Microsoft to increase UK prices by up to a third!

[JGM]

Microsoft raises UK prices by a third and can't rule out future hikes.

The move is due to sustain currency differences between European countries

By Derek du Preez | Computerworld UK | Published 11:20, 03 May 12

Microsoft has revealed that it will increase volume licencing prices in the UK by an average of 29 percent to adjust for the ?sustained currency differences between European countries?.

UK businesses have until 1 July to place their orders under the current prices before the changes take effect.

Microsoft claims that because of sustained differences between the British pound and the euro, price spikes are necessary to maintain consistency across the region.

?From July 1 in the UK, these adjustments will result in pound sterling price list rises for new volume licensing contracts of between 7.5 percent and 33.5 percent, to ensure greater consistency with the equivalent euro price list,? said Scott Dodds, UK GM of marketing and operations at Microsoft UK.

?The majority of UK business customers purchasing Microsoft products from partners buy through the open volume licensing program which is particularly popular with small businesses. We can now confirm that partners will see a 7.5% increase in list prices from July 1 for all new open purchases made,? he added.

Prices for enterprise agreement licences will increase by 25.7 percent for on-premise and 21 percent for Office 365, Select or Select Plus Agreement licences will increase by 24.6 percent, and Open Value will increase by 33.5 percent.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson the changes will not apply to Windows, Office, or other products sold to consumers through retailers or on pre-installed PCs. Academic on-premise pricing will continue to be heavily discounted, and the public sector will remain unaffected.

However, Microsoft confirmed to Computerworld UK that it could not rule out future increases, as it will continue to monitor currency movements and may make further adjustments if there are large fluctuations.

Source.

JGM.

JGM Reviewed by JGM on 3rd May 2012. Microsoft to increase UK prices by up to a third! Microsoft raises UK prices by a third and can't rule out future hikes. The move is due to sustain currency differences between European countries By Derek du Preez | Computerworld UK | Published 11:20, 03 May 12 Microsoft has revealed that