Ready to find your ideal Office solution?

Please answer these questions to get a personalized product and licensing recommendation.

Tell us a little about your business:

1. 1.
   Is it common for your employees to work from home or on the road?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Office 2010 features and other products and services that operate with Office 2010 support working from multiple locations, including Lync, Web Apps and the other services in Office 365. Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote feature co-authoring, so team members can edit documents at the same time from different places. With Lync and Lync server, you can communicate and collaborate with others in different locations, using IM, presence, online meetings, voice. With SharePoint Workspace 2010, you can view SharePoint documents offline—and any changes are easily synched when you reconnect.

   Choose YES if:

   • You or your employees work on the road
   • Teams need to collaborate from multiple locations and co-author documents
   • You want to reduce travel costs by holding online meetings
   • You want to be able to access your SharePoint documents offline

   Choose NO if:

   • Your employees work in only one location
   • You do not need to remotely access your documents

   Requires the following:

   Office 365 E3 or Office 365 E1 for the server only, Office Professional Plus with Lync with Open License

2. 2.
   Do your employees need to collaborate and communicate from anywhere, using cloud-based versions of Exchange, SharePoint and Lync?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Microsoft Office 365 is a subscription service that offers virtually anywhere access and powerful web-enabled tools. Office 365 cloud-based services “light up” Office 2010 applications with communications capabilities. Users can see if someone is free/busy and start a call or instant messaging (IM) conversation right from within their email or Office document. Enhance productivity with Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online. 365 also enables all server-based features, such as co-authoring, calendar preview and group scheduling tools

   Choose YES if:

   • You want to enhance productivity by using cloud-based applications
   • You want to reduce upfront costs

   Choose NO if:

   • You prefer to use local versions of Office applications

   Requires the following:

   Office 365 E1 or E3 license option.

3. 3.
   Will you use Microsoft Publisher to create brochures, business cards, email newsletters, or other marketing materials?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Publisher lets you easily communicate your message in a variety of publication types, saving you time and money. Create brochures, newsletters, postcards, greeting cards, or e-mail newsletters—deliver high-quality results without graphic design experience.

   Choose YES if:

   • You use email newsletters to find and connect with customers
   • You want to create marketing materials in-house without hiring graphic designers
   • Consistent formatting is an important factor

   Choose NO if:

   • Your business does not send email newsletters
   • You do not create your own marketing materials

   Requires the following:

   Office Professional and Professional Plus only

4. 4.
   Will you use Outlook to keep track of your sales leads, customers, contacts, and products, and do you need anytime, anywhere access to your contacts?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Outlook can do a lot more than manage email and calendars. Business Contact Manager adds Customer Resource Management (CRM) features, so you can improve the effectiveness of your sales, marketing and customer service efforts. Plus, with Exchange you can access your business contacts with Outlook Web Access, SharePoint, Windows Live, or a mobile device. Currently, Office 365 does not offer Business Contact Manager.

   Choose YES if:

   • You want to manage all of your organization’s customer information within Outlook, the application you already use for email and calendars.
   • You want to track customer service efforts and sales leads in tandem with business contacts
   • You or your employees work from multiple locations
   • You want mobile access to your business contacts

   Choose NO if:

   • You only want to use Outlook for email and calendar management
   • You do not want to integrate CRM capabilities

   Requires the following:

   Outlook with Business Contacts Manager is available in Office Standard and Professional Plus only, and requires Exchange server.

5. 5.
   Are you looking for ways to reduce costs by utilizing audio/visual conferencing instead of traveling and meeting in person?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   With Lync and Lync server, you can communicate and collaborate with others in different locations, using IM, presence, online meetings, voice and other communication features.

   Choose YES if:

   • Teams need to collaborate from multiple locations
   • You want presence functionality and the ability to IM within applications
   • You want to reduce travel costs by holding online meetings

   Choose NO if:

   • Your employees work in only one location

   Requires the following:

   Office Professional Plus with Lync and Lync Server, Office 365 E1 or E3.

6. 6.
   Do you need to restrict unauthorized forwarding, copying, printing, or sharing of proprietary information?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Information Rights Management (IRM) helps give organizations greater control of their sensitive information. With Trusted Documents and Protected View features, you can deliver enhanced security by opening untrusted documents in a 'sandbox' to be viewed before opening.

   Choose YES if:

   • You need to guard against the abuse of important company information.
   • Your documents contain sensitive information that you need to protect from malicious attacks.

   Choose NO if:

   • Document control and security is not important to your business.

   Requires the following:

   Information Rights Management is available only in Office Professional Plus.

7. 7.
   Do you need to need to track, organize, share or manage data using Microsoft Access?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Access is a database tool for gathering and understanding all your information—your phone numbers, inventory, guest lists, whatever you’re tracking—and providing a convenient way to enter, navigate, and report out your data.

   Choose YES if:

   • You want to track and report important information with easy-to-use database tools.
   • You need to run the same report daily, weekly, or monthly.

   Choose NO if:

   • You do not need to capture and manage data.
   • You do not use databases in your business.

   Requires the following:

   Access is available in Office Professional and Professional Plus only.

8. 8.
   Do you want to create and fill out electronic forms, such as expense reports, time cards, and surveys?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   InfoPath lets you easily create form and document approval processes. Designed for both advanced business users and developers, so you get the right forms-based solution for your organization.

   Choose YES if:

   • You want to quickly design forms with easy-to-use tools.
   • You need to build advanced forms and connect forms to line-of-business systems.
   • You want to create collaborative workflow solutions in SharePoint.

   Choose NO if:

   • You do not need to create forms or use forms to collect information for your business.

   Requires the following:

   InfoPath is available in Office Professional Plus only.

