. 

Polaris Office is a free office suite that runs across all platforms. It also has a handy iPhone and iPad app that lets you access your documents from anywhere. Everything you need is in one handy application.

Polaris Office is fully compatible with MS Office and supports most file types such as ODT, PDF, PPT, DOC and XLS. Within the app you can open all file formats including PowerPoint and Excel. All of these formats can be opened, edited and saved through the application.

The app is light on storage space, weighing in at 163.3MB compared to Microsoft Word's at 362MB. 

The app also supports writing with pen and the use of pointer features meaning you can draw and edit as if you were writing on actual sheets of paper.

You can view PDF's directly from your iPhone or iPad and can easily convert them into another format to edit them. There is no need to extract files with Polaris Office, you can view them through the app.

It comes with 1GB of Cloud storage of its own but you can connect your own cloud storage provider with it in order to gain more storage. Polaris also supports over 18 languages.

One of the main criticisms of the free app is the ads that can interrupt the service. However, this can easily be resolved by purchasing the remove ads option for $3.99.

There are also several different price tiers starting at $5.49 per month that will give you access to more cloud storage and annotation on PDF. All payments are based on a recurring subscription and will automatically renew.

• You can download Polaris Office here

While PrintCentral is primarily a printing app it's capable of much more. The app also works as a full office suite which offers print support.

PrintCentral has its own browser that allows the user to print to any wireless printer that is in range. As well as this you can print PDF and any iWork files as well as any MS Office files.

The app contains its own mailbox utility that lets you view multiple inboxes on the same page. It also supports signatures with images and in varied formats.

Within the app users are able to Zip ad Unzip files to print or to view them. While working online you can copy and print webpages while retaining their original format.

PrintCentral is fully integrated with Evernote and also allows users to connect to their own Cloud storage providers such as Dropbox and iCloud.

Some users have noted that at times it can be tricky to get the app to locate your chosen printer but this does not seem to occur very often.

The app is $4.99 to buy, but also offers an in-app Advanced Upgrade which costs $2.99.

• You can download PrintCentral here

GoodReader was developed by GoodiWare Ltd which was started by Yuri Selukoff. It was first released in 2010. The iPhone and iPad app costs $5.99.

The app can read and view documents in different formats such as DOC, PDF and XLS. It is mainly a PDF reader and within it you can make changes to PDF documents.

GoodReader enables users to read, edit and sign PDF files. From here you can also make annotations within your PDF document such as highlighting and drawing. Signing PDF documents only takes three taps. The app makes everything very simple.

You can store your data simply and efficiently though cloud providers such as Dropbox and OneDrive. GoodReader also supports copy and paste along with the ability to Zip/Unzip and unRAR files and folders. 

Any users of the old version can use a migration assistant that will help to move files to the new app seamlessly. Users new to GoodReader will enjoy the text-to-speech feature which supports a large number of languages.

• You can download GoodReader here

Documents for iOS is developed by Savy Soda who are located in Melbourne, Australia. The app is a fully functional office suite that costs $4.49 to install and weighs in at 42.6MB.

Documents works with Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive to give users optimal storage. Editing can be done both online and offline.

The app includes a Text Editor, a spreadsheet app and a file manager. With the use of all three this gives users the ability to open all MS Office files along with full compatibility with iWorks. It fully supports all TXT and CSV files but there is limited support for DOC and XLS files through Google Docs.

Included within Documents is a Photo Album tool which helps users to manage their photos easily.

Spreadsheets are fully functional and supports all formulae, formats and basic features associated with Excel. Files that you create within the app can be opened by Notepad, OpenOffice, and Word amongst others.

This appears to be a popular app with users having very little to criticize about it. However, one of the few complaints is that there is no ability to search within a document and that it always requests you save a document whether you have made changes or not.

• You can download Documents here

Microsoft Word or just simply Word first entered the fold in 1983 as a multi-word tool for the now defunct Xenix system. Since then it's held the dominant market share when it comes to office tools and is the most well-known amongst users.

The Word app is free to download but offers in-app purchase for any extras you may need. This is not a lightweight app: it weighs in at 292.1 MB upon installation.

Within Word you can create, edit, view and share files with other users quickly and easily. You can read through PDF's but need to convert them into a Word document before being able to edit them.

Word has many trusted features that let you edit and create documents with ease. While you may not always need them, it is good to know you have the choice. The app has several templates that make writing resumes or cover letters much more convenient.

While this is a very popular app there are some issues with stability, with some users noting that Word documents freeze up during use with work sometimes being unrecoverable.

Other users have criticized the size of the application stating that it is too resource heavy.

• You can download Microsoft Word here

Pages is part of the iWork productivity suite and is developed by Apple. However, the suite can not be installed in one handy app but is divided up into three separate apps: Pages (word processor), Numbers (Spreadsheet software) and Keynote (presentation software). Each app is free to download and Pages itself weighs in at a mighty 515.4 MB.

Pages can open DOCX, DOC, RTF and TXT files. It can export files through PDF, DOCX, RTF and EPUB. If collaborating with users of Microsoft Office, you will need to convert the file into either a PDF or DOCX file before sending as it is not fully compatible with MS Office and can cause readability issues.

You can annotate and draw within documents using the Apple Pen. This is an easy to use tool that allows you to add drawings in several different ways besides the Apple Pen e.g. 'fill tools'.

Pages also has its own Apple designed templates for letters, resumes and posters which are easy to use.

With the collaboration tool users can see exactly who is working on the document at the same time as them, can share the document publicly and can easily follow other users edits. It is also available on documents that are stored in iCloud.

The general consensus amongst users is that the app should be more compatible with MS Office. Even though you can convert documents into DOCX files, they can still appear different in MS Office.

• You can download Pages here

Google Drive is a file storage service developed by Google. Users can store and share files in their drive as well as synchronize files across devices. It is free to download and offers in-app purchases.

The app incorporates Google's office suite (G Suite) which includes Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. This means that documents stored on the drive can be viewed, edited and created. Any changes will be saved to Google Drive.

You are given 15GB of free storage which can be upgraded through paid plans which start at $1.99 (£1.52) per month.

Users can edit the privacy settings for each file as they see fit. This is especially handy if you want to collaborate with other people. 

All files that you have saved to your drive, such as documents, spreadsheets and photos, will be backed up safely so you won't have to worry about losing them.

There is a handy search feature where you can either search for files by content or name. Users are also able to see any recent activity on a file and can set sharing permissions to comments, edit or read-only.

Users have criticized the layout of Google Drive stating that organizing files/folders can be confusing as the documents all look the same and are categorized by most recent activity and not alphabetically.

• You can download Google Drive here

SmartOffice claim to offer the most accurate representation of Microsoft Office products that can be seen on a mobile app. The app is $9.99 to buy and install and weighs in at 52 MB. For this you are getting a full office suite unlike Microsoft Word which, at 361.1MB, is just the word processing tool.

The app offers password protection so that you have extra security when saving any documents you have been working on. Users can edit and share Microsoft documents easily and efficiently. All files can be converted to a PDF if needed. Documents can be opened and saved online with access to the likes of Dropbox and Google Drive.

SmartOffice supports several image formats such as PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF and BMP. Wireless printing is also supported. It is compatible with all versions of Word since 1997 and supports over 35 different languages. It is easy to use with a well-designed, attractive interface.

SmartOffice has an excellent spreadsheet and presentations tool that is comparable to MS Office.

Users have criticized the iPhone and iPad app for being slow to log in and hard to navigate through.

• You can download SmartOffice here

Microsoft's Office Lens is a companion app to OneNote which allows users to scan whiteboards and documents with the intention of saving and making them readable. It is free to install and weighs in at 40 MB. This may not be a full productivity suite but it can be a very handy office tool.

It is a great app for those constantly on the go as it can read whiteboards, blackboards and business cards. It then digitizes them automatically. This means that users never have to worry about losing receipts, just scan and save them in the app.

OCR will recognize both printed and handwritten text and you can search for words within your images if you need to edit them.

Office Lens will tidy up and do its best to eliminate glare when using the 'Whiteboard' mode. While the 'Document' mode ensures that colors match perfectly and also tidies up the image to fit the file.

After taking a scan of a business card, the app can extract certain information such as contact details and save them to your address book.

