How to choose the right computer equipment for your business to increase your productivity and efficiency without it costing the earth.
Business software helps you complete a range of tasks. Choose the right software, provide support and train your staff with our introduction.
It is highly likely that you depend on the internet for some aspects of your business. Find out how you can use the internet more effectively.
Good communication with customers, partners and suppliers is vital for business success. This summary explores business communication methods.
How would you cope if your IT system failed or was breached? We cover the main IT security issues and how to protect against them.
Good IT management can help you choose, use and implement IT. Our overview helps you manage IT in a way that maximises the return on your investment.
IT support is vital if you rely on your IT system. But how can you set up an effective safety net in case things go wrong? We explore the options.
Getting the right IT is just the first step. Appropriate training, policies and working practices can help you maximise return on your IT investment.
Creative software can be used to design and create visual and audio assets for your business.
Creative software is now more widely available and simpler to use than ever. You can use it for all kinds of things, from creating leaflets and editing photos to recording a podcast or creating a promotional video.
Once the sole domain of powerful desktop computers, creative software is now readily available on tablets and smartphones, enabling creatives to get to work whenever inspiration strikes, regardless of their location.
Creativity is a huge part of business, and for the purposes of this article, we're going to consider creative software that covers the following areas:
If you're looking for software to help you build a website, please read our information about web design software and online website builder packages.
You might think that your business has few requirements to edit photos, create videos or record podcasts, or perhaps you already work with an agency that takes care of that kind of thing for you.
However, in the fast-moving digital economy, it can still be useful to have some basic creative software in-house.
For instance, digital recording equipment, cameras and smartphones that offer multiple ways to create content are remarkably affordable these days. Together with the emergence of social media, this can create plenty of opportunities for businesses willing to experiment with creative software.
For example, you might use photo editing software to tweak an image on your smartphone before posting it to your Twitter feed. Or you might create and share a short video of your new office online.
Creative software can also be useful in other situations. For instance, you could use an image editing app to quickly put together a rough-and-ready web page wireframe for your web designer to work from.
It's important to match your creative software to your own abilities.
For instance, creating great designs and graphics involves more than having the right software; you need the skills of a good designer, too.
For this reason, unless your business has an in-house designer or a member of staff with good design skills, purchasing expensive graphics software can be wasteful.
The same goes for video software, audio software and other types of creative software.
Instead, consider using basic software for simple tasks and employ a freelancer or agency for the more complex projects.
When you choose simple creative software, prioritise ease of use over its ultimate capabilities. Often, the more versatile software is, the harder it is to use!
It's important the creative software you choose matches the skill level of the user. Professional packages like Adobe Photoshop are incredibly versatile, but also take a long time to learn.
Creative software comes free with some computers and tablets. This may be all you need to perform simple tasks.
For instance, Microsoft Windows and macOS includes functions that allow you to rotate, crop and alter the brightness and contrast of photos.
Alternatively, you may be able to acquire creative software as part of an office suite. These often include desktop publishing software, basic photo editing and illustration tools.
There are lots of free creative software packages available on the market. For instance:
However, for basic work you may be best off using a cloud service that can be accessed via a web browser. There are lots of cloud services for working with images and photos, such as the aforementioned Canva, but you can also try Pixlr or FotoFlexer. We also love the simplicity of Clipping Magic for removing the background from images.
Professional creative software can be expensive. For instance, full-blown photo editing software can cost over £500.
If you think your business needs a fully-featured package then it may be possible to reduce costs by accessing software on a subscription basis.
The Adobe Creative Cloud is one such option. Alternatively, if you require professional results, but on an ad-hoc basis, it's probably cheaper to employ a professional designer or agency.
If you need something more advanced than a basic package, but don’t require the full capabilities of professional design software, look for a cut-down version of a professional package.
These are significantly cheaper - around £100 - but should still satisfy most requirements. Adobe Photoshop Elements is an excellent option.
Finally, if you have a tablet such as an iPad, you might find it the perfect platform for creative software. Apps like Pixelmator (editing images), iMovie (creating videos) and Hokusai (working with audio) are good places to start.
