ITinfo: Get Ready, Here Comes Office XP

Trainers & Support Staff Gear Up

Office XP installations today

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Get Ready, Here Comes Office XP

by Dave Murphy
ISSN 1535-3613

IT trainers and support staff: gear up; Microsoft Office XP hits the streets today.

With a significant portion of the user base still using Office 95/97 and not having even upgraded to Office 2000, there is now another option for Microsoft Office suite installations. Microsoft's co-founder, Bill Gates, will be the keynote speaker at an event in New York City today to kickoff the worldwide release of Microsoft latest productivity suite.

Microsoft's major improvements to Office XP include new collaboration tools, voice and handwriting recognition functions, improved reliability, an improved user interface, and a variety of functions that let Office applications link to the Internet.

Microsoft says it will sell the standard version of Office XP to new users for $479; it will sell upgrades to owners of earlier versions of Office for $239. The company plans to sell the full version of Office XP Professional for $579; it will offer upgrades to Office 97 or Office 2000 owners for $329.

By October 1, Microsoft plans to discontinue selling version upgrades. Instead, it will require non-perpetual licensing agreements, limited-use contracts. Microsoft anticipates that downloadable upgrades along with lower entrance pricing will keep users running the latest version of Office and warm within Microsoft's fold.

Dave's Opinion

I don't expect that many corporate or home users will pick up Office XP just for the new features. I think the installation base will be new PCs that ship with Office XP preinstalled.

I'm concerned about non-perpetual licensing. It may be less expensive the first year for new installations and system purchases, but it can become significantly more expensive in the long run. It's like maintaining a credit card balance and being forced to pay interest. Until the principal is paid, the debt continues, and it never goes away.

I want to pay for software up front, expense the cost on the ledger, and save money in the long run.

Call for Comments

What do you think? Leave your comments on the message center.

References

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updated May 31, 2001
http://dgl.com/itinfo/2001/it010531.html