Images can be converted to DOCX, PPTX or PDF files and are saved to OneDrive automatically.

It seems that the 'Flash' option has to be turned off each time you use Office Lens, which some users have said can be inconvenient especially if using in a classroom or office meeting.

• You can download Office Lens here

WPS Office (Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets) is an office suite developed by Chinese software developer Kingsoft. The suite is available on both iPhone and iPad. The app is free but ad-supported, though you can remove these by paying either $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year. The suite's comprised of WPS Writer, WPS Presentation and WPS Spreadsheet.

The WPS PDF reader has the ability to convert PDF to WPS and is able to read Adobe PDF files.  The app supports a number of file types such as DOC, RTF, DOT, PPTX, TXT and HTML amongst others. All documents are fully compatible with Microsoft Office and Google Docs.

The app allows you to securely encrypt your files with passkeys and you can edit your documents without the fear of losing your work with the auto-save option. Features include the ability to track changes, comments and run spell checks.

The app can present documents straight from your iPhone/iPad to a compatible TV or projector. WPS for iOS also supports 47 different languages.

It seems that if do not purchase the premium subscription within the app then you will be plagued by intrusive ads while using the service.

• You can download WPS Office here

Other iOS office apps to consider

There are a number of other office apps available in the Apple iTunes App Store, but there are some which try to do everything Microsoft Office does, and others that feature only in one area. We'll therefore expand the list a little to look at additional alternatives to consider.

Google Docs: Sync, Edit, Share is another obvious office app for iOS, which works within Google's G Suite app platform. You can write, edit, and share documents in Google Docs, and additionally work on them collaboratively. Documents are also saved in the cloud, and there are integrations available with the rest of Google's G Suite, not least spreadsheets and G Drive. While it's not as feature-packed as Microsoft Office, it has enough features to get most jobs done, and as it's free to download it's a useful free option to consider.

OfficeSuite & PDF editor  works by allowing you to create, edit, and save Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. As ever, everything is saved in the cloud so you won't lose your files easily. There are also additional PDF editing options which is handy to have, and with a file size of 153.7 MB it's a lot smaller to download and install than Microsoft Office for Apple.

Zoho Docs is another free document editor available in the iTunes App Store, and aside from offering the standard create/edit/save document options, also allows for collaborative working on them. You can also tag files to make them easier to find, as well as sync to save using multiple storage providers. It's free to download, and easily integrates with other Zoho productivity apps.

Microsoft Office remains the most popular productivity suite for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more - but with IT departments needing to balance budgets, a range of alternatives have become increasingly attractive.

This is not least because software licensing fees for alternative office suites can be competitive, and some are even free to use. However, paying less, or nothing, doesn't necessarily mean that the software is of lower quality, as the open source community can testify.

However, there can be issues with sharing documents between different office suite platforms, which can be a real concern. One specific example is that a document saved to .doc or .docx format in a free software platform such as Open Office might not retain its formatting when loaded into Microsoft Word itself, even though the file type shouldn't be a problem.

This is why when choosing an alternative to Microsoft Office, you need to be certain of any shortfalls that might limit your use of the software, especially if you need to share or collaborative on documents with other users who have one or more different office suites.

If you're using the office alternative as a standalone piece of software there shouldn't be any such issues, but it is something to be mindful about if you end up changing to a different software suite.

That said, the best in the Microsoft Office alternatives are generally strong programs with full functionality, and little problem sharing files with other platforms. Here we'll show the best of them, along with their strengths and weaknesses.

Best Microsoft Office alternatives at a glance

1. FreeOffice
2. LibreOffice
3. WPS Office
4. iWork
5. Calira
6. OfficeSuite
7. Polaris Office
8. OnlyOffice
9. Word Perfect
10. Apache OpenOffice

• We've also highlighted the best free word processor

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

If you are looking for a free and easy alternative to Microsoft Office, then FreeOffice is the suite for you. The company, SoftMaker, has been developing office software since 1987 and its office suite is their flagship product.

FreeOffice is a complete office suite that is free to use for both home and in the workplace. It is developed for both Windows and Linux, and offers a basic version for Android users.

The suite itself is fully compatible with all Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats. This means that you can not only view but save files in formats such as DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. It also supports older file types such as PPT and XLS.

The new interface that was launched this year gives you the option of either working with modern or classic menus and toolbars. This makes switching from Microsoft Office easy to do as the interface is eerily similar.

For those users who have the luxury of a touchscreen PC you can use touch mode with larger icons. This mode is available for both the newer version look and the classic menu-based interface.

In order to download FreeOffice you must register an account via the website first. The download link will then become available.

• You can download FreeOffice here

LibreOffice is the offspring of The Document Foundation and split from OpenOffice in 2010. The suite itself is free and open source, and is made up of a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software, and is available in 110 languages.

While LibreOffice uses the ODF (OpenDocument) format it still supports a range of other format types such as those used in Microsoft Office. LibreOffice is the default suite for most Linux distros and it is also available for use on Windows and macOS. There's also a LibreOffice viewer for Android.

As with most open source software all your technical support comes from online, but seeing how easy this is to use, support will be rarely needed. The platform also offers the option to export your files into PDF format amongst others.

You can add extra features to LibreOffice via extensions from its website. These include extra templates for documents.

While still a smaller download size than Microsoft Office, LibreOffice weighs in at 228MB so is still a fairly large suite to install.

One of the criticisms that has been noted in relation to LibreOffice is that if you create a document within its word processor and then open it within a Word document, it may interfere with fonts and formatting.

• You can download LibreOffice here

WPS Office was released in 2016 by Chinese software developer Kingsoft. It is an office suite that is available for Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. The suite is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Russian.

It offers a free and a premium tier. The free tier allows you to use Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets, which are alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite which it also resembles closely. WPS offers a PDF to Word converter which is fast and easy to use. It supports bulk exportation and can also split-merge PDF files if needed.

The suite offers 1GB of free cloud storage for iOS and PC users, but this service is not yet available for Android.

The 'Premium' tier is $29.99 per year and allows the user to connect up 9 devices at once. It also gets rids of all those annoying adverts that are commonplace on the free tier.

WPS has been criticised for not allowing collaboration beyond those that track changes and allow users to insert comments. Users have also said that the interface can be quite slow at times when it comes to loading documents. Linux users have mentioned that not all fonts are automatically included and that they have to be installed separately.

For Android users installation is quite large and criticism has been levelled imploring the developer to make it more lightweight.

• You can download WPS Office here

iWork is Apple's alternative to Microsoft Office. It consists of Pages, Keynote and Numbers. These are broadly equivalent to Word, PowerPoint and Excel. It is exclusive to macOS for a local install, but there are versions on the cloud that can be enjoyed by users of other platforms.

iWork is much more lightweight than MS Office and this would suit most users. There are a lot of features in MS Office that the majority of users do not even know exist nevermind actually use. That might be a pro for power users but many users may just want a straightforward interface with only a few tabs to choose features from. This is where iWork comes in.

iWork is free and can be downloaded from the App Store on your Mac. There are three separate apps, each for word processing, preparing presentations and for creating spreadsheets. Numbers, Apple's spreadsheet alternative, offers a blank canvas for you to begin on rather than showing a daunting grid view on your spreadsheet. It takes away that feeling of it being a ledger and it is very easy to use and add images, tables and charts as you go.

The word processor, Pages, is very simple and is perfect for straightforward documents, and it is not inundated with the layers of options that exist within MS Word. Pages also allows users to collaborate on their work and has now added a feature that supports EPUB, which can be created and shared to iBooks if you see fit to do so.

The presentation app, Keynote, has been referred to as the better alternative to PowerPoint by online users as it is easy to use. It creates beautiful presentations without the hassle that can be associated with PowerPoint.

MS Office may not be able to open documents created in iWork, but all iWork applications can export to other formats that are compatible with other suites.

• You can download iWork here

Calligra Office suite was initially released in October 2000 as part of KOffice. It is an office suite developed by KDE as well as being suitable to use for graphic art design. It is available on Linux, macOS, Windows and Android.

Calligra is a free and open source software suite and can be downloaded directly from its own website or from KDE's downloads page. It is completely distinct from LibreOffice.

