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Microsoft teste la location de logiciel avec un système "pay-as-you-go" qui est mis en place en Afrique du Sud, au Mexique et en Roumanie et ce bien sur pour essayer de lutter contre le piratage dans les pays émérgents. Pour environ 15$ par mois un utilisateur peut louer la suite bureautique d'Office 2003.
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Microsoft has been quietly testing a new "pay-as-you-go" software rental service in South Africa, Mexico, and Romania. The service allows users to pay a monthly fee of around $15 for the use of Office 2003.
The program is a pilot project, designed to help Microsoft gauge the public reaction to the idea of software rentals. In a statement given to Ars, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the program offers customers "the opportunity to obtain genuine Microsoft Office 2003 at a low upfront price, along with the flexibility to pay over time and renew when they choose."
This isn't the first such rental program Microsoft has tried. Last year, the company started a project called FlexGo, where customers purchased a whole computer preloaded with Windows XP and other Microsoft software for a discount price, then used prepaid cards—similar to long distance phone cards—to continue using the PC. The program met with some success when it was first tried in Brazil: of those who obtained PCs using FlexGo, 31 percent said they would not have purchased them at all had the program not been available.
Microsoft has long been concerned with coming up with new ways to increase revenue in poorer countries, where few people purchase PCs for the home and fewer still purchase software. Steve Ballmer is rumored to own a map of the world that shows the average amount of money earned per PC user in every country.
In the early days of personal computer software, the concept of renting software was met with public outrage, as users worried that they would no longer be able to own their software. However, in the age of the Internet, cellular phones, and multiplayer online games, the concept of paying monthly fees for software has become less abhorrent. Microsoft's Software Assurance program, where users pay a yearly fee in order to always get the most up-to-date version of Microsoft products, could be considered a software rental program.
Still, Microsoft is being careful to emphasize that the Office 2003 rental program is merely a trial to judge public reaction. According to the spokesperson, Microsoft is currently "reviewing feedback from the trial in order to determine whether to extend it." This may include updating it to include Office 2007, adding other Microsoft software, extending the offer to other countries, or all of the above. Microsoft says it is "too early to speculate" about exactly what form this will take.
Are we moving towards a rental model for software? Despite the success of programs like Software Assurance, and the FlexGo program, it doesn't seem as if the traditional model of software sales is ever going to go away. Consumers still like the option of buying complete software packages. However, for places where the price of software keeps obtaining legitimate versions out of most people's reach, a rental program may be a useful.
Par Arstechnica
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Microsoft has been quietly testing a new "pay-as-you-go" software rental service in South Africa, Mexico, and Romania. The service allows users to pay a monthly fee of around $15 for the use of Office 2003.
The program is a pilot project, designed to help Microsoft gauge the public reaction to the idea of software rentals. In a statement given to Ars, a Microsoft spokesperson said that the program offers customers "the opportunity to obtain genuine Microsoft Office 2003 at a low upfront price, along with the flexibility to pay over time and renew when they choose."
This isn't the first such rental program Microsoft has tried. Last year, the company started a project called FlexGo, where customers purchased a whole computer preloaded with Windows XP and other Microsoft software for a discount price, then used prepaid cards—similar to long distance phone cards—to continue using the PC. The program met with some success when it was first tried in Brazil: of those who obtained PCs using FlexGo, 31 percent said they would not have purchased them at all had the program not been available.
Microsoft has long been concerned with coming up with new ways to increase revenue in poorer countries, where few people purchase PCs for the home and fewer still purchase software. Steve Ballmer is rumored to own a map of the world that shows the average amount of money earned per PC user in every country.
In the early days of personal computer software, the concept of renting software was met with public outrage, as users worried that they would no longer be able to own their software. However, in the age of the Internet, cellular phones, and multiplayer online games, the concept of paying monthly fees for software has become less abhorrent. Microsoft's Software Assurance program, where users pay a yearly fee in order to always get the most up-to-date version of Microsoft products, could be considered a software rental program.
Still, Microsoft is being careful to emphasize that the Office 2003 rental program is merely a trial to judge public reaction. According to the spokesperson, Microsoft is currently "reviewing feedback from the trial in order to determine whether to extend it." This may include updating it to include Office 2007, adding other Microsoft software, extending the offer to other countries, or all of the above. Microsoft says it is "too early to speculate" about exactly what form this will take.
Are we moving towards a rental model for software? Despite the success of programs like Software Assurance, and the FlexGo program, it doesn't seem as if the traditional model of software sales is ever going to go away. Consumers still like the option of buying complete software packages. However, for places where the price of software keeps obtaining legitimate versions out of most people's reach, a rental program may be a useful.
Par Arstechnica