Updated: July 10, 2020 (April 20, 2009)

  Charts & Illustrations

Purchasing Channels

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279 wordsTime to read: 2 min

The following chart compares the advantages and disadvantages of various channels for purchasing Microsoft software. It covers purchases from retail (including online) merchants, hardware manufacturers (OEMs) who may bundle Microsoft software with their computers, and Microsoft volume licensing resellers. Reimaging is the practice of overwriting a product installation with another installation that may have a different configuration and additional licensed or custom software. Large customers typically reimage new desktop computers with a standard corporate image before putting them into production.









Purchasing Channel Advantages Disadvantages Channel Examples
Retail No downloading required

Disk available for reinstall

Some products offer upgrade packages that can be purchased at any time

Can easily compare prices online

Can be transferred to a different computer

Generally most expensive

Limited selection of software, particularly for servers

No downgrade/reimaging



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