While LibreOffice has the familiar look and feel of MS Office, Calligra does not. A lot of the useable features tabs are set on the right-hand side of the screen and not on the top like MS Office and other office suites. This means that the page you are currently editing does not take up the full screen.

One of the extra features that makes Calligra stand out is that it offers a mind-mapping and project managing tool. Usually these cost extra.

Calligra allows you to read DOCX and DOX formats but you cannot edit them. This can cause difficulties if your contacts send you Microsoft Office documents, so ask them to use a different format such as ODT (Open Document Text) instead.

• You can download Calligra here

OfficeSuite is an application that was developed by MobiSystems and is available for Android, iOS and Windows. Devices that are made by Amazon, Toshiba, Sony and Alcatel come with OfficeSuite pre-installed. The Android app has been named amongst the top applications for business.

You can synchronize between devices using your OfficeSuite account and only one license is needed for all your devices.

It has several tiers to choose from. The 'Basic' tier is free and allows users to view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. The suite has full compatibility with most formats such as ODT, RTF, CSV, DOC, and ZIP. The free tier also enables users to view PDF documents and offers cloud support via services like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.

The 'Personal' tier enables the suite on one desktop, one tablet and one phone. This tier costs $29.99. It has all the free tier has to offer along with the ability to track changes, export PDF's to other editable formats and advanced PDF features such as digital signatures and passwords. The 'Group' tier is $49.99 per year and allows you to use across five desktops, five tablets and 5 phones. The 'Business' tier offers up to 100 licenses for $3.99 per user per month.

OfficeSuite has received much praise online but it has also been criticised for pushing users to purchase premium subscriptions.

• You can download OfficeSuite here

Polaris Office is developed by Intraware and was initially released in March 2014. It is a free office suite that is available for Android, iOS, Windows and macOS. It appears to be a popular suite amongst businesses and is used by the likes of Amazon and Samsung.

While the free version is very generous there is a business version to which you can upgrade. To enquire about the cost, you will need to send Polaris a 'Purchase Query form' which can be found on their website.

With this powerful suite you can edit many different file formats including PPT, XLS, DOCX and HWP. As your account synchronizes amongst your devices you will be able to edit and create from wherever you are. All your data is secured by AWS (Amazon Web Services).

With the latest edition of Polaris you can now convert and edit PDF documents. Users can also convert voice and image files to documents if the need arises.

The suite supports several different languages such as French, German, Korean, English and Russian.

The only real criticism there is of Polaris is that while the free edition offers a huge range of features the ads can be a little distracting at times.

• You can download Polaris Office here

OnlyOffice is an open source office suite developed by Ascensio Systems SIA. It is available in over 22 languages and boasts of Oracle being one of their leading clients.

The completely free version, known as the 'Community Edition' is most suited for small business and allows up to 20 connections at once. This suite does not just offer the usual features such as word processing or spreadsheets but is very useful in relation to order fulfilment and for documenting sales.

The handy calendar feature allows user to keep up to date with personal and work-related tasks as well as keeping an eye on deadlines. Third party integration is also supported. You can create your own Mailboxes with the 'Mail' tool.

As with other office suites there is the ability to create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Users can collaborate on projects and make comments in files where necessary.

Users have reported that support can be hard to find and that the online chat forum community that is used to provide help can be a bit tricky to navigate.

• You can download OnlyOffice here

WordPerfect was developed by Corel nearly 40 years ago and is available on Windows only. It was most popular in the 80's where it was known for its DOS and Microsoft Windows versions. It was soon eclipsed by Microsoft Office upon its release.

It is an all-in-one office suite. The standard edition costs $432 for the full version. It offers its own word processor, spreadsheet program and a slideshow creator.  The latest version now includes improved photo-editing and management. WordPerfect offer a free trial version which you can download from the main site.

Like other suites it can save to many different formats such as DOCX, PDF and HTML. The common file extensions for WordPerfect files is WPD. It also offers ebooks publishing and macro management.

The PDF feature gives users the ability to edit and fill in forms via PDF, as well as change the form's appearance e.g. font/color. WordPerfect supports opening multiple documents at one time.

Online reviews have critiqued the UI saying that it is not user-friendly and it can cause problem with fonts. You also sometimes have to delve into the manual to fix problems which would not be an issue if using MS Word.

• You can download WordPerfect here

Apache OpenOffice (AOO) is an open source office suite that is available across all platforms. With over 20 years of development behind it, the suite is a consistent all-round performer.

Like LibreOffice, OpenOffice uses the Open Document format (ODF). It can view and edit a large number of other file types, particularly MS Office files. OpenOffice cannot save or edit documents using the open XML format e.g. DOCX. You can however open these files and save them as a different format.

As it is an open source suite anyone who has the know-how can suggest improvements or fix any bugs. As with other open source applications it has a great online community who are always willing to lend a hand to other users.

While the formula tool, Math, has the basic features needed to calculate equations, it is not for advanced users. OpenOffice has the option to create basic presentations through Impress, but there are very few design templates compared to PowerPoint.

• You can download Apache OpenOffice here

Other Microsoft Office alternatives to consider

While most people are used to paying for their office software, as above there are also a number of free alternatives to Microsoft Office. Below we'll continue this list with some more free office software applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.

G Suite aka Google Docs, Sheets and Slides is a free office software platform from Google. While the G Suite of office software applications don't yet have the reputation for user features that Microsoft Office enjoys, Google do throw in some nice additional ones. For example, Google Docs in G Suite allows for group collaboration on documents, a feature that normally comes with a premium price from Microsoft. Additionally, the G Suite apps save everything to the cloud using G Drive, so your documents can be easily synced between any device. Perhaps even better, as G Suite runs as a web application rather than downloaded software, it means it's accessible for any device giving it a cross-platform advantage. There are professional and business upgrade options from the basic platform, available from $5 per month for the Professional edition, and for business users it is priced at $10.

Microsoft Teams is a free office suite from Microsoft, which offers basic versions of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote from the Office 365 suite. Everything is run online from Microsoft's cloud, Sky Drive, with up to 2GB of storage per user. Surprisingly, there are also collaborative options available, so don't think you need the premium Office 365 suite for business use. Unsurprisingly, though, Microsoft is keen to push on Office 365 as an upgrade, available at $5 per user per month for the Business Essentials package, and $12.50 for the Business Premium package and features.

Zoho Office is another office suite worth considering as an alternative to Microsoft Office. Although it gets less press, Zoho Office is a pretty competent software suite, and includes word processing as Zoho Writer, spreadsheets as Zoho Sheets, and presentations through Zoho Show. All of the applications are run online through the cloud, and there are also collaborative options. Pricing is free for individuals and small team of up to 25 people, though there are business Standard and Premium upgrades available starting from less than $5 per user per month.

One of the big advantages of most Linux distros isn't just that they are free and open source - so are most of the software applications used for Linux. While some business-orientated software does come with a cost, for most home users most of what they will need won't be.

But what are the applications that most Linux will want to have installed? Luckily, many Linux distros come with a number of essential software packages already bundled with the Operating System (OS), as is the case with Windows and Apple desktops. This means you shouldn't have to spend too much time looking for what you may actually need.

However, Linux software is in constant development and so are the software apps used to run on it. While updates for those bundled should be easy to manage, you'll probably still want to ensure you have a full range of the most useful software, not all of which may be included.

Therefore here we'll look at the best in Linux apps to ensure your Linux experience isn't any less richer than other operating systems.

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• 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

1. Synaptic

While some Linux distros like Ubuntu come with their own flashy app stores, none are as quick and easy to use as Synaptic, which simply serves as a graphical frontend for the 'apt-get' command line utility. You can install it on any Debian-based Linux distro such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

Browse categories of apps such as 'Games and Amusement' using the pane on the left-hand side. Click the box next to an app name to mark it for installation (or uninstallation) then click the Apply button at the top to affect your changes. All the programs covered in this article can be installed via Synaptic.

• You can download Synaptic here

2. VLC Media Player

VLC is most commonly known for being a media player, although it does much more than this. When installed, it downloads codecs for virtually every kind of audio or video file, meaning you're unlikely to ever have playback issues again. The software can also play DVDs. 

You can use VLC to clip video files and even convert them from one format to another – from AVI to MP4, for example. See our guide on this here. The media player client can also act as a server, allowing you to stream media from one device to another (handily, we’ve also got a guide on how to do this).

