Office 2010 Activation Goals and Methods

This chart shows various activation goals and methods for the Office 2010 suite, depending on the channel through which the product was purchased. For relatively small numbers of activations, volume license customers may activate software through a Multiple Activation Key (MAK), which can be sent directly from each computer to Microsoft (“MAK Independent” in the chart), as is done with retail activation. Alternatively, data can be collected from multiple computers onto a single MAK proxy computer (MAK Proxy) and sent from that proxy computer to Microsoft. For larger activations, volume customers can use Key Management Services (KMS), in which keys are distributed exclusively from a server owned and hosted by the organization. Grace periods permit customers to use the product for a short time after installing it or after a significant hardware change, without having to activate it immediately.

Retail Purchase

Installed by OEM

Volume License Agreements