When doing business nothing is better than free.  So, what’s good out there that’s free?  There’s plenty out there for business owner on a budget.

For Your Security: Windows Defender

For Windows 8, Microsoft combined its anti-spyware and real time anti-virus scanner into the Windows Defender. It’s not the best security suite around, but it’ll cost you nothing.  If you’re on a budget, just keep your Windows Defender up-to-date and you should be mostly secure.

Human Resource Management: Orange HRM

Orange HRM is an open source database software.  It helps keep track of job applicants, organize employee information, and assign permissions at a touch of a button.  It sounds complicated, but this software has a low learning curve.  There are paid SaaS (software as a service), but they are not necessary for most small businesses.

E-mail Marketing: MailChimp

MailChimp has several tiers of service. However, the free one is pretty generous.  It lets you send up to 12,000 e-mails to up to 2,000 e-mail addresses. With it, you can create quasi-customized templates to create a fairly unique look for your business.  The free version also has analytic data on your e-mail marketing campaign.

And of course, if you need IT support you can find that here.