Buying Microsoft Office XP via Open License Delivers Small Business Savings

...If you can get past the convoluted purchase and ordering requirements
(Hint: we'll show you how)

Savvy Microsoft Office XP shopping tips for the frugal small business

*** WARNING ***

This article contains money savings tips.

This content is not suitable for those who enjoy paying retail prices.

By Joshua Feinberg

In last issue's Money-Saving Techniques, we talked about the huge out-of-pocket and time cost savings when you get Microsoft Office XP bundled with the purchase of a new small business PC from Compaq, Dell, or Gateway.

If you missed that article, this is "must see" for all small business managers who care about saving money.

Now, we'll explore the other way that you can save big money when buying or upgrading to Microsoft Office XP for your small business: Open License.

Before we get started, please repeat after me: "NEVER PAY RETAIL AGAIN!" (I can't hear you!)

Note: As I mentioned last time, the small business purchase price examples for Microsoft Office XP are based on U.S. Retail Pricing. For published retail and Open License prices outside the U.S., check with your local Microsoft subsidiary. You can find a listing of these subsidiaries at Microsoft Worldwide Sites.

 

Save Your Small Business $200-$500 U.S. on Your First Order for 5 PCs (Microsoft Office XP)

Now if you insist on paying retail prices for Microsoft Office XP, tomorrow (July 31st) is the last day to take advantage of a $50 U.S. mail-in rebate on the purchase of Microsoft Office XP Professional. However, I wouldn't recommend jumping at that so-called special offer.

As we saw last time, getting Microsoft Office XP bundled with a new small business PC is a fabulous deal. And as we're about to see, even Microsoft Open License makes a lot more sense for most small businesses than buying Microsoft Office XP as a retail product.

The only real catch with Microsoft Open License - your first order needs to be for a minimum of five licenses. Thereafter, you can order one license at a time if needed. For our example, we'll look at a small business that has five PCs, which all exceed the minimum hardware requirements for running Microsoft Office XP (Official hardware requirements for running Microsoft Office XP).

In the first scenario, we'll look at the small business cost of upgrading to Microsoft Office XP from Office 2000 (or Office 97) via Open License. Then in scenario number two, we'll price out buying Microsoft Office XP from "scratch", without the benefit of the version upgrade discount.

Tip: While there are many avenues you could explore for easily purchasing Microsoft Open License products for your small business, for these examples I "shopped" at the newly launched co-branded online store from Amazon and License Online. From the Amazon.com home page (), click on Software and then click on Licensing Center. Also note, you can get small business referrals to local resellers that sell Microsoft Open License products through License Online.

 

Scenario 1 - Microsoft Office XP Version Upgrade

Since we already have five retail-purchased licenses of Microsoft Office 2000 (or Office 97), we qualify for the version upgrade discount for Microsoft Office XP.

Microsoft Office XP Version Upgrades - Retail

If we were to go down to the local computer or office supply superstore and buy the five retail version upgrades to Microsoft Office XP, we'd spend roughly either

• $239 U.S. each ($1,195 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Standard or

• $329 U.S. each ($1,645 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Professional

Note: Microsoft Office XP Professional includes Access 2002.

 

Microsoft Office XP Version Upgrades - Microsoft Open License

Purchase the same Microsoft Office XP version upgrades through Open License and your prices drop considerably.

• $181.79 U.S. each ($908.95 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Standard or

• $272.19 U.S. each ($1,360.95 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Professional

Note that these small business prices are strictly for the software license and do not include the CD-ROM media or documentation. If this is your first small business purchase of Microsoft Office XP, you'll need at least one set of media and documentation. This will add $68.42 plus $7 freight.

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Microsoft Office XP Standard (Version Upgrade), retail vs. Open License

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Microsoft Office XP Professional (Version Upgrade), retail vs. Open License

 

Scenario 2 - Microsoft Office XP New Purchase

Now what if we don't own an existing version of Microsoft Office that qualifies for the version upgrade discount? What are we looking at if we're buying Microsoft Office XP from "scratch" for our small business?

Microsoft Office XP New Purchase - Retail

At the local computer or office supply superstore, for five retail purchases of Microsoft Office XP, we'd spend roughly either

• $479 U.S. each ($2,395 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Standard or

• $579 U.S. each ($2,895 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Professional

Note: Again, Microsoft Office XP Professional includes Access 2002.

