MS Office 2010

[N1]

Hi Guys,

as there are a few computer savvy people here, I though I might ask the IIS forum on this.

Planning to upgrade PCs in our small business from XP desktops to something that will work for at least the next 5 years. New hardware & OS is a must. Been quoted 299 NZD per PC for MS Office 2013. I consider this too expensive. Way too expensive to be exact.

What are the merits of using Office 2010 instead? Do we need to expect support for this to be end within the next few years? Any reliable sources for keys in OZ/NZ? Also are they country or language-specific or could we get them from America or Europe & use them here?

Thanks for your thoughts

Mirko

[h0ughy]

if price is an issue then get Openoffice - its free, for your mail use thunderbird

[N1]

Thanks David, I actually run Open Office on my netbook, no complaints. However we would like to provide some continuity and compatibility to our staff. Anyway, worth a thought I suppose.

[Shano592]

I still run MS Office 2010, and find it great.

Is there some specific type of support that you are worried that you won't receive? It's just that I have found them to be pretty well free standing at this stage of their development. And I haven't seen any service packs for a long while.

I run mine on Windows 8.1, and it is as smooth as silk! Personally, I see no reason to upgrade my 2010 copy in the near future.

[killswitch]

With the XP/Office 2003 EOL in about a week, we are also upgrading our systems here at work. After much deliberation, we decided to go with Lenovo ThinkCentre M73 (Intel i5/8Gb) with Windows 7 Pro and Office Pro 2013. This is expected to last at least 5 years minimum.

$299 sounds about right for Office Pro 2013. How many PC's are we talking about? If its a very small business you can do a dodgy and just buy the Home Edition for Multiple users for a fraction of the price.

At this point it might be difficult to get Office Pro 2010 in quantities and it wont be that much cheaper. The extended EOL for Office 2010 is 2020 and for Office 2013 is 2023.

[astro744]

"$299 sounds about right for Office Pro 2013"

No $299 is for Office Small Business 2013. Office Pro 2013 is $599. See http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/buy/

If you need MS Access or MS Publisher, get Pro otherwise the Small Business edition is fine.

"How many PC's are we talking about? If its a very small business you can do a dodgy and just buy the Home Edition for Multiple users for a fraction of the price."

That would violate the EULA and you will likely see For Non-Commercial Use Only in the Windows title bar each time you use it.

Note if you are updating hardware then get the OEM version of MS Office 2013 as you will save money that way. Must be purchased with the hardware at the same time. An OEM version was considerably cheaper in the past although I have not check more recently.

[killswitch]

$599?! lol what a rip. MSY has Office 2013 Pro for $440 with media (retail). My supplier me quoted $360 each for 40 licenses.

It cant differentiate. I bring my work to home all the time and i use Office 2010 Home and Student Edition (3 user) which i picked up for $30 at HN

-

If you only use Word, you can just get Word on its own for $149 (commercial use)

[astro744]

I think the retail version of MS Office 2010 Home and Student Edition (3 user) says Non-Commercial Use Only in the Windows title bar.

[astro744]

Just checked on the Dell website and they want $178.20 for Office 2013 Small Business and $429 for Office 2103 Pro if buying with new hardware. Other vendors may offer similar OEM pricing.

[04Stefan07]

How many PC's are we talking?

You could do Office 365 for $108 for up to 5 machines for a 1 year subscription which seems like good value.

[killswitch]

Thats for Home and student edition, which technically isnt supposed to be used for Business/commercial use.

Small Business & Pro licence cost significantly more. Thats how M$ make their money.

[N1]

We'll probably bite the bullet and get '13 for 299 NZD per user because there is not much difference in price to 2010. It's for 2 PCs. Shame because some European country specific versions come as cheaply as EUR 98.

365 is not for me. There is a point where the advantages of cloud based and local processes are at equilibrium. 365 has travelled beyond that point from my POV.

No need to put our data on somebody else's server, especially in a small business. In astronomy clouds suck, and this cloud is no different.

[marc4darkskies]

+1 for 365. Worth pointing out that 365 does not require you to store your files on the cloud and it runs from a local instance. I.e. it behaves exactly the same as a traditional license. Allowing installation on up to 5 machines and with any/all updates included means $100 a year is pretty good value IMO.

[N1]

Noted with thanks, Marcus. Will consider 365 vs. 13. Might depend on the interest I could get on the 2x$200 saved in the first year and spent extra in the 4th and 5th year. ;)

Edit: If the $100 p.a. includes up to 5 machines, it really is a no brainer assuming the average life of the computer & software. Worth a thought for sure.

[iceman]

Agree with Office 365.

$100/yr for 5 machines, and access to all upgrades. Definitely a great investment.

[astro744]

Is this version not labelled MS Office 365 Home Premium and meant for 5 machines in one houshold?

You would have to check with Microsoft as to the End User Licence Agreement and whether you would not be violating it in a business only environment.