Windows and Office are the true Microsoft money presses. The basic functionality is similar in a way, so that users don’t always have to start from scratch. The sales model is simply ingenious. In the past, millions of CD’s were shipped around the world. Today they all load everything from a single server via the Internet. This means that the costs are significantly lower, but are not passed on, because the prices are much higher than before. So of course the question arises whether this makes sense?
Why software online is much cheaper
Microsoft product prices have risen sharply in recent years. The logistics around the software packages have become much simpler and cheaper. The Redmond group is becoming richer and richer, as is the case with quasi-monopolists.
For users, however, there are still opportunities to save money. For example, you can buy a cheap Office 2019 version without making any compromises in terms of quality or scope. Nowadays you don’t download any software onto your computer by means of a data carrier, but there is only one download for everyone and as a customer you buy a license for it. This license is nothing more than a kind of key with which the programs can be activated on the computer. The good thing about it is that there are possibilities to assign this right to others. After all, the buyer has paid for something and there it is legally seen also somehow only fair that a right of use may not simply expire so.
There are countless companies and private individuals in the world who purchase such keys. If, for example, a company goes bankrupt, its existing licenses are sold cheaply in large quantities so that they contribute to the insolvency estate. Numerous providers have specialised in acquiring such licences. New users can then buy an Office Key that costs only a fraction of what Microsoft has to pay for it directly. The same applies to Office 2019 Home & Student, which is also much cheaper.
Another classic case is the operating system. A PC breaks down and a new one is bought. Most people have Windows pre-installed, including the new one. This means that the customer is sitting on an unused version that he can actually play back. This allows someone else to buy Windows 10 Pro, which ran on the broken computer.
But often it is not even necessary to always take the latest product on the market. In former times it was very important to have a fast computer and to be up to date with the software. Today it is different. Even a 10-year-old PC can still perform well today if it is only used for simple programs that do not necessarily require gigantic performance from the processor and the RAM. Sometimes you can save a lot of money and buy Windows Server for a good price. You can still work very well with it. This is even cheaper and is especially important for small startups, where there is a lack of liquidity in the beginning.