Webhoster Fasthosts is offering a downloadable Microsoft Office suite starting at prices little under 7 Euro per month for the Student version
Check out their full proposition : Fasthosts.co.uk
... Web hosting firm Fasthosts is offering Microsoft's Office 2007 suite using a software-as-a-service delivery model.
Customers can obtain the productivity suite as a download direct to their PC for £4.99 to £19.99 per month, avoiding the upfront costs and discs involved with the boxed product.
The downloadable Office suite is exactly the same in appearance and functionality as the boxed product, but runs locally on a user's PC and is verified with Fasthosts when the PC goes online.
Users have to be online every time they use the product at this stage, although an 'offline version' is in the works.
Mark Jeffries, chief technology officer at Fasthosts, said: "Our Office package is an excellent way to obtain the latest versions of the software we all need on a pay-as-you-go basis. Its low monthly cost and easy installation will suit a great many home and business users."
Fasthosts is offering four versions of the productivity suite. Office Standard includes Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, while Office Professional Plus adds Publisher, Access and Infopath.
Households with a user engaged in educational activities qualify for the Student Edition, and can opt either for the Standard edition at £4.99 per month or the Professional Plus version for £6.99 per month.
Users without a dedicated student on the premises can lease the Standard edition for £14.99 a month and the Professional version for £19.99 a month.
The software-as-a-service concept allows the provision of software by a vendor for delivery or use over the internet. This means that customers do not pay for owning the software but rather for using it.
This enables users to pay for software gradually, and benefit from service benefits such as free updates and any support provided by the vendor. ...
Source : VNUnet.com
Important update (11-2-2008) :
Apparently the new service provided by Fasthosts is not in agreement with Microsoft and incompliant with regards to the licensing regulations :
Microsoft: Streaming Office 'infringes licence'
... Microsoft has said that the internet service provider Fasthosts, which has started offering a subscription-based version of Microsoft Office 2007, is infringing on the software giant's licence regulations — but Fasthosts has denied this claim.
Earlier this week, the UK-based ISP and hosting company started selling a version of Microsoft Office which it advertised as being "streamed to your PC". However, unlike true hosted software, or software as a service (SaaS), it requires the user to download software to their client PC.
"Fasthosts' Microsoft Office product uses the SaaS model in that it is delivered and managed via the internet," explained Mark Jeffries, Fasthosts' chief technology officer, on Thursday. Speaking with ZDNet.co.uk via email, Jeffries said that a "full version Microsoft Office, identical to the boxed product, is downloaded using a streaming service and saved locally on a user's PC".
"After one initial download, further small downloads are made for additional features and updates. When functions are used for the first time, features are seamlessly streamed in the background. The software is validated when connected to the internet," explained Jeffries.
Jeffries claimed that Fasthosts' version of Office was the result of a partnership "with Microsoft and established market-leading experts in the field of software streaming". However, Microsoft has disagreed with this claim. ...
Source : ZDnet.co.uk
