XP Eligible for Subscription Discounts

Owners of older Microsoft desktop software, notably Windows XP and Office XP, are now eligible for an Extended Up-to-Date (UTD) discount offered through Microsoft’s Open Value Subscription (OVS) volume licensing program. By expanding the discount to include XP versions of Windows and Office, the deal could attract more small organizations to the latest versions of Windows, Office, and other products, but they will have to commit to future payments.

Subscription Licensing

In OVS, customers do not purchase licenses but subscribe to popular Microsoft products, such as Windows upgrades and Office, for an annual fee. Eliminating licenses brings the annual price down significantly, particularly for the first three years. In the Open Value program, in which customers purchase perpetual licenses, customers pay a total of US$252 over three years for Windows 7, plus US$52 each year thereafter, while OVS customers pay US$210 for the first three years and US$63 for each year thereafter. For Office, Open Value customers pay US$819 for Office Professional Plus for the first three years, and US$134 in succeeding years, while OVS customers pay US$489 for the first three years and US$163 thereafter.