• You can download the VLC Media Player here

3. Mozilla Firefox

Firefox is the default web browser for a number of Linux distros such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint. The browser’s simple and fluid interface is one of its many attractions. Firefox will play YouTube videos right off the bat, and can download plugins to play other formats for you. The browser also updates itself from the get-go, meaning you always have the latest version.

Firefox supports a number of extensions to enhance your web experience, and you can customise the browser further via the Mozilla add-ons page, where it is possible to install a colourful theme.

• You can download Mozilla Firefox here

4. GIMP

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a free image editor. It can be used to edit and retouch images by resizing, adding layers and other special effects. You can access these via the handy toolbox or dropdown menus. See our guide on how to use GIMP here. The GIMP website itself also has a great selection of tutorials. 

If you're accustomed to Adobe Photoshop, it may take some time for you to adjust to GIMP's interface, but it can do almost everything professional image editors are capable of. You can even add certain Photoshop plugins to GIMP.

By default the program takes up less than 100MB, which is another considerable benefit, particularly for those short on disk space.

• You can download GIMP here

5. Deluge

While many Linux distributions already come with a BitTorrent client, Deluge stands out as a lightweight yet fully-featured app for downloading your files.

The interface is extremely easy to master and can be enhanced by a number of excellent community supported plugins which do things such as shut down your machine when a download completes.

You can even set up Deluge so that it can be accessed via a web interface from other devices, allowing you to download files to your home computer when you're away.

• You can download Deluge here

6. Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free and powerful email client. The setup wizard guides you gently through the process of either creating a new email address or setting up your existing one. Thunderbird's database contains email settings for all common providers, and you can add as many email accounts as you wish. 

Like Firefox, Thunderbird can be enhanced by add-ons such as themes to make it more colourful, or better ways to sort your Mail folders. The most useful of these is undoubtedly the Lightning extension which adds a fully functioning Calendar to the email client. We’ve got an in-depth review of Thunderbird right here.

• You can download Thunderbird here

7. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is nothing less than a full-blown office suite, on a par with commercial alternatives like Microsoft Office. While the interface may look rather basic, this product has some extremely advanced features.

The LibreOffice word processor Writer, spreadsheet software Calc and presentation app Impress are preinstalled in Ubuntu and most of its derivatives. The suite also includes three less well-known apps – Draw, Math and Base – which are used for editing vector graphics, composing mathematical formulae and managing databases respectively. 

While LibreOffice uses the ODF (Open Document Format) by default it can open and save Microsoft Office compatible files too. Read our full review of LibreOffice here.

• You can download Libre Office here

8. Pidgin

Pidgin is an instant messaging program which allows you to connect to multiple chat networks at once. At the time of writing these include AIM, Bonjour, IRC and Google Talk to name but a few. Sadly Facebook chat is no longer available since the social network dropped support for the open XMPP messaging protocol.

Pidgin can be enhanced by installing third-party plugins. Some of these allow you to connect to other chat networks such as Skype, while others can be used to protect your conversations, for example the OTR (Off the Record) messaging plugin.

• You can download Pidgin here

9. ClamAV

Although Linux machines can't be affected by viruses designed to infect Windows, your PC can accidentally forward harmful files to other computers, for example in an email attachment. And these days, there are even some incidences of malware aimed at Linux systems.

The antivirus scanner ClamAV provides some peace of mind, as it can detect many types of malware. It's often used on mail servers but will run happily on your desktop system if you want to scan files or folders.

By default ClamAV can only be used from the command line, but you can use Synaptic to install 'clamtk' and 'clamtk-nautilus' to allow you to scan your system and individual files with a few clicks of your mouse.

• You can download ClamAV here

10. Audacity

Audacity is an editing program which allows you to record and tinker with audio. Not only can Audacity record audio simultaneously from various inputs (for example, a USB microphone or an electric guitar), it can also trim and edit clips. Furthermore, it supports multiple tracks, allowing you, for instance, to record lyrics and backing music separately.

The software also supports a number of audio effects such as noise reduction, as detailed in its extremely comprehensive manual which is both bundled with Audacity and available online. Audacity also supports VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins. Tracks can be exported in a number of popular sound formats such as WAV, OGG and MP3. If you want to know more about Audacity, then have a read of our full review here.

• You can download Audacity here

While Windows may be the world's most popular Operating System (OS) for desktop PCs, the world's most popular OS for the internet's web servers is Linux.

Usually bundled along with Apache, MySQL, and PHP - and frequently referred to as a LAMP configuration - a wide variety of different Linux distros are used. 

Sometimes it's down to personal preference, sometimes market forces, and sometimes due to small advantages a particularly distro will have in regards to the core applications to be used, security concerns, or stability issues.

Ultimately, most web users will never notice any difference because the OS works very much in the background, and it will only be the system administrators and IT managers who take notice of which distro of Linux is used.

But which Linux should be used? In most situations the choice won't be critical and mostly be an issue of personal choice. However, we'll list some of our favorite ones below.

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• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

1. Debian

Debian is over 20-years-old and in part owes that longevity to the emphasis placed on producing a stable operating system. This is crucial if you want to set up a server as updates can sometimes clash badly with existing software.

There are three branches of Debian, named 'Unstable', 'Testing' and 'Stable'. To become part of the Stable current release, packages must have been reviewed for several months as part of the Testing release. This results in a much more reliable system – but don't expect Debian to incorporate much 'bleeding edge' software as a result. 

You can get started with Debian using a minimal Network Boot image which is less than 30MB in size. For a faster setup, download the larger network installer which at just under 300MB contains more packages.

• You can download Debian here

2. Ubuntu Server

While Ubuntu is best known for bringing desktop Linux to the masses, its Server variant is also extremely competitive. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has developed LTS (Long Term Support) versions of Ubuntu Server, which like the desktop flavour can be updated up to five years after the date of release, saving you the trouble of upgrading your server repeatedly. Canonical also periodically releases versions of Ubuntu Server at the same time as the latest desktop distro (i.e. 18.04.1).

If you're intent on building your own cloud platform, you can also download Ubuntu Cloud Server. Canonical claims that over 55% of OpenStack clouds already run on Ubuntu. For a fee, Canonical will even set up a managed cloud for you using BootStack.

• You can download Ubuntu Server here

3. OpenSUSE

OpenSUSE (formerly SUSE Linux) is a Linux distro specifically designed for developers and system admins wishing to run their own server. The easy-to-use installer can be configured to use 'Text Mode' rather than install a desktop environment to get your server up and running.

OpenSUSE will automatically download the minimum required packages for you, meaning only essential software is installed. The YaST Control Center allows you to configure network settings, such as setting up a static IP for your server. You can also use the built in Zypper package manager to download and install essential server software such as postfix.

• You can download OpenSUSE here

4. Fedora Server

Fedora is a community developed operating system based on the commercial Linux distro Red Hat. Fedora Server is a special implementation of the OS, allowing you to deploy and manage your server using the Rolekit tool. The operating system also includes a powerful PostgreSQL Database Server. 

Fedora Server also includes FreeIPA, enabling you to manage authentication credentials, access control information and perform auditing from one central location. 

You can download the full 2.7GB ISO image of Fedora Server using the link below. The same page contains a link to a minimal 583MB NetInstall Image from Fedora's Other Downloads section for a faster barebones setup.

• You can download Fedora Server here

5. CentOS

Like Fedora, CentOS is a community developed distribution of Linux, originally based on the commercial OS Red Hat Enterprise Linux. In light of this, the developers behind CentOS 7 have promised to provide full updates for the OS until the end of 2020, with maintenance updates until the end of June 2024 – which should save the trouble of performing a full upgrade on your server in the near future.

You can avoid unnecessary packages by installing the 'minimal' ISO from the CentOS website, which at 906MB can fit onto a 90 minute CD-R. If you're eager to get started, the site also offers preconfigured AWS instances and Docker images.

• You can download CentOS here

One of the more recent directions of Linux appears to have been to simplify the user experience, in order to make it more familiar and friendly to Windows users. After all, enticing users from Windows to the joys of Linux can hardly be a bad thing, right?

And yet to achieve that means some degree of compromise to the Linux environment itself. 

