<p>Even as Redmond ramps up for the debut of Microsoft Office 2013, free alternatives, some of them open source, continue to challenge MS Office's domination of productivity apps. And one of its rivals, Google Apps, has very powerful backing.</p><p>All of this points to a big decision that IT managers at midsize firms will be facing in the next few months: stick with Microsoft and Office or shift over to one of the free alternatives? The stakes are obviously huge for Microsoft. Office, arguably even more than Windows itself, is the basis for Microsoft's dominance in basic enterprise computing.</p><p>But the stakes are also big for midsize firms that have relied on Microsoft. (And the minority that haven't, and may consider shifting the other way.) The world of basic productivity tools may remain much as we have known it: Microsoft-centric, or it may be reshaped into a post-Microsoft era.</p><p>The View Through Windows</p><p><a href="http://midsizeinsider.com/en-us/article/microsoft-office-2013-faces-free-rivals">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/437366/windows_8_could_microsoft_biggest_gamble_analysts/?fp=4&fpid=1398720840">Windows 8 could be Microsoft&#039;s biggest gamble: Analysts</a> (Computerworld Australia)</p><p><a href="http://www.channelbiz.co.uk/2012/09/24/microsoft-takes-a-big-gamble-with-windows-8/">Microsoft takes a big gamble with Windows 8</a> (ChannelBiz)</p><p><a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120924/BUSINESS11/309240023/Microsoft-deploys-college-kid-cool-Windows-8-apps-race?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs">Microsoft deploys college-kid cool in Windows 8 apps race</a> (The News Journal)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&ned=us&ncl=dQhHF336WsKdJfMtc54ZTyQtGVF3M">64 additional articles.</a></p>