An application suite is a set of programs designed to be
used together and marketed as a single package. For exam-
ple, a typical office suite might include word processing,
spreadsheet, database, personal information manager, and
e-mail programs.
While an operating system such as Microsoft Windows
provides basic capabilities to move text and graphics from
one application to another (such as by cutting and pasting),
an application suite such as Microsoft Office makes it easier
to, for example, launch a Web browser from a link within a
word processing document or embed a spreadsheet in the
document. In addition to this “interoperability,” an applica-
tion suite generally offers a consistent set of commands and
features across the different applications, speeding up the
learning process. The use of the applications in one package
from one vendor simplifies technical support and upgrad-
ing. (The development of comparable applications suites
for Linux is likely to increase that operating system’s accep-
tance on the desktop.)
Applications suites have some potential disadvan-
tages as compared to buying a separate program for each
application. The user is not necessarily getting the best
program in each application area, and he or she is also
forced to pay for functionality that may not be needed or
desired. Due to their size and complexity,
Software suites
may not run well on older computers. Despite these prob-
lems, software suites sell very well and are ubiquitous in
today’s office.
(For a growing challenge to the traditional standalone
software suite)
See also:
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