REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 3, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced two new editions of Microsoft® Office 97 available in the United States to value added resellers (VARs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). These new versions expand the Microsoft Office family and reflect Microsoft’s interest in making Microsoft Office widely available, especially to small businesses.
Office 97, VAR Edition encourages service-oriented resellers to install and customize suites of Microsoft Office for their customers by selecting four applications from the Office family. The OEM version of Office 97, Small Business Edition (SBE) offers system builders the Small Business Edition of the desktop suite for new PCs preinstalled with the Windows® 95 or Windows NT® Workstation operating systems.
These new offerings represent Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to provide the right product for retail sales, service providers and system builders.
“The channel is evolving rapidly,”
said Sam Jadallah, vice president, organization customer unit at Microsoft.
“Our goal is to continue to provide the right solutions as we see shifts in the industry and new ways of delivering solutions to customers. We provide broad offerings from retail packaged products to a variety of flexible licensing options for the hottest product in the market.”
“Microsoft has moved in the right direction with Office 97, VAR Edition,”
said Al Mapleson of Starpro Systems.
“It will help us better meet our customers’ needs, compete in the market and build upon our service business model.”
Office 97, VAR Edition was designed to expand the reseller base of Microsoft Office to include service-oriented resellers. The edition permits a reseller to choose four desktop applications from the Office family pool, which includes Word, Microsoft Excel, the PowerPoint® presentation graphics program, the Outlook
™
desktop information manager, Publisher Deluxe, Microsoft Access, Team Manager and the FrontPage
™
Web authoring and management tool with Bonus Pack. Resellers of Office 97, VAR Edition can also install Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, the Office Value Pack and Small Business Financial Manager as a no-cost bonus to their customers. Office 97, VAR Edition is scheduled to be available in late March through general distribution. Sold as a license-only product, Office 97, VAR Edition requires that the reseller install the software on the machine. The U.S. estimated retail price (ERP) for upgrades is $239, and the ERP for new users is $469.
An Office 97, VAR Edition Starter Kit has been developed in conjunction with the offering to explain the program and guide service-oriented VARs through the process of selecting the appropriate four Office applications for their customers. The Starter Kit is scheduled to be available through general distribution in late March.
The decision to offer Office 97, Small Business Edition through Microsoft’s Delivery Service Partner (DSP) program in the United States represents Microsoft’s commitment to embrace the growing number of VARs that have become system builders. Office 97, SBE (through DSP) is designed specifically to run on reseller-built systems preinstalled with Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation. This edition allows companies in this segment of the channel to better target their customers’ needs and support their business model. It is available as an OEM product in a white-boxed three-pack; the actual price for the system builder will be set by the DSP.
In addition to the new VAR Edition and system builder offering, Microsoft has the following options for Office 97:
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Microsoft Office 97, Standard Edition on CD-ROM includes Word 97, Microsoft Excel 97, PowerPoint 97, Outlook 97, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Camcorder for capturing and distributing screen movies, and Microsoft Photo Editor. In addition, users get one free month of Internet connection time through MSN
™
, The Microsoft Network*.
Office 97, Standard Edition is currently available through traditional channels. ERP for version upgrades is $209. ERP for upgrades from non-Microsoft suites or desktop applications is $249. ERP for new users is $499.
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Microsoft Office 97, Professional Edition on CD-ROM includes Word 97, Microsoft Excel 97, PowerPoint 97, Outlook 97, Microsoft Access 97, the Microsoft Bookshelf® CD-ROM reference library Basics, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Camcorder for capturing and distributing screen movies, and Microsoft Photo Editor. In addition, users get one free month of Internet connection time through MSN*.
Office 97, Professional Edition is currently available through traditional channels. ERP for version upgrades is $309. ERP for upgrades from non-Microsoft suites or desktop applications is $349. ERP for new users is $599.
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Microsoft Office 97, Small Business Edition on CD-ROM features Word 97, Microsoft Excel 97, Publisher 97, Outlook 97, the Automap® travel services Streets Plus, Small Business Financial Manager and Microsoft Internet Explorer. In addition, users get one free month of Internet connection time through MSN* and other tools and information to make it easy to start doing business on the Internet.
Office 97, Small Business Edition is scheduled to be available through traditional channels and Microsoft DSPs in March 1997. ERP for version upgrades is $209. ERP for upgrades from non-Microsoft suites or desktop applications is $249. ERP for new users is $499. OEM pricing set by DSP.
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Microsoft Office 97, Developer Edition includes the same CD-ROM that is included in Office 97, Professional Edition, plus developer tools, printed documentation, distribution rights and sample code. Developer tools include the royalty-free Microsoft Access run time, integration tools for Microsoft Access and the Visual SourceSafe
™
version control system (acquired separately), Setup Wizard, Replication Manager and ActiveX
™
Controls.
Office 97, Developer Edition is currently available in traditional channels. ERP for version upgrades is $499. ERP for upgrades from non-Microsoft suites or desktop applications is $539. ERP for new users is $799.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows , Windows NT , PowerPoint , Outlook , FrontPage , MSN , Bookshelf , Automap , Visual SourceSafe and ActiveX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries
The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.
*For users of Windows 95 only. Available to new MSN members in the United States and Canada only, provided they select MSN as their Internet access provider. A credit card is required. MSN premium charges, long-distance, toll or local phone charges may apply. Offer expires Dec. 31, 1997.
For more information, press only:
Frank X. Shaw, Insync, (503) 497-5461, [email protected]
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