Office XP cheaper by 15%

BANGALORE: Software applications major, Microsoft has reduced the retail price on its Office XP by almost 15 percent. This includes for both the Standard and Professional edition of the latest office suite from the software major. The revised pricing is applicable with immediate effect, according to an official statement. The company reduced the prices on the products in China and Taiwan, last month.

"Microsoft is reducing the full package product (FPP) cost of Microsoft Office XP Standard and the FPP cost of Microsoft Office XP Professional by approximately 15 percent. Microsoft Office XP retail price reductions will take effect from today throughout the region. The price reductions come on top of recent enhancements to Software Assurance offerings for businesses that purchase Microsoft Office through volume licensing. Customer information about the new pricing offer, and implementation details is available from local Microsoft offices," added the release.

Microsoft announced key enhancements to its Software Assurance offering in June this year. Business customers that purchase Software Assurance will be provided from next fall with a package of resources, which can include training, support, deployment and management tools. The Software Assurance features, which vary by licensing program, will include specific benefits for Office customers - in particular, employee home-use rights for the upcoming Microsoft Office System products.

Home-use rights will enable employees to install Microsoft Office System products on their home computers for both business and personal needs. This is said to enhance flexibility for those who choose to work at home, improve employee productivity, and ensure compatibility of documents created at work and at home. Microsoft Office System products will include Microsoft Office Suite, as well as FrontPage, InfoPath, OneNote, Project, Publisher and Visio.