Discussion on:

Office 2013 licensing changes increase IT angst

Correction:

Assuming a constant internet connection is useless, even in the mobile world.

What it worries me most is the broadband connection at home. I have a 20GB monthly quota for a family of 5. How much traffic will the Office 365 Home Premium generates, and will it still work if the broadband connection fail? OK, my connection is quite stable now, but I did experience a very bad time for 2-3 months when the connection dropped 10 times in 20 mins, and could not maintain the connectivities for a few hours. I am totally against services that run only with the broadband connection.

You only need to connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days so Office "refreshes" it's subscription license. The amount of data that is sent across the Internet during the refresh is about one page of porn.

ms have been trying to intergrate the web into their os since windows 98. and now since so many people are on the net then they have had the idea of "pay per use" on their minds. i guess once you have made a good typewriter that will do the job for most people it's hard to make more money out of them because they are happy with what they have got.

if microsoft didn't make office so expensive in the first place then (most) people would not pirate it and they would buy a legitimate copy with no hassle, easy licensing terms etc. but then if everybody actually bought it at a reasonable price then everyone would be legit and ms would be happy (i would hope, depends on how greedy they want to be). it's a hard balancing act. also, i think people are sick and tired of having to upgrade their systems just to be compatible, not to mention the costs of that in time and money.

most people just want to buy something and get on with life. they would still like to buy something that they feel they can own and control and then not have the hassles of big companies standing over them watching what they are doing or when they are doing it.

giving up some freedom and flexibility and having controls and regulations can work. but it will be interesting to see what happens in the long run. funny how the free market controls us so much, lol.

well, in the end it is a market economy. let the buyer decide. if open or libre office actually advertised their product it would kill office within2 years i reckon.

I used to be vigorously against the cloud and software as a service, until my CEO decided to take the plunge. We have been using Office 365 for over a year now and have had 1 outage that affected the entire office for about an hour. That is better then the ISP service we receive.

During that outage everyone was still able to use all of the Microsoft products except for Outlook. Outlook would not connect to MS servers (again that is better than the ISP service). Let me repeat - during the outage people could still use all of their Office products except for Outlook. The fact that we could not connect to MS Exchange servers using the full desktop version of Outlook could happen for many other reasons, like an in-house server failing, ISP issues, etc. Microsoft had it all working again in about an hour. I didn't have to do anything but wait. If the ISP service fails people could still access their email from their smart phones.

Once you install the subscription version of Office you only need to connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days to verify your subscription (happens in the background). If you go longer than 30 days without verification you will still be able to use Office but with reduced capabilities.

Because we are using the Enterprise subscription version of Office we can install it on up to 5 devices per user. So everyone in the office gets a copy of it for home use on their desktop or laptop. If you try to install it on a 6th device you will be prompted to deactivate one of the other 5 devices before you can continue. Once deactivated on the other computer you will still be able to use it for 30 days. The end users are very happy with the ability to use the newest version of Office on their home PC's.

We get to upgrade to Office 2013 when we are ready. The subscription service isn't anymore expensive than purchasing Volume Licenses with Software Assurance so you get to upgrade when the new releases are available. Granted the sticker shock of a monthly bill is a little hard to swallow at first but we are able to pass that on to clients as a value added service technology charge. They get access to their own project workspace using SharePoint, have unlimited online meetings using Lync (they don't need a copy of Lync to have an online meeting).

Sometimes you have to look at the whole picture instead of whining about not having a stupid CD.

Passing off the burden of your extra expenditure by hitting up your clients for more money to cover it, eh? That makes you part of the problem. Value add? Hardly...

M$ just doesn't seem to get it. People are getting less and less interested in their crappy software, sub-par customer service and now misleading pricing schemes. Office 2010 is most likely the last Office suite I will ever buy. Many companies will follow this lead as well, as they are mostly fed up with their buggy software that just seems to get more and more complex, less friendly to use and more expensive every version. I don't see this licensing "per device" as viable for big companies that change hardware on a regular basis. Too much of a time suck trying to transfer the license to the new machine. It will be tough parting from a suite that I have used seemingly forever, but they are basically forcing my hand, so after Office 2010 goes EOL I shall say bye bye M$. Unless they change their ways. Which apparently they won't. Oh well. Their loss.

I used open office on the new PC. There have been no problems.

I see the incentives that Microsoft is pushing for Office 365; however, what is someone going to do when they're working with PowerPoint or other large files that are 200 MB+ in size across the internet and want to share them or quickly present them?

online-specific features aside, Office 365 Home Premium could be compared directly with Office 2013 Professional, but after 4 years of subscribing to 365, I'd have spent the one-off cost of the 2013 Pro install - what guarantee do I have that in that 4 years there'll be another version worth upgrading to (for reference, look at the time between XP and Vista, and the reputation of Vista)?

I can't see any benefits going to the average user with these deals.
With all the changes to MS Office products, most people still only use 10% of the functionality built in to these programs.
Office 2010 will be staying with me for a number of years if MS maintains this form of licensing for Microsoft Office.

we live in an always networked and always online world
Why don't you guys who live in the west all come to Africa for a few years. you have no idea how flaky internet access and electricity is here. so so assume everyone is online 24/7/365 is a BIG overstatment, considering that there could be a potential user base from here, if software were decently priced and it were possible to egt software......

