Selecting a Distribution Channel

Customers can acquire Office suite and Office stand-alone application licenses through OEM (PC hardware manufacturers), retail, and volume licensing channels. Each channel offers a slightly different subset of available packages and pricing, as well as significant variations in product usage rules, with OEM being the most stringent, volume licensing being the most accommodating, and retail residing in the middle.

OEMs may offer an Office license for sale with a new PC, and the software often comes preinstalled on the system. Retail licenses are distributed in the form of full package product and are available for purchase from a wide variety of outlets. Microsoft volume licensing programs—which target small businesses with a few PCs up to the largest multinational corporations—all provide ways to license Office, with Open and Select programs offering individual licenses in various quantities, and EAs presenting an arrangement somewhat akin to a site license. (For an overview of Open, Select, and EA programs, see the sidebar “Volume Licensing Programs“.)