Many people, including myself, are hesitant when it comes to spending a large amount of money at once. However, there are times when it is well worth it. For example, when it comes to buying software suites, the consumer will actually save money when they buy a bundle of related application software which is manufactured by one company rather than buying each one individually.
To begin, let’s clarify what a software suite really is. According to the textbook, Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World, Shelly Cashman Series, a software suite is a collection of individual programs available together as a unit. They provide two major advantages to the user: lower cost and ease of use.
A popular software suite that many people, including almost all students, use is Microsoft’s Office Suite 2007/2010.
There is also some customization available within Microsoft’s Office Suite 2010. Programs available in the suite vary between three main types of users and include the following:
· Office Home and Student 2010 -- $149.99
o Word 2010
o Excel 2010
o PowerPoint 2010
o OneNote 2010
· Office Home and Business 2010 -- $279.99
o Word 2010
o Excel 2010
o PowerPoint 2010
o OneNote 2010
o Outlook 2010
· Office Professional 2010 -- $499.99
o Word 2010
o Excel 2010
o PowerPoint 2010
o OneNote 2010
o Outlook 2010
o Publisher 2010
o Access 2010
Each suite available aims to provide users with the programs they are thought to use most. The contents of the suite and their corresponding price are listed above.
The first suite we will discuss is Office Home and Student 2010. One can purchase the entire suite which comes with four programs for a total amount of $149.99. But what if the programs were to be bought as standalone programs? Their individual prices are listed below:
- Word 2010 - $139.99
- Excel 2010 - $139.99
- PowerPoint 2010 - $139.99
- OneNote 2010 - $79.99
The sum of buying these programs individually would cost you $499.96! It is also obvious to just go ahead and purchase the suite for $149.99 instead of just buying one program like Word 2010 when the difference is ten dollars and the value provided is so much higher.
Below are the individual costs for the programs included in Office Home and Business and Office Professional 2010 and the cost of buying the suite:
Office Home and Business:
- · Word 2010 - $139.99
- · Excel 2010 - $139.99 Individually: $639.95
- · PowerPoint 2010 - $139.99 Suite: $279.99
- · OneNote 2010 - $79.99
- · Outlook 2010 - $139.99 SAVINGS: $359.96!
Office Professional 2010:
- · Word 2010 - $139.99
- · Excel 2010 - $139.99
- · PowerPoint 2010 - $139.99
- · OneNote 2010 - $79.99 Individually: $779.94
- · Outlook 2010 - $139.99 Suite: 499.99
- · Publisher 2010 - $139.99
- · Access 2010 - $139.99 SAVINGS: $279.95!
VS.
**Photos courtesy of Microsoft.com
Other than cost, another major advantage of purchasing a suite is the ease of use it provides. With similar setups throughout the different programs, the user does not have to re-learn basic functions.
Although they might be different application software and they each have a different purpose, the similar interface allows users to feel as if they already know how to use the program. This saves the user a lot of time and in the fast-paced environment of the workplace today, time equals money. In this sense, the user is saving a lot of money by choosing to purchase a software suite!
That concludes my first tutorial, I hope everyone reading this learns a lot and enjoys reading about ways something as simple as choosing to buy a suite over individual programs can help them save in more ways than just one.
References from:
Shelly, Gary B. and Vermaat, Misty E. Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World
http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Office/category/2