"This change by Microsoft is just a reflection of the times we live in - we are living in a networked, always on, cloud-based, software as a service world."

And I live in a world where I can always open, edit, print, repurpose and recycle any document that I've ever created... and in which, as long as Office 2010 continues to load on a Win 7 machine that continues to boot, I'll have full and complete access to exploit every document that I've ever created.

On the other hand, you know (but failed to mention) what happens to the fruit of your labors in MS' new world, should you be forced to let your subscription lapse... say, due to a change in your financial situation. You are apparently allowed to open and print your old docs in a "read-only reduced functionality mode," but you can't edit them or turn them into something new. A lifetime of work product, neutered and frozen in time until you start paying up again.

This business model--killing functionality of your entire work product history the minute you stop paying to keep your subscription alive--is sick. That you would suggest that this "does not automatically make it wrong or a bad thing that we must rail against" means that--at a polite minimum--you haven't really thought this through...

Open Office!!! Yea! When you purchase a Subscription you are paying for features, upgrade rights, security or functionality updates, ease of installation and use and known compatibility with most of the business world. If you don't want to pay for the subscription then don't. But I'm tired of hearing how people keep saying that they will never use Microsoft products again or how Microsoft screwed up this time or that time. This has been going on for years.

lk_bellsouth.net notes that Libre Office and others do nearly the same job as MS Office but are cheaper. My experience is that Libre Office does the job slightly slower but better. Having refused to be ransomed by MS I still use Office 2003 which does all I would ever want. Recently I downloaded a .docx file which of course MS Office would not handle but Libre office handled it correctly. So from my viewpoint Libre office is superior to all MS offerings.

I am afraid I will not "upgrade" from office 2007. I simply cannot recommend to my board to pay for a new licence every time we upgrade/fix a machine. Microsoft has lost a customer here (only about 50 licences - so very small). We will stay with Office 2007 until we can find an alternative or MS relents and goes back to licencing by user.

AND no we are not going to use the cloud.

Since we happily pay our Norton 360 subscriptions, we'd probably find the subscription model fine..... if we had decent broadband. However my experience of the huge Microsoft downloads is that our local (Telecom NZ) service won't cope and the Microsoft server times out. So I have to drive 30 km to use a fast service. Then the upgrades (coming over my slow service) seem to introduce functional errrors. My latest copy of Office Home and Business still isn't working properly after about eight months. Microsoft Word, for reasons known only to itself,,suddenly starts opening new files. Other times new pages in the middle of a document. Last night it opened 119 new files before I realised. Then you have to get rid of them. Microsoft has sorted this for me a couple of times but two or three upgrades down the track it starts all over again. So for me, the issue is getting downloaded Office to work at all.

I manage a number of vessels that have very irregular wireless coverage. having to be online can cause serious issues for licensing and failure of computers on vessels is unfortunately depressingly regular. Having to have a microsoft live login for each one is going to be very difficult to manage as well.
The accountants might like this as it spreads the licensing costs over a monthly cost but from an IT perspective it looks like a nightmare to manage.

This is the opportunity of a century for Open Office and all of the developers out there that despise a monopoly!

I realize that everyone is buying into the "cloud" marketing of the major players; I have been asking a very simple question that nobody is capable of effectively answering "what if I am not connected to the Internet..." for whatever reason! I have done IT Projects all over the world, and in some of those places I have to "sneaker net" my stuff around because the network connectivity is down, slow, or unavailable.

I know the DoD is playing with the idea, and the policy makers are being way to influenced by the marketing arm of Microsoft (IMHO) and are not factoring in all the variables.

Please do not get me wrong, I have tried Office 365 and rejected it simply because it did not meet my needs, and there is the issue. I think Microsoft forcing everyone into a model they want is going to be a bitter pill for some, and time will tell, but as for me and my computing household I will pay the bitter fruit of higher software prices to ensure I have the software I need, and the privacy I demand.

I prefer Linux

When typesetting with libre office isn't enough, I use LaTeX.

This notion that we all must follow like zombies after a particular brand of hardware or software has simply got to go. As others have very rightly pointed out, there ARE lots of alternatives to Office, and I use several. Where it's economically feasible, I use MS Office for my work, as it has the power I need and someone else pays for it. Where it isn't, I use Google Docs, LibreOffice or Open Office. They have the power I need for my personal applications and they're free.

I think too many folks have tried to avoid the small effort of understanding their options by following brands too closely without thinking the decisions through. Buyer and user beware ... blind brand loyalty rarely leads to the best choice.

With so many excellent alternatives, why would anyone (or business) put themselves through this? I see no benefits at all. Please help me understand.

I've been with Microsoft since Windows 3 (and put up with the disastrous Windows ME and Vista) but Windows 7 and Office 2003 (yes - works fine - who needs 2007 and beyond) are my last purchases of Microsoft software. I hate Windows 8 GUI and am not paying through the nose for Office 2013 restricted licence, so GNU/Linux (such as Linux Mint or some other good distro) and LibreOffice will be my preferred PC OS/applications in future. Also, I will not buy a PC/laptop if UEFI is enabled by default and cannot be completely disabled (meaning I will not pay a Microsoft "tax" for my hardware).

