Top 5 Business Software Programs

With wave after wave of viruses sweeping into inboxes and infecting websites, this is must-have small business software. The best anti-virus software programs offer a range of filtering and protection options and make it easy to frequently update the program's files, so your computer is protected against the latest virus versions. My pick, McAfee AntiVirus Plus, includes a Firewall and Antispyware protection.

Office suite software saves you time and money through program integration; being able to quickly move data from a word-processing program into a spreadsheet, or to embed one application within another is a real time-saver. My small business software preference is for a complete office suite that also offers contact management and a full featured email program - such as Microsoft Office Professional 2010.  The new features in the 2010 Professional version make it even easier to do more faster making it a great pick for small businesses. Office 2010 Professional includes 2010 versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.

If your work day involves a lot of time pounding away on a computer keyboard, voice recognition software may improve your productivity and save you from repetitive strain injuries. Besides creating text by speaking aloud, some voice recognition software programs allow you to manage email and other programs by voice, such as my choice, Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional. The manufacturer claims that users can create documents and email messages more than three times faster than typing using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the software never makes a spelling mistake, and it actually gets smarter the more it's used.