The OEM Software Alternative

Volume licensing is not the only way to purchase Microsoft software at a discount. Products sold by OEMs are a good option for some customers, particularly smaller organizations, because they can offer comparable or lower costs and greater upgrade flexibility than volume licensing programs.

What OEMs Sell

OEMs sell three major types of Microsoft software:

Client OSs, such as Windows XP, are included on all OEM PCs—in fact, OEM or (much more expensive) retail purchases are the only way to acquire a full (rather than upgrade) version of a client OS. Microsoft does not sell full versions of client OSs through volume licensing channels—customers cannot purchase “bare” PCs and then purchase client OSs for them through a volume licensing program—although volume customers can purchase upgrades for OSs that they acquire on OEM PCs. Customers who already have OS upgrades in their volume licensing agreements (such as some Enterprise Agreement customers) can purchase lower cost OSs, such as Windows XP Home Edition, on some OEM PCs and then immediately upgrade them to Windows XP Professional Edition.