3 Best Overlooked Software Buys for 2011

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- If 2011 is anything like this year, competition in the Web-based office software market will reach a fever pitch. Not only are software heavies such as Microsoft(MSFT) , Apple(AAPL) and Facebook crowding the market with small-business tools, dozens of smaller firms are plying their business efficiency products as well. Sites such as the Google(GOOG) Apps Marketplace now have more than 100 different applications a business can use to stay organized.

But therein lies the rub: With so many choices, many excellent business systems get overlooked. And many firms I deal with struggle to find which business software can work for them.

To give you the inside edge on the business apps that will be worth your time, here is my roundup of sleeper productivity software for the coming year.

May it be a happy, healthy and profitable one.

Apple iWork.com (Online service is free with $99 software)
Yes, Virginia, there really is a cool Apple product that does not get the media love it deserves. Case in point is the online version of Apple's iWork suite of office tools, branded as iWork.com. Keep in mind that the iWork tools Pages, Numbers and Keynote are nowhere near as robust as Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint when used on a PC. But the online versions of iWorks software is surprisingly handy. Also, iWorks.com supports PCs and Macs, making for darn seamless document collaboration. I found the comments features were excellent, and the iPad version of this software is probably the best office productivity tool for that device I know. For Mac users looking to get organized, iWork.com is about the finest holiday present you can give -- or get.