Microsoft halves MS Office Suite prices

Microsoft has quietly cut the price tag on its popular Office suite by more than a half to lure some pirated software users to buy licensed copies in India. The special price of Rs. 6,950 for each box is being offered for a disguised ‘Student and Teacher Edition.’ The regular Office standard edition, however, costs around Rs. 15,000.

Though the company will officially ask its vendors to sell the special edition to only qualified students and teachers, the rule may not mean much as it is not difficult to find students in the Indian households, according to market sources. This would mean that the Office suite would virtually be available to almost all the retail users in Indian market.

Moreover, the offer will eventually attract small business owners and professionals (such as doctors and lawyers) who are already using pirated software and would like to keep at least one licensed copy. On the other hand, Microsoft will also gain as it will be able to penetrate a little more in stand-alone user market and may also manage to reduce piracy by a few points.