All of the NYMetro VARs have probably heard this message at one point in the past three months from either me, their tele-partner account manager, or both, but it's worth mentioning again in case you forgot; There is no better time to sell or buy Microsoft Office than right now.  Especially through Open Value commercial licensing. 

So, if you are selling Office on a new agreement....

  1. Office 2010 is launching May, 2010.  If you have a customer that is excited about 2010, buying Office in April through Software Assurance will guarantee the 2007 price, which could be as much as a 25% savings.
  2. Big Easy 4.0 has been extended through the end of April, allowing your customer to get funds for your services or future purchases on any qualifying purchase they make in April.  Office Small Business 2007 qualifies for Big Easy.  Office Small Business 2007 will qualify to be ugraded to Office 2010 ProPlus when we roll out Office 2010 as we no longer offer the Small Business version after 2007.
  3. If your end user buys Office 2007 on Software Assurance, they get home use rights for their employees for both Office 2007 and Office 2010.
  4. Open Value VAR Rebate qualifies you as the VAR to get up to 20% back on Open Value deals (Office gives you 3% rebate).

Recap:  Customer buys Office Small Business 2007 through an Open Value agreement in April.  Customer gets a check from Microsoft to spend with you (Big Easy), customer gets upgraded Office Pro Plus when 2010 comes out, customer's employees get access to 2007 and 2010 for home computers (Home Use Rights), and you get 3%  back on just the Office sale directly from Microsoft (Open Value VAR Rebate). 

If you have an Office renewal coming up in the next 4 months, pull it through to April.  Here's why....

  1. Customer will get 15% off Open Value renewals through Simplify & Save (an offer that ends in May).
  2. Customer will get an additional 10% for all Office Renewals (this offer also ends in May).
  3. Customer will get the 2007 pricing (April is the last month for this price).
  4. VAR will get VAR Rebate on the Open Value Agreement.

Recap:  Customer renews agreement on Open Value in April and gets 15% off the whole deal (Simplify & Save), 10% additional on the Office (10% Office Renewal offer), the 2007 price (up to another 25% savings v. waiting until May) and you get 3% rebate on the Office alone (Open Value VAR Rebate).

While you're at it, you can also upgrade the entire desktop.  Through the end of April there is a 15% savings on Windows 7 Ultimate.