Introduction

It seems we are always dragged kicking and screaming into the newest operating system, programs, or hardware systems. This case is no different. Office 2007 is quite an initial adjustment and might scare many at their first encounter with the new interface. After using Office 2007 for the past year, there is nothing you could offer me to go back to the previous version. I hope to calm your fears, open new avenues, and even help you to have a smooth deployment.

The following areas will be highlighted:

1. Versions available with pricing and licensing options.
2. Hardware and operating systems compatibility or requirements.
3. Deployment tools and configurations.
4. New features and cool items.

The Version Game

Microsoft has added some extra important pieces to the Office collection. Besides just the desktop set of tools, there are new server-side tools as well.

Microsoft has broken down the version offering based on the user environment, as always, but with so many combinations, it can get somewhat confusing (see Appendix A). Let's break them down.

Consumer Choices

Microsoft Works - This product has been around for a long time. It is a generic suite of programs for limited creativity including word processor, spreadsheet, database, calendar, and e-mail/Internet tools.

Office Home and Student 2007 - This suite actually comes with a good collection of features for students and some of the basics for home use. This package includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a very powerful note organizer called OneNote. However, this does not include an Outlook piece.

Office Ultimate 2007 - A new collection from Microsoft that comes loaded with everything you could possibly need. It even includes an accounting program that replaces the Money program.

For Small Businesses

Office Professional 2007 - In the past, Publisher has been moved in and out of the professional offering. Publisher is a part of this collection as is the database tool Access. Outlook has the Contact Manager added to it. Those familiar with the professional mix of 2003 will still see the same benefits of this collection as before.

Office Small Business 2007 - This is the professional suite minus the Access database tool. Outlook includes the Contact Manager program for this and the professional suite.

Office Basic 2007 - This is a basic package with Word, Excel, and Outlook only.

Medium- to Large-Sized Businesses

These suites are arranged to appeal to the larger companies in the tools as well as in the volume licensing structure available.

Office Enterprise 2007 - This is the flagship for business users. This suite includes all the offerings except the Accounting Express program. This includes the Groove 2007 product for collaboration and the OneNote 2007 product for note taking and organization.

Office Professional Plus 2007 - This is similar to the Enterprise edition except it does not include the Groove or OneNote products. However, I would highly recommend pushing for the Enterprise package if you think you will might need these two components.

Office Standard 2007 - This comes with the staples of Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. There is no Access or Publisher in this suite.

Pricing and Licensing Considerations

Pricing of Office 2007 Suites

Figure 2 on the next page is a listing of the suite pricing and upgrade paths. See the web address below to gain more information on individual program pricing, as well as server products.

Licensing Options

Licensing options focus on five different purchase scenarios. Each area can then be further broken down.

Retail is what you would buy online or at retailer stores.

OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturer is pre-installed from the manufacturer or the builder of your computer system.

Volume Licensing is available to anyone who needs five or more copies.

Academic Retail is for staff or students of an educational facility and may be purchased upon showing proof of educational status.

Academic Volume Licensing is also available to staff or students of an educational facility, but is purchased for five or more computers.

Simplified licensing and more options to buy direct from Microsoft seem to be the focus on the new release. For example, the Open License program is designed for companies that have five or more PCs. The Open License will help get discounts, track and manage licensing with online tools, has rights to transfer licenses from one machine to another, and one authorization number is tied to the whole organization. Open Value is another plan that can really make a difference for those deploying on a large scale. Open Value includes Software Assurance, an enhanced maintenance program that provides extra benefits like training, deployment planning and software upgrades, and support. These both fall under the volume licensing area and cannot be obtained from an OEM.

Related Courses

Deploying Microsoft Office 2007 Professional Plus