Originally a haven for coders, flavors that aim to simplify Linux for users can result in problems for more experienced users. Too many programs and software addons can result in interference and bugs being introduced when trying to code your own programming. 

This can especially be a problem for developers who need as much of an uncluttered work space as possible - or at the very least, as little interference as possible from other applications.

So while making Linux attractive for a wider user base has its uses, it also has its limitations. This is one reason why some distros look to ensure the experience can be either simplified or more customized. This means only the most necessary software boots up, or can be selected to do so, leaving plenty of room and resources for user programming, 

We'll therefore take a look at some of the more flexible flavors that allow a greater feature range than just appealing to the newer user, and so allow for a much more personalized experience.

Here then are the best Linux distros for developers.

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• 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
• 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
• What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
• How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
• 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

1. Arch Linux

Arch Linux offers a powerful level of customisation during setup, allowing you to download and install only the packages you need. While this is definitely not for newbies to coding, the fact you can install only a minimal number of programs on your machine using the Arch Build System and Arch User Repository, reduces the possibility of anything interfering with your coding.

This means, for instance, that you can install a barebones window manager like i3 to be certain your system will respond quickly when using your chosen text editor. If you run into difficulty, the Arch Linux Wiki offers a helpful installation guide.

• You can download Arch Linux here

2. Debian

Debian is one of the oldest Linux distros and is built with stability in mind. All programs included with Debian have to meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines. Packages are carefully selected and tested for inclusion in the 'Stable' branch of Debian meaning that while some may be dated, there's very little chance of system instability, making this OS ideal for programmers.

The Debian website has extensive manuals, including a chapter on programming talking you through the basics of creating a script, compiling it, and using Autoconf to allow your scripts to be compiled on other Linux distros.

• You can download Debian here

3. Raspbian

Raspbian is the default operating system which is included with the Raspberry Pi. As the Pi was designed as an educational tool, Raspbian is the perfect OS for those interested in getting started with coding.

The Raspberry Pi website hosts some impressive guides on using the visual programming tool Scratch, which is used to create animations and games. There's also an excellent section on getting started with Python, which is supported out of the box.

Younger coders might prefer to learn to use the programming language for Minecraft Pi, a mini-version of the highly popular sandbox game.

• You can download Raspbian here

4. Gentoo

Named after the fast-swimming penguin, Gentoo is sometimes called a 'meta' distribution as users download and compile its source code manually according to their needs. This not only makes it a perfect match for the hardware requirements of your machine, but it allows you to decide exactly which versions of packages can be installed.

Gentoo suffered a minor setback a few years ago when its comprehensive Wiki went offline. Fortunately, it has since been restored and now includes the official Gentoo handbook. There's also a small diehard Gentoo following on Reddit if you need further help.

• You can download Gentoo here

5. Ubuntu

Unlike barebones distros like Arch Linux and Gentoo, Ubuntu is designed to be ideal for beginners, complete with a desktop interface and automatic updates. 

Ubuntu is the chosen distro of the Android Open Source Project for building source files. The Android build is regularly tested using the most recent versions of Ubuntu. 

You can also install other development environments using Ubuntu Make.  

Ubuntu now supports the 'snaps' application packaging format, using the Snapcraft tool, which allows you to write apps in the programming language of your choice and package them with all the required dependencies. Visit the Ubuntu Developer portal here.

• You can download Ubuntu here

6. Fedora

Fedora is a community supported derivative of the commercial distribution Red Hat Linux. It also enjoys the distinction of being the distro of choice of Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds.

Aside from being very easy to set up and install, Fedora has a dedicated Developer Portal. Simply click 'Start a Project' to see dedicated guides on developing web, command line, desktop and mobile apps. There's also an excellent section on working with hardware devices such as Arduino. 

If this wasn’t enough, the Fedora repositories also include Eclipse, a fully featured and multi-language IDE. Eclipse is probably best known for Java, but also has a C/C++ and PHP IDE. You can expand its functionality even further with plugins. 

• You can download Fedora here

7. OpenSUSE

OpenSUSE (formerly SUSE Linux) is a distribution specifically designed for software developers and system administrators. Installation and system configuration is a breeze with the integrated YaST tool. This allows you to install all the '-devel' packages needed by developers with one click.

OpenSUSE comes preinstalled with all the basic tools a software developer needs, such as the Vim and Emacs text editors, build automation tools such as CMake and packaging tools like RPM. The operating system also comes with OBS (Open Build Service), a tool for developers to build software for various distros and platforms.

• You can download OpenSUSE here

8. CentOS

Like Fedora, CentOS is a free, community-based variant of Red Hat (a commercial version of Linux). Many of the packages are the same and theoretically it's possible to build a version of CentOS which is functionally identical to Red Hat itself, although this is difficult to achieve in practice. 

This results in a highly stable system. The CentOS repository also contains the Developer Toolset, which boasts a range of essential programming tools. 

For developers, the Xen virtualisation platform offers a way to compartmentalise your projects and run applications safely inside a virtual machine. 

You can find instructions on how to do this and other developer tips in the excellent CentOS Wiki.

• You can download CentOS here

9. Solus

Solus is special in that it's one of the few Irish Linux distros, and also because it follows a curated rolling release model. The advantage of this is that once you've installed the OS, you can keep running updates rather than a major upgrade. Solus, however, tries to avoid installing extremely recent packages and beta software to maintain system stability.

Solus supports several editors and IDEs such as Atom, Idea and Gnome Builder, as well as the Git GUI, GitKraken. The Solus project website also claims that the OS supports a number of programming languages such as Go, Rust, PHP, Node.js and Ruby.

• You can download Solus here

10. Puppy Linux

Puppy Linux is an extremely lightweight distro based on either Ubuntu or Slackware. The entire OS is only around 330MB in size, meaning it can be run entirely in RAM as well as installed to an ordinary hard disk. It comes with a minimal number of packages, although you can add more, such as devx which contains various development tools.

The Puppy Linux 'Wikka' details the programming languages supported by the OS. One notable language is BaCon, which can convert code written in BASIC to C.

The Wikka also has an extensive selection of tutorials on writing Bash scripts and getting started with Python.

• You can download Puppy Linux here

Small business owners are no strangers to operating on a shoestring. Any small changes you can make in terms of efficiency may transform into a huge advantage over your competitors.

While there is no shortage of comprehensive business solutions and services online offering all manner of diverse features, these are often overkill for managing small companies.

In this guide, we've focused on five of the most useful applications for SMBs (small to medium businesses). All of these either offer a free tier or represent excellent value for money. Further premium features are often available as your business grows.

When considering new apps, take some time to reflect on current business practises. For instance, if you currently use spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel to create expense reports, consider employing Expensify instead. This automates the process for you by integrating with popular travel apps like Uber.

• We've also highlighted the best web hosting services for small businesses

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

Kashoo has been kicking around since 2008 and is designed to be an ideal accounting solution for freelancers, entrepreneurs and other small business owners. The platform supports easy creation of invoices, auditing, taxation and more.

The multi-currency invoice feature is particularly praiseworthy, allowing you to issue invoices in any number of currencies. Current exchange rates are downloaded automatically. Kashoo supports connection to over 5,000 bank data feeds out of the box.

Users can accept credit card payments via Kashoo's own payment gateway. Square, Stripe and BluePay are also supported. Subscribers can pay $19.95 (£15.20)  per month or $199 (£151.28) annually. This works out at $16.65 (£12.66) per month. There is also a 14-day free trial and a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.

The main dashboard displays all relevant business data. Kashoo has also received online praise for offering unlimited support via phone, email and chat. 

The mobile app, which sadly is only available for iOS, offers similar features such as invoice creation. Users can also track expenses by taking and uploading photos of receipts.

Kashoo is constantly updated which makes for a modern platform but the UI has received some online criticism for being rather complex. The platform also doesn't support hourly based billing, forcing users to create a bespoke invoice each time. 

• You can download Kashoo here

Expensify is the creation of developer David Barrett, who in his own words wished to create "expense reports that don't suck!" One of the ways that Expensify does this is by integrating services like Uber and HotelTonight to record expenses on the fly. Such expenditures can then be consolidated with others, allowing managers to review trips as a whole and work out where costs can be cut.