Sorry Microsoft but these are three steps too far!

It would be quite interesting to see an update to the Office 365 offerings in this article, based on the new $15 Office 365 plan for small businesses. This could really be a great answer for such businesses, both in cost and functionality.

What am I supposed to do now? I have to buy Microsoft Office 2013 Professional because you can't get 2010 anymore unless you go to e-bay. My company hasn't tested the 2013 version and tell me I need to load Office 2010. The 2013 licenses don't work obviously for the 2010 version. We don't buy off of e-bay for software. Thank you Microsoft - you are truly amazing.
It is no wonder that open source is gaining ground. All they have to do is sit back and watch Microsoft shoot themselves in the foot.

Google Apps

It's good to see that number growing.

The main problem with OOO or LibreOffice is the incompatibility of some documents. If everybody switched, that would be a non-issue. Thanks MS for Office 2013 and 365, and Windows 8 for bringing us one step closer to dumping you for Open Source Software.

The part of this i don't understand is that if the Home Version is $99 and you get 5 computers. Why not use it in the office. I have 24 desks so that is only 5 copies @ 99 = $19 per desk. Sounds like a deal to me

....You know that little document with the fine print that nobody reads cause it's too long to read and too hard understand? The Home version of office is Licensed for Home use (not for commercial use). Buying one Home license and putting it on 5 Business computers for 5 different users is in direct violation of the EULA. You can do it and you might even get away with it but if you get caught or some disgruntled employee reports you to MS your business will be screwed.

We are a non profit and count on organizations like tech soup and other entities to help us find discounted licenses which makes our ability to serve our patrons more pallatable. Typically we purchase licenses in our organization and I'd imagine elsewhere at a volume cost discounted rate. Any word from MS about that for Office 2013?

Thank you

Mike

Well, Microsoft will just have to wait a very long time for me to upgrade. Between Windows 8 and this new scheme I see no reason to upgrade any time soon. If Windows wasn't so all pervasive with my clients I would definitely switch to some UNIX variant. Maybe by the time I retire everything will run on my iPad.

I completely agree with the previous comments. Assuming that connectivity is ubiquitous leads to bad behavior. Then when the internet or a Microsoft server is down (YES, it happens! everything falls apart. The other problem is the heavy-handed licensing terms. Having a license for 1 user is not bad (but too expensive), but linking it to a single piece of hardware is silly and archaic. People are more flexible and agile now. If I purchase a license to use Office, I expect to use it on any machines I want (even Macs!) as long as it is one at a time. See the Adobe CS licensing model for a much better example of something that works.

My first thought after reading this article was "Why would they do that?". And the first thing that came to my mind was, that MS could still not get rid of having licenzed most of the copies of their software that are out there.
For me it seems just like a new approach of getting rid of the problem of people using their software without a proper license. Maybe that simple...

... with a Microsoft Enterprise License Agreement which permits them unlimited access to the standalone version. In that scenario, and IT Professional will always go that route. However, if your employer does not have an MS-ELA, I don't think it will take long for this subscriber model to look much more attractive.

After all, the average household now owns two or more computers - bought on a staggered schedule - one bought every three to five years - which means that you will spend $140 to $400 every two to three years if you do not keep your multiple PCs in sync with their respective version of Office. If keeping them in sync is important, then you are talking about $280 to $800 ever two to three years.

If, instead, you subscribe to Office 365 Home Premium, for $99 per year ($300 over three years), you will have the latest version of office on up to five PCs/notebooks at all times. You will be able to transfer those subscriptions to new PCs, and you will have access to all over the components of Office Professional - not just the four core apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

Unless you are a one PC family, or you have access to your employers ELA, it makes no sense to do this any other way.

I can't understand where M.Wagner is coming from about Home Premium. Surely one of the biggest attractions of Office is Outlook so why would you use Home Premium? Or am I missing something? Outlook is the single most important reason that we run Office on our three home laptops but buying two new ones with Windows 7 and installing 2010 has been a nightmare which is still plaguing me after eight months.
In fact I'm writing this on my OLD laptop which I still use most of the time in preference to my new one because it has XP, 2007 and no problems. For those of us with slooooooooow connections, and that's a hefty chunk of the world, 2010 is a very expensive nightmare and the thought of the subscription model, with its inevitable constant updates, is crazy. Interestingly, we use Dropbox extensively on all of our PCs and that functions perfectly, so my guess is that Microsoft has so much clunk incorporated in 7 or 2010 that's the reason.

I think the most disturbing thing is Office 2013 being tied to a single computer instead of a single user. Seeing many laptops with hard disk failures, and disk identification is factored into many software products activation schemes. Wonder how MS identifies the "installed PC"?

This product wouldn't be so bad but the reporting is atrocious! Other vendors have portals that you can use to see all of your hosted licenses. That's what MS needs to figure out how to do! Then it might actually be an attractive product for VAR's to sell.