Best Free or Open-Source IT Tool
Editors' Best
GOLD Spiceworks • Spiceworks •
www.spiceworks.comSILVERLogMeIn Free • LogMeIn •
www.logmein.comBRONZEDell KACE Secure Browser • Dell •
www.dell.comWhy It Won: Spiceworks is a unique free tool that helps users complete an array of tasks, including network monitoring, UPS power management, Help desk solutions, and much more.
Justin Davison, senior systems engineer of IT operations at RJ Lee Group, uses Spiceworks for software compliance and change management. "We take advantage of the Spiceworks community as a great source of information, not just for solving problems that we're having but also to poke our heads up and see what other IT pros are doing and how they're handling different issues and situations." Davison said that his company often saves money by taking the community's ideas back to the organization. Davison also said Spiceworks provides a suite of tools that encapsulate day-to-day tasks. "In the past, I would look for free single-purpose tools and I would spend a lot of time trying to integrate them and keep them updated. Spiceworks really gives me a multi-tool instead of a screwdriver. It's become an absolutely critical piece of my IT infrastructure. I don't know how I would go back to not using it. If you asked me what to compare Spiceworks to, I would be comparing it to some pretty expensive software suites."
Community Choice
GOLDSpiceworks • Spiceworks •
www.spiceworks.comSILVERGoogle Apps • Google •
www.google.comBRONZE (tie)
Notepad++ • Notepad++ •
www.notepad-plus-plus.org Skype • Skype •
www.skype.comOther hot tools in this year's survey . . .
Malwarebytes Centrify Express
AVG Technologies' AVG Free