Expensify offers a generous free tier which supports up to 5 free smart scans per month along with a free mobile app and unlimited storage for receipts. The 'Collect' tier costs just £4 ($5) per month per active user and allows for unlimited smart scans, basic expenses approval, as well as integration with QuickBooks and Xero.

The 'Control' tier costs £7 ($9) per active user and includes all the features offered in the 'Team' package, as well as advanced policy enforcement, corporate card reconciliation and integration with more powerful accounting software such as Sage. There is a free trial for premium features to allow you to decide if Expensify is right for your company.

The platform is popular with small business owners due to its competitive pricing, but it takes time to master as there's little online documentation. Some users have also complained that chat support takes some time to respond.

• You can download Expensify here

Slack (Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge) is a handy cloud-based tool that keeps all messaging and files in one place. This application is available for all mobile devices and can also be accessed via the web page itself.

Slack was originally brought to life to be used as an online tool for the game Glitch, which is now defunct. It was officially launched in 2013 as a way of helping people collaborate together online.

The Slack channel system enables businesses to divide up work based upon teams, clients, or in whatever way they need. Employees can join and leave the chats as they see fit so that they do not have to be subjected to in-depth conversations that are not relevant to them. It also has a handy video feature where you can speak to members of your team face to face no matter where they happen to be.

The Slack directory integrates with over 1000 apps which include Dropbox and Google Drive. You can drag and drop files, images and videos directly into Slack if needs be. Screen sharing is also another handy feature incorporated into the app.

Slack has three tiers, with the first tier being free, but that can seem to be quite limited depending on the size of your team. The Standard tier, billed at $8 (£6.08) per month has more features available such as 10GB storage for each team member and priority support. The Plus tier, billed at $12.50 (£9.50) per month, comes with 20GB of storage and has 24/7 customer support that guarantees a four hour response time.

It has received some criticism online for not being user-friendly and there's a steep learning curve.

• You can download Slack here

There are many different office software platforms, but despite fierce competition on price and features, Microsoft's Office 365 remains the leading suite and must-buy for small business.

You may remember the days when Microsoft Office was something you bought as a software package and installed on your PC. While that still remains possible, the most useful form is the web app version of Office 365, as that means everything runs from the cloud and is saved in the cloud, and you can also use you mobile devices to login and use it. As it's web-based, this means you can also use it on Mac as well as on PC.

Office 365 includes the 3 big office software apps you're going to need: Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. OneDrive is also available for online backups as part of the part and worth using, even if you already use another cloud provider such as Google Drive or Drop Box - keeping your data safe is key and there's no harm in having multiple backup options.

Then there are the other software applications included in Office 365, such as Outlook (online version), and for PC use only there are also Publisher and Access. Skype is also bundled in, though you can download and use this as a standalone product anyway.

As mentioned previously, there are alternatives to Microsoft Office, but the simple fact is that they are not as good. Features tend to be far more limited, and there can be problems converting core office files to alternative formats, which you absolutely do not need the stress of dealing with when running your own business.

There are a couple of different editions you can buy. If you only need a package for yourself, a personal edition will cost $6.99 (£5.99) per month, or discounted to $69.99 (£59.99) if you pay for a yearly subscription. You can also buy a package for up to 6 users and therefore cover your office staff, and that is priced at $9.99 (£7.99) per month, or discounted to $99.99 (£79.99) if paid for annually.

• You can buy Office 365 here

Intuit QuickBooks was originally founded as a software package geared towards individual financial management. However, after seeing how successful this was, the company decided to offer a solution for small to medium-sized businesses.

QuickBooks can be downloaded onto each computer within your firm but it is also available as a cloud-based solution. Businesses can use it to manage and pay bills as well as to accept payments, along with being a useful resource for payroll.

The 'Simple Start' package ($20 or £15.20 per month) allows users to track income and expenses, capture and organize receipts as well as run basic reports. The next tier, 'Essentials' ($35 or £26.61 per month), includes all of that plus the ability to manage bills and have multiple users.

QuickBooks has also included a payment tier suitable for the self-employed user that is $20 (£15.20) per month and incorporates all that the basic tier has to offer along with the ability to track mileage. A free 30-day trial is offered so that you get plenty of time to decide if this is the app for you.

The app uses Apple Pay and Paypal for easy payments and invoicing. This is definitely a resource suited for smaller businesses as it does not have very detailed reporting and most company's find that they outgrow it.

It has also been criticized online for not being user-friendly, and it takes a bit of getting used to.

• You can download QuickBooks here

Cloud mining is the process of buying CPU power from dedicated data centers who use their own equipment to mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) on your behalf.

The main advantage of this approach is that you don't need to have in-depth knowledge of mining hardware, nor buy expensive and hard-to-obtain devices. Renting 'hash power' (usually measured in Gigahertz per second or GH/s) also means you don't have to deal with the heat and noise that comes with a DIY mining project.

Many of these companies either source their own equipment or build it cheaply and have placed their data centers in countries like Iceland and China where electricity is cheap, passing the savings on to you.

In this guide, we will explore five of the most reputable cloud mining companies. As there are many scam outfits posing as miners, where possible we've chosen cloud miners who can prove that their data centers exist or are endorsed by a reputable firm. Take some time to do your own research before investing at your own risk, of course – ultimately this is your money.

If you are interested in cryptocurrencies but don't feel happy with the idea of mining, you can also simply purchase Bitcoin as an investment (see our guide on how to buy Bitcoins with Bitstamp). Without further ado, let’s move on to our selections for the best cloud mining providers.

• We also show you how to mine Bitcoins

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.

Bitcoin Pool is provided directly by Bitcoin.com and aims to provide the most competitive clouding mining service. Bitcoin advertise that they deliver the highest Pay Per Share (PPS) pool globally with a 98% block reward.

Set up is easy and you can start mining immediately, either on Bitcoin Cast (BCH) or Bitcoin Core (BTC), whichever seems the most profitable to you. Monitoring is also easy to do through mobile apps for Android and iOS, so you can keep track of your account usage and value as often as you want.

Pricing for both BCH and BTC mining is the same, so if you want to switch between these you can. There are three main plans offered, with the 1 month plan starting from $59.99 (£50) which offers 10 TH/s at a cost of $5.99 per TH/s, with an additional daily fee of a dollar. There's a sliding scale so that if you want to scale up you can, but there are no discounts applies for higher volume use.

The 6 month plan offers from 3 TH/s at $32.99 per TH/s, with a total cost over the six months of $98.97 (£85) plus a daily fee of 30c. Again, there's a sliding scale that allows you to book in as much as 2570 TH/s, but that would invoke an initial cost of $84,784.30 plus a daily fee of $257.

A third option is a 2-year plan, which offers from 2 TH/s at an initial cost of $199.98 (£170) plus a daily fee of 20c. Again, a sliding scale offers an increase of up to 2708 TH/s, but most people would likely find the costs involved prohibitive.

Another point of note is that while Bitcoin prices are currently subdued after its peak in 2017, Bitcoin.com will end any contract where fees exceed income over 60 consecutive days.

• You can sign up for Bitcoin Pool here

Hashnest was launched in 2014 by Bitmain, which is a world-renowned manufacturer of ASIC mining hardware. Bitmain also operates one of the largest mining pools in existence: Antpool. Combined with the photos of a handful of data centers on the Hashnest website, this is persuasive proof that the company is legitimate.

While Bitmain is based primarily in China, Hashnest has mining farms around the world, which benefit from low cost electricity.

The website currently offers a Payout Accelerated Cloud Mining Contract or PACMiC for short. The PACMiC is a type of electronic contract structured in such a way that Bitmain pays the maintenance costs of mining rigs (such as electricity), and all the mining revenue will be used to pay back the owner of the PACMiC. When the principal is not fully paid back, it will share profit with buyers.

This loosely translates as 6.0TH/s of hash power in exchange for 1 BTC. Hashnest claims this results in rolling profit pay-outs for each block found with an annualized ROI of over 14%.

Alternatively you can purchase hash power directly from Antminer devices such as the S9 which has a rate of around 12,5TH/s. You then pay a fixed maintenance fee depending on the efficiency of the device – for instance, the fee for the S9 is currently $0.19/TH/day.

