Licensing Microsoft Office Suites and Desktop Applications

Monday, 16 February 2009

Purchasing and managing licenses for Office desktop productivity applications and suites is challenging for many customers because of the variety of products that bear the Office brand name, their distribution in eight different suites through different channels, and the complex assortment of rules governing the products' licensing and use.

This report is designed to help customers determine the type and quantity of Office licenses their organization needs as well as the most appropriate distribution channel for acquiring licenses. It covers the components of the different Office suite editions; explains "premium" features that are present in certain Office packages (but not others); and the trade-offs of licensing Office through OEM, retail, and volume licensing distribution channels such as Enterprise Agreements, including differences in available packages and pricing, deployment technologies, and product usage rules. Finally, the report outlines the potential advantages of purchasing a Software Assurance subscription for Office licenses.

This report is part of a larger series of Directions on Microsoft Licensing Outlines and should be used in connection with the Directions on Microsoft Enterprise Software Roadmap.

Sections in this Report:

Executive Summary: Office 2007 packaging, licensing options, product usage rules, and trade-offs of purchasing through OEM, retail, and volume licensing channels
Introduction: The four main tasks organizations must perform to determine the type and quantity of Office desktop application suite licenses they'll need
Application Editions: Overview of 'premium' features included in Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Outlook 2007, and Word 2007 only when these applications are purchased stand-alone, or as part of a handful of Office suite bundles
Selecting a Distributin Channel: The trade-offs of licensing Office through OEM, retail, and volume licensing distribution channels, including differences in available packages and pricing, deployment technologies, and product usage rules
Software Assurance: Outlines the potential advantages of adding Software Assurance to Office licenses purchased through OEM and volume licensing channels