5 Alternatives to Powerpoint for Creating Business Animations

Microsoft’s PowerPoint has been the industry standard and the go to tool for creating presentations for many years. It is highly dependable and most people are able to create presentations with it with their eyes shut. But lately with changing times, it has begun to lose its edge. Many will still argue in its favour and many point out its shortcomings.

The fact is that PowerPoint presentations could soon be history with new tools coming in for providing solutions to create business animations and presentations. Many people are of the opinion that PowerPoint presentations lack the impact now which they used to have a few years back. This always tends to happen when competition out-shines a technology and the tool starts to look old and obsolete. The same seems to be happening with PowerPoint at the moment.

PowerPoint is sure popular, but there are internet communities like the Anti PowerPoint party which are PowerPoint haters and who even blame PowerPoint for causing economic damage. This community is almost like a movement which provides free membership to PowerPoint haters and its member even go to the extent of making hand written presentations with a pen and a board rather than using PowerPoint.

Being conventional is boring, so why not look beyond PowerPoint for other options which might prove to be better for creating business animations. Here are a few options which you might want to consider.

• GoAnimate

GoAnimate is a popular alternative to PowerPoint for creating animations. Although it is not typical business presentation software, it has a wide range of applications other than creating mere business presentations. GoAnimate is a cloud based platform which allows users to create narrative videos where characters speak in lip-sync and also move around. Creating such kind of animations with PowerPoint is unthinkable. Creating voice-over narrated presentations is also very easy with GoAnimate, where a voice narrates in the background with moving elements and animations. Drag and drop functionality makes choosing character options and backgrounds much easier. It has a huge content library for choosing themes, characters etc. Once your video is ready, you can download it, share it or publish it on YouTube.

• PowToon

PowToon was introduced in 2012. It is also cloud based software which allows users to use objects, images, music and user-created voice-over for creating animations and business presentations. PowToon uses an Adobe Flex engine for creating an XML file which can be shared and uploaded on YouTube and can also be downloaded in MP4 format. PowToon has a huge client base and its users include giants like Pfizer, Cisco and eBay. The company self advertises on its website that PowToon is an alternative to PowerPoint. It is easy to use and also free for download and use.

• Google Docs

Well, this is a software tool which makes it to this list of possible alternatives to PowerPoint only because of the fact that it is free. Anybody having a Google account can download and use it. It is not a very powerful tool if you consider it as an alternative to PowerPoint, but has its unique features which allow you to create a business presentation and then convert them to a PowerPoint format. It is also cloud based and allows customization of presentations with text, videos and slides.

• Sliderocket

Now we are talking about real alternatives to PowerPoint. This software is way ahead in comparison to PowerPoint with the punch and power it packs. This feature rich platform allows you to either import a PowerPoint presentation and modify it or you could also start from scratch. It has all options like charts, slides, special effects, etc. you name it. Live data from real-time feeds can also be accommodated. It also allows version and privacy control, which means that you can control as to who can see your presentation and who cannot. The best part about Sliderocket created animations is that they are compatible with HTML5.

• Zoho Show

Zoho show is also cloud based software which can be used for creating business presentations. It supports multiple file types like .ppt, .ppsx, .sxi and .odp. Its USP is its customized diagrams and flowcharts. It has a simple and clean interface which is user-friendly. It also allows you to use images from either the web or through Picasa or Flickr. It also has an image editor for touching-up images. A wide variety of animations and slider effects are available in Zoho Show to choose from.

Considering the wide array of features and functions which these business presentation softwares possess, it would be entirely foolish to depend on an age-old tool like PowerPoint for your presentation. But PowerPoint still enjoys a major part of the market share when it comes to business presentation softwares. It should also be kept in mind that since PowerPoint has been around for as long as I can remember, it has been well documented. It is very easy to find an online tutorial related to PowerPoint, whereas you might struggle to find a tutorial for the tools mentioned above. Choose PowerPoint if you must, but otherwise there is no end to options if you can ignore PowerPoint.

Author Bio:

If you want a career in 3D Animation then Kaylyn Gabriel is the person to consult with. She is a Canada based animator who conducts workshops related to 3D animation for abroad students in various universities all across Canada. Reach her on either Facebook or Twitter.