Contracts for the Antminer devices are currently sold out but you can still buy a PACMiC contract if you have the funds.

• Sign up for Hashnest here

Hashflare is a subsidiary of Hashcoins, another manufacturer of Bitcoin mining equipment which has been around since 2013. Its website gives a detailed rundown of the firm’s data center including pictures.

Hashflare offers you the chance to purchase hashpower for a variety of SHA-256 and Scrypt coins such as Bitcoin and Litecoin as well as Ethereum and ZCash. You're also free to choose your own mining pool.

Hashflare is open about its maintenance fees: they are $0.0035 for every 10 GH/s of SHA-256 coins and $0.005 for every 1 MH/s of Scrypt coins a day. Ethereum, ZCash and Dash contracts are not subject to any maintenance fees. Your total pay-out will depend on the mining pool you've chosen and how much hash power you've allocated to it.

At the time of writing, only Ethereum mining contract was available, all others were out of stock.

As of January 2018, Hashflare has also temporarily suspended new Bitcoin withdrawals due to a large number of unconfirmed transactions. The company plans to resume withdrawals once this is resolved.

• Sign up for Hashflare here

The Hashing24 team claims to have been involved in Bitcoin mining since 2012, although the website itself has only been around since 2016. The company appears to have no data centers of its own, rather, it has partnered with big name providers such as BitFury to lease hashpower to customers. Note that Hashing24 is mentioned on Bitfury's website, which may reassure customers that the operation is real.

If you're new to cloud mining, you can also use Hashing24's demo mode to simulate a Bitcoin mining contract to see how much you might earn. This is a good way to help you understand some of the concepts behind cloud mining, but won't necessarily let you project future profits, as mining difficulty and BTC price will vary over time (naturally).

After registering you can currently sign up for Bitcoin mining contracts only, with the contract being open-ended (lifetime). If these are sold out you can also try out Hashing24's auction feature which allows you to bid on hashpower from existing customers.

Regardless of how you purchase your mining contract, Hashing24 charges a flat fee of $0.00033 per GH/s per day (although at the time of writing the fee was $0.00017 due to an offer). There's also a one-time fee for purchasing hashing power with a particular host.

• Sign up for Hashing24 here

Eobot has been around since 2013 and is registered in California. Its owners have decided to remain anonymous, so there are no photos or office addresses on the main website.

Eobot's site did not play nicely with our ad-blocker on registration, forcing us to use another browser. However, once sign up was complete, we saw that the website notifies users when someone logs into their account from a new IP address. Two-factor authentication is also enabled by default, meaning that in order to access your account, you need to provide a code sent by email as well as your password.

Eobot offers mining contracts either for 24 hours or ten years. The website is neatly laid out and also offers a fee estimator to allow you to calculate daily profits in exchange for the hashpower you purchase. Its main page is very clear that most investments will take around 52 months to break even.

Maintenance fees are currently set at $0.00021/GH/s/day. Unlike other cloud mining websites we've reviewed, Eobot also offers an easy to understand explanation of how maintenance fees work. Contracts are available for a wide range of cryptocurrencies.

Due to the owner's desire for anonymity and in order to stay within the law, direct deposit of funds by bank transfer isn't supported. You can, however, buy contracts with Bitcoin and via a USD credit card using Epay.

• Sign up for Eobot here

• We’ve also picked out the best graphics cards for mining Bitcoin, Ethereum and more
• These are the best VPN services we've identified

Managing log events can be a challenge for a number of reasons, not least the sheer volume of datapoints, the number of applications involved, and reverse engineering identified errors to their source for correction.

Cloud logging services aim to do this, by providing an interface through which your server logs are routed so that they can be identified, sorted, and highlighted as required.

By using the cloud it means that monitoring remains independent of your network, meaning it would be slowed by any errors or failures. Additionally, storing your data in the cloud means it's not simply a case of keeping everything in one place to manage, but also save any historical datapoints you may need to reference later.

By themselves these should be enough reasons for it, but additional ones include the ability to integrate not just with other cloud services, but also useful applications for not just sending and receiving alerts, but allowing for team collaboration in dealing with them.

Here then are the best in cloud logging services.

• We've also highlighted the best cloud web hosting services

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line. 

Splunk produces software for searching, monitoring and analyzing machine-generated big data. They were founded in 2007.

The software offers a wide range of log management tools such as log consolidation, retention, IT operations troubleshooting, application troubleshooting and compliance reporting.

Users can collect, store, index, search, correlate, visualize and report on any machine-generated data. Subscribers can then resolve operational and security issues.

Searches are turned into real-time alerts, reports or dashboards in an easy to use manner.

The software is truly cross-platform and operates on the cloud. It can also operate as a hybrid, integrating on-premise and cloud software.

All data collated is presented on the interface. Users can view data analysis easier, export and import faster for charting purposes.

Splunk is geared towards businesses of any size. It can be adjusted according to a variety of configurations evolving as your organization grows.

The ‘Cloud’ plan offers users a 15-day free trial to search, analyze and visualize 5GB of data. Subscribers need to contact the sales team directly to receive a quote.

The ‘Free’ package includes one users, scale up to 500MB per day, index any machine data, real-time search and analysis.

Online reviewers have noted that the free trial is minimal and the paid price plans being expensive compared to other products.

• You can sign up for Splunk here

InsightOps from Rapid7 (formerly Logentries) aim to make cloud logging management easy by centralizing data, allowing easy visualization of metrics for monitoring, and using natural-language questions to identify problems for troubleshooting.

InsightOps collects logs across all cloud services, as well as directly from servers, not least for applications, DNS requests, VPNs, databases, and firewalls. It then normalizes even unstructured data into a consistent format. You can then monitor how much CPU and memory each asset is using to ensure smooth performance. Auditing logs makes it easier to ensure compliance, and InsightOps can easily integrate into your DevOps stack for automation.

There are visualization options for drilling down through data, and the Endpoint Interrogator allows the user to ask specific questions about what resources each asset is using. There are also alerts available, and the dashboard refreshes automatically in real-time.

Overall, InsightOps is easy to deploy across any network, and because it monitors the entire system, it's easy to spot malicious activity on any part of the network, even at file level.

InsightOps is available with a free trial.

• You can sign up for InsightOps here

Solarwinds is a company that develops software for businesses to help manage their networks, systems and information technology infrastructure. They acquired the log management service ‘Papertrail’ in 2014.  

Papertrail allows users to log all apps, text log files and Syslog from one location. Searches and reports are done in real-time. Users can use a command line, browser or API.  

Alerts are sent instantly to users which can then be used to detect trends.  

Papertrail is easy to setup and implement. Users can gain visibility across all their systems quickly. Users can aggregate MySQL, cloud hosting, Apache, Tomcat, Heroku apps, routers and firewalls.

The lowest pricing tier starts at $7 for 1GB per month. This includes 1-week search and 1-year archive.

The mid-range tier starts at $75 for 8GB per month including 8 weeks search and 1-year archive.

The top tier weighs in at $230 for 25GB data per month and includes an additional 16GB for the first month, 2 weeks search and 1-year archive.

Papertrail forces users to save all searches.

• You can sign up for Papertrail here

Sumologic is a cloud-based log management and analytics service. It was founded in 2010.

The platform provides real time dashboards. Users can manage and monitor all data logs, metrics, assess graphs and generate reports from here. Dashboards can be customized with pie, bar, map and line charts.  

Sumologic’s machine learning uses algorithmic support to arrange the patterns in data and establish any inconsistencies. Users can quickly establish and eliminate any issues that are identified. There is no need to set predefined rules or policies.

The platform allows users to build, run and secure their AWS, Google Cloud Platform or any hybrid applications.

Users can monitor key security metrics and indicators of compromise in real-time. Problems can be resolved faster as a result of this.

‘Sumo Free’ is geared towards individual users and teams undergoing smaller projects. This includes log storage of 4GB and max 500MB of log ingest.

The ‘Professional’ plan is $99 per GB per month for an annual commitment. This includes free metrics, 30GB storage and min 3GB log ingest. It also offers a 30-day free trial.

The ‘Enterprise’ package offers a 30-day free trial. It is $165 per GB per month for an annual commitment.  

Users have noted that Sumo is slow compared to other logging programs.

