If you don’t want to have to email documents back and forth for editing-which can play havoc with version control -you’ll need an alternative that includes cloud support for easily sharing files and ideally the ability to co-author (i.e. Collaboration capability: The irony that we still rely on “office” suites when many of us no longer work in physical offices means the ability to collaborate remotely with others is now a required feature.Make sure you’re comfortable with the way a suite lays out its tools and that you don’t have to dig too deeply for those you’ll use a lot.

Polarized opinions about Office’s ribbon toolbar underscore this.

Interface: The way you access an office suite’s features matters as much as the features themselves.

Look for a suite that can cleanly read and write Microsoft Office formats, from the current DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX file types to legacy formats. That means you’ll still have to work with official Office files.

Office compatibility: Most of the working world will continue to use Microsoft Office long after you’ve jumped ship.

For many of us, they are the only three we need in a suite. That’s because nearly everyone uses these three apps regardless of the nature of their work.

The big three: Though Microsoft Office has expanded over the years to include programs like Outlook, Access, and Publisher, its bread and butter is still its original trio of programs: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

At minimum, keep these considerations in mind: Depending on your situation, that could be robust spreadsheet calculations and dynamic presentation design or the ability to access files from anywhere and share them with remote team members. When evaluating Office alternatives, don’t look to replicate every feature, just the ones you need and use most.

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