How to edit personal and work documents on Linux with ONLYOFFICE: user testimonial

In this article, Kimmo Granqvist from Finland talks about his experience of promoting open-source software and using ONLYOFFICE.

Introduction

Kimmo Granqvist is a linguist. He works as a Senior University Lecturer at the University of Helsinki, but he also collaborates with authorities and Non-Governmental Organizations, writes books, does translations and some programming at home.

Kimmo lives in the countryside, and a good home office is a necessity for him. Together with his family members, they use several computers in different rooms, and even in the garden. He travels a lot because of his work and needs to access his files from everywhere in the globe, hence he needs a trustworthy online solution for his personal and professional document creation and management.

Kimmo has decades of IT experience, starting from the early home computers in the 1980s. He has used virtually every version of Windows and OS/2, as well as Solaris and VAX/VMS. He has used Linux since 1995, and he is currently an active proponent of open software through his students and other professional networks.

Reasons for choosing ONLYOFFICE

While Kimmo Granqvist prefers Linux over Windows due its stability and security, and because it is an open-source operating system, the weak Microsoft Office compatibility of office suites on Linux has stood an obstacle to his endeavors, as most of his peers and organizations use Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

As Kimmo told us, after lots of attempts and errors, he found ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors as a good solution on Linux.

The free ONLYOFFICE desktop app offers a very good compatibility with the MS Office formats. The suite provides all the features necessary for my editing tasks. The user interface feels familiar, it is polished and user-friendly, but sometimes I would miss more customizations and a more sleek performance.

When collaboration and security matters

Today, it is rare a text would be written by a single author alone – lots of documents are collaborative. In his case, that applies, for instance, to many personal and family documents shared among Kimmo’s household. Most of the personal documents currently pertain to the renovation of his home. This also applies to research reports and funding application files, NGO documents, and policy papers.

Some of the documents and data Kimmo uses and edits with his family members and occasionally team members, too, contain sensitive information. Due to its security features, he much appreciates the self-hosted ONLYOFFICE Docs Home Server. It is an easy to use and setup solution, and currently sufficient for him. The mobile web editors and mobile apps are perfect for Kimmo on the road.

Final word

Kimmo Granqvist:

ONLYOFFICE has proven for me as a reliable office suite on Linux, more stable that its open-source competitors. As the needs and the team will grow, I will be likely to consider the enterprise products.

Would like to share your own experience with ONLYOFFICE? Contact us at marketing@onlyoffice.com with your story to be featured in the blog.