• You can sign up for Sumologic here

Sematext builds cloud and on-premises systems for application performance monitoring, log management and analytics. They were founded in 2007.

The platform uses Elasticsearch API and integrated Kibana. It claims to be the first true Hosted ELK (Elastic Stack) Stack.

Log can be inspected via the user interface or Elasticsearch API. They are also kept in one centralized location. ELK maintains and scales everything.

Alerts can be sent via email, ChatOps or WebHooks. Logsense has built-in integrations for PagerDuty, Slack and HipChat amongst others.

Users can save all queries as a ‘Saved Search’ or an ‘Alert Query’.  Saved searches can be custom tagged with labels or colours.

Sematext Logsense offers users a 30-day free trial. Prices are metered and based on plan, daily volume and data retention. Your plan is chosen based on the features you need. The higher volume you choose the lower the cost per GB. All prices are based on a monthly rate. Users need to contact Logsense directly for more information.

Users have complained of some issues when trying to contact support.

• You can sign up for Sematext Logsense here

Just a few years ago it was impossible to imagine the number of software tools that are now available to business owners.

Whether your organization needs to do its accounts, collaborate on work or handle client relations, there are a number of cloud-based platforms fit for purpose. 

In this guide we’ve focused on some of the top free cloud apps, so no matter the size of your business you can get started today. As these tools are cloud-based, it’s easy to keep data in sync across your organization. There’s also no need to setup and maintain your own servers.

• We've also highlighted the best business cloud backup
• Check out our guide to the best free VPN

• Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to [email protected] with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.  

Bitrix24 is a collaboration platform which was founded in 2012. It provides a suite of social collaboration, communication and management tools.

The solution has a huge variety of functions. It is geared towards any size business. Bitrix 24 centralizes all collaboration and communications from its user dashboard. From here users can organize and track customer interactions, log all store lead data, generate sales reports and perform segmentation of target audiences.

Bitrix24 allows users to create personalized invoices for clients. This is done through automatically inserting all client data.

Users can create a name for their Britrix24 system upon registering. This will immediately display your ‘Activity Stream’. Users have the option of adding a message at the top of the stream for the rest of the network to view.

Files, events and processes can be uploaded to share with your colleagues. Adding new users to Bitrix24 CRM is straightforward and hassle free. Admins can assign departments and groups to each user.

Bitrix 24 free tier includes 12 users, 1 admin and 5GB of online storage.

There are paid versions which provide more features and online capacity, starting from $69 for the cloud version, or $1,490 for the on-premises version.

• You can sign up for Bitrix24 here

Paypal is one of the simplest and easiest to use online payment process. Whether you're looking to sell through a retail website, charge for services, or send money internationally, Paypal provides a really accessible service.

Sign up is easy enough, though expect to have to go through basic money-laundering checks at the beginning, which means Paypal adding a couple of small amounts to your business bank account and you let them know what these were, to prove you are connected to that account. The process takes a few days, but once done you're ready to take payments.

If you're looking to charge for services, such as for consulting or through freelancing, you can send one-off charges via email through Paypal, or set up a subscription system that allows you to take regular payments according to whichever parameters you use.

For retail, it you're using any of the common shopping cart software platforms, such as Woocommerce, Magento, or similar, then Paypal is usually available as a plugin option, though there may be a small charge from the developer to provide this. 

The basic service level of Paypal is free, with a service charge of around 2.7% which is both common and reasonable. Paid tiers are available at a monthly costs for higher volume merchants which can reduce payment processing fees, with additional offline processing options available.

Overall, Paypal is one of the most popular online payment processors because it's so simple and easy to use. It's also flexible and able to work with most currencies, making it an excellent choice for global selling.

• You can sign up to Paypal here

Slack (Searchable Log of all Conversation and Knowledge) is a handy cloud-based tool that keeps all messaging and files in one place. This application is available for all mobile devices and can also be accessed via the web.

Slack was originally brought to life to be used as an online tool for the game Glitch, which is now defunct. It was officially launched in 2013 as a way of helping people collaborate online.

The Slack channel system enables businesses to divide up work based upon teams, clients or in whatever way you need. Employees can join and leave the chats as they see fit. It also has a handy video feature where you can speak to members of your team face to face.

The Slack directory integrates with over 1000 apps which include Dropbox and Google Drive. You can drag and drop files, images and videos directly into Slack if needs be. The app also includes a handy screen sharing tool.

Slack has three tiers. The first tier is free and includes search for up to 10,000 messages, 10 apps and integrations and 1-to-1 video calls. This might be too limited depending on the size of your team.

Some commentators have claimed Slack’s UI is no user friendly and there’s a steep learning curve.

• You can sign up for Slack here

Wave provides a suite of financial services and online software for small businesses. It was founded in 2009.

The platforms accounting features are free of charge. It is geared not only towards small business but it also suitable for the freelance sector. 

Wave has a dedicated setup feature. From here users can decide what applications to access first: general bookkeeping, invoicing or payroll. Although users have to pay to access Wave’s payroll services.

Users can utilize the bank reconciliation feature. Businesses can also link their bank accounts, PayPal accounts and other relevant data sources for transaction records.

Wave has a dedicated invoicing tool where users can choose from a variety of templates. Invoices can be sent via email and credit cards can be processed through the platform.

Some reviewers have noted Wave might be too limited for larger organizations.

• You can sign up for Wave here

Google Drive is a cloud file storage service provider launched by Google in 2012. It encompasses all of Google’s own office suite such as Docs, Sheets and Slides. 

It is not just a cloud storage provider, Google Drive also allows users to create, edit and collaborate on documents online. It is a first choice for most Android users as it comes pre-installed on most Android smartphones and tablets. However, it can be easily integrated to use with iOS devices and has a web interface, which can be used across all platforms.

Google Drive very rarely has any issues with compatibility and you can upload and edit files in most formats such as RTF, PDF and DOC.  The service recently introduced a Microsoft Office plugin which now allows users to edit and store files from Microsoft apps they have installed without worrying about any incompatibility issues. 

Google Account users get 15GB of storage free which can be used by Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. This means you can not only save and back-up your files but you can also save emails and photos on the drive. Google are currently launching Google One which will allow users to pay a certain rate per month in order to increase their storage.

Some users have noted that the Google Drive interface isn’t always intuitive.

• You can sign up for Google Drive here

Other free cloud apps for business to consider

There is a wide variety of free software available for business use. Some is completely free, while others offer free-tiers with limited features. Here we'll cover some of the other free software apps you can run from the cloud to help with the running of your business:

Evernote is most famous for being a note-taking app, but really it can be so much more. Aside from the basic note-taking functions, it can be treated more like a personal organiser, storing documents, images, video and audio together. Additionally, there is also the option to include document scanning which can be incredibly useful to run from a cell phone or other mobile device, especially when it comes to digitizing documents. The basic Evernote package is free, but there are paid upgrades available to unlock more features.

Trello is a great piece of productivity software that allows teams to work together collaboratively on projects. The team might include staff or co-workers, but could also include freelancers and suppliers. It's a great way to see who is working on which projects and what needs prioritizing. It may not be a top-level project management suite, but it's a great starter that's simple and easy to use. While there are paid plans that open up the features and limits, the basic free tier provides full-functionality for many needs.

Zapier is a neat little app that works with many other apps to automate processes between them. For example, if you receive a business email with an attachment, Zapier could then automatically save it to Dropbox, then alert you about this on Slack. It can also be used to cross post social media to different platforms and automate CRM tasks. It's a neat little app that can be a real time saver, and while there are paid versions to work with premium apps, the free version is worth playing with to get an idea of how it can work for you.

Square's Point of Sale (POS) software is worth taking a look at if you run your own mom and pop shop and want an easy way to process sales. Although Square sell hardware such as tills and car readers, their POS software can turn your cell or mobile into a cash till for taking orders. Even better, it's free to use, with no monthly fees, and the transaction fees are some of the best on the market.

Google Analytics is probably one of the best tools you can use for growing your online business, because it shows where your customers are coming from, where they are going, and how many end up buying a product or service. You can set up goals to get a better idea of your sales funnel, and combined with Google's Adwords marketing program you can develop a clear sales and marketing strategy, that allows you to keep track of your Return on Investment (ROI) in real-time.