 

Microsoft Office XP New Purchase - Open License

Now let's get a quote for the same new small business purchase of Microsoft Office XP through Open License.

• $378.65 U.S. each ($1,893.25 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Standard or

• $455.99 U.S. each ($2,279.95 U.S. for the five PCs) for Office XP Professional

Once again, Open License prices are strictly for the software license and do not include the CD-ROM media or documentation. If this is your first small business purchase of Microsoft Office XP, you can purchase a set of media and documentation for $68.42 U.S. plus $7 U.S. freight.

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Microsoft Office XP Standard (New), retail vs. Open License

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Microsoft Office XP Professional (New), retail vs. Open License

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Impact on Small Business Computer Support Costs (Microsoft Office XP)

We've seen how even a small business with as few as 5 PCs can save anywhere from $200 U.S. to over $500 U.S. just by purchasing Microsoft Office XP through Open License.

But what does swearing to "NEVER PAY RETAIL AGAIN!" do for your small business computer support costs?

 

Easier to guard against unauthorized software installation.

Since the one master CD-ROM for Microsoft Office XP can stay locked up in your small business company safe, for example, you don't have to worry about small business employees getting adventuresome and installing or reconfiguring software without your permission.

This practice not only helps you control software piracy, it also prevents you from having small business employees configure themselves into a corner. As you may have already experienced, small business employee "tinkering" or "experimenting" can not only lead to potential downtime and loss of productivity, but also to an expensive tech support or service call from your local small business computer consultant.

Simpler asset management

Back before I became a small business computer consultant in the mid '90's, I worked as a PC Support Specialist for a very well known brokerage firm.

At the time, the department I supported was standardized on Microsoft Word 6 and Excel 5. In the days before site licenses, we literally had a stock room filled with about 500 boxes of software manuals and diskette sets. This was all to "prove" the department was properly licensed.

For small businesses, it's still the same dilemma. Would you rather be responsible for 25 Microsoft Office XP boxes or a set of media and an official license agreement?

 

Environmentally sound

When Microsoft Office XP becomes obsolete (no, it's not an "if"), you'd probably rather not be sending 25 Microsoft Office XP boxes to the dumpster.

This isn't exactly a small business computer support issue, but it's usually the tech crew that ends up having to deal with disposing of abandoned computer products.

I know I wouldn't want to be paying my small business computer consultant $100 U.S. per hour to "take out the garbage".

 

Manuals...What manuals?

Let's be honest. Who really reads the books that come with software? If you're going to read anything about Microsoft Office XP or one of its suite components, it will likely be a third party book that you picked up at Amazon.com or your local bookstore.

Don't delude yourself into believing that the included manual will ever even have its binding cracked.

Because of this, your internal small business systems administration ("internal guru") and small business computer consultant will likely still get routine "how to" questions.

But you can cut down on some of these recurring small business expenses by having your staff subscribe to "Tips". (Yes that was a shameless plug for Smallbiztechtalk.com!)

 

Installation and Configuration

In contrast to what we talked about last time, where the new small business PC comes bundled and preloaded with Microsoft Office XP, buying through Open License means that you'll be installing and configuring Microsoft Office XP on your own.

It's not terribly risky, complex or time-consuming. But be sure to factor in a few hours of time to upgrade your small business PCs.

Industry-Specific Software Evaluation Tip #74 -- Subject any proposed purchases of industry-specific software to a rigorous technical and business evaluation.

The Bottom Line

I know that many small business managers are accustomed to buying all their computer software and hardware products the same way they buy office equipment, such as file cabinets, shredders, and fax machines.

However, there are much more cost-effective ways to purchase or upgrade to Microsoft Office XP for your small business.

In the last installment of Money-Saving Techniques, we saw how getting Microsoft Office XP bundled with the purchase of a new entry-level small business PC from Compaq, Dell, or Gateway is a fabulous deal.

In this issue, we looked at how Open License can save your small business big bucks when it comes time to purchase or upgrade to Microsoft Office XP.

One more time,

"NEVER PAY RETAIL AGAIN!"

 

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