Tell us about how you want to deploy:

1. 1.
   Do you want to be able to reuse or transfer licenses when replacing PCs?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Moving and then reusing a license, also known as reassigning a license, can be done if Office is bought as a retail box or through Volume Licensing. Licenses cannot be reassigned if Office is obtained as a Product Key Card.

   Choose YES if:

   • You want to use the same license more than once

   Choose NO if:

   • You do not plan to move or reassign your license
   • You want to purchase via Product Key Card

   Requires the following:

   Retail box or Volume Licensing

2. 2.
   Does your business have a mix of Office environments, including users you do not plan to upgrade?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Purchasing Volume Licensing can give you the flexibility to use older versions of Office. If you have employees using a prior version (Office 2003 or Office 2007), you will need to purchase Office 2010 with downgrade rights. Downgrade rights are only available with Volume Licensing.

   Choose YES if:

   • You want more convenience and flexibility in using older versions of Office

   Choose NO if:

   • Your organization will only use Office 2010

   Requires the following:

   Downgrade rights are only available with Volume Licensing.

3. 3.
   Are you interested in lowering your IT costs by using centralized deployment using a standardized image, instead of manually installing on each PC?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Many organizations use automated deployment, such as disk imaging or software distribution, to avoid manual Office installations on each PC. Disk imaging is done using Windows Deployment Services or a third-party tool such as Symantec Ghost. Software distribution is done using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or Group Policies.

   Choose YES if:

   • You don’t want to manually install a license key code for each PC
   • You want an easy way to track and manage your software assets
   • You want the ability to manage licenses electronically for easier license and compliance management

   Choose NO if:

   • You plan to manually install Office on each PC

   Requires the following:

   Requires Volume Licensing, for example Open License, Open Value Subscription or Open Value Companywide.

4. 4.
   Do you want to realize potential cost savings by purchasing Office 2010 for all PCs?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Microsoft rewards customers who standardize on Office Professional Plus with lower pricing and three-year price protection. Standardization also streamlines license management because you only have to count and report the number of clients. Standardization is generally attractive if Office will be needed for most of your employees. It is only possible with Office Professional Plus and an Open Value Subscription license.

   Choose YES if:

   • You need Office for the majority of your employees
   • You want downgrade and reimaging rights
   • You want Software Assurance included with your license

   Choose NO if:

   • You only need Office for a few employees
   • Your priority is to lower upfront costs

   Requires the following:

   Must purchase and standardize Office Professional Plus through either an Open Value Companywide or Open Value Subscription.

5. 5.
   Do you want more deployment options, including thin client computer terminals?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Office 2010 can support networked deployment. A thin client is a client device used when Office runs on a network or server rather than on each PC. Running Office on thin clients requires Office network use rights, provided only in Volume Licensing.

   Choose YES if:

   • You plan to deploy Office on thin clients

   Choose NO if:

   • You will not deploy on thin clients

   Requires the following:

   Volume Licensing.

Tell us how you want to license Office:

1. 1.
   Do you want to license Office per user, not per device, so that users can install it at home?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Microsoft Office 365 is licensed on a flexible, per-user per-month subscription plan with predictable annual costs—enabling you to scale the services when it makes sense. Microsoft manages the IT software and you control the user access rights. The simplified administration and offloaded operational maintenance of the cloud services enable you to make the most of your IT people resources, to focus on projects that are core to your business and drive competitive differentiation. The recommended way to buy Office 365 is through the Enterprise Agreement (EA) if you have more than 250+ users.

   Choose YES if:

   • You need to easily add new users into messaging/collaboration
   • You want to gain greater efficiency in your IT processes
   • You want to drive greater value from IT investments with latest technology

   Choose NO if:

   • You are not planning on utilizing cloud technology

   Requires the following:

   Office 365 with E3 license option and server.

2. 2.
   Will the number of employees requiring Office products change throughout the year?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   An Open Value Subscription (OVS) licensing option allows the customer to increase or decrease the number of licenses annually with a pay-as-you-go plan. This is ideal for businesses with seasonal employees, since you can change the number of users. Other licensing programs do not allow customers to decrease the number of licenses. Also, with OVS you don’t need to track the number of users at all times—just do it once at the anniversary of purchase.

   Choose YES if:

   • Your number of Office users will fluctuate over the course of the year
   • You want the most flexible way to track number of users

   Choose NO if:

   • The number of employees using Office will not change

   Requires the following:

   A flexible number of licenses is only available with Open Value Subscription.

3. 3.
   Do you want to spread payments over time?
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   An Open Value Subscription gives you the flexibility to spread payments over time. With this option, you can also pay in advance if you wish. You can spread out your payments during a three-year agreement and you’ll also receive Software Assurance if you get an Open Value agreement.

   Choose YES if:

   • Your priority is to reduce upfront costs

   Choose NO if:

   • You want to pay upfront to reduce overall cost

   Requires the following:

   Must purchase Office Open Value or Open Value Subscription.

4. 4.
   Do you want your license with Software Assurance? Software Assurance comes with support services, end-user and technical training, the latest software releases, and more.
   Yes
   No
   Explain

   Software Assurance (SA) offers new version rights, Roaming Use Rights from remote third-party devices, e-learning rights, and the right to use the Office Multilanguage Pack. With SA you’ll always have the latest version of Office, access to technical support, and home use rights. You’ll also receive training vouchers and TechNet subscription services.

   Choose YES if:

   • You would like to have access to Technical Support
   • You want guaranteed rights to every new version of Office that becomes available during your three-year agreement
   • You want to use the Office Multilanguage Pack
   • You want home use rights for your employees

   Choose NO if:

   • You don’t need Technical Support as part of your license
   • You do not plan to use the latest versions of Office as they are released

   Requires the following:

   Must purchase Office Open Value or Open Value Subscription.