Improved discounts are now available in the Employee Purchase Program (EPP), which allows certain volume licensing customers in the United States and Canada to obtain substantial discounts on Microsoft software for employees' personal use. Microsoft has also expanded EPP eligibility to more of its customers.

The EPP allows employees to purchase consumer software, including games, as well as Windows XP and Office, for use at home. Some companies use the program as a substitute for work-at-home licenses, which permit employees to use copies of software owned by their employer. With the EPP, employees bear the cost of the software but own the licenses, reducing the need for the employer to keep track of work-at-home licenses (which require that any employer-owned software be removed from an employee’s home computer if she leaves the company).

Employees order the software from vendor Client Logic and get a 30% discount on most products. Microsoft has recently increased the discount on Office XP Professional, which can now be obtained for US$199, a 65% discount from the retail price. Employees receive standard retail products (not volume license software) and can register the products in their own names. Employee purchases do not affect their employer’s discount levels.

For employees to be eligible, their employer must have an Enterprise Agreement or be in the Software Assurance Membership program, which requires that all new software purchases be covered by Software Assurance. Previously, the EPP was available only to customers with Enterprise Agreements.

More information about the EPP is available at www.msepp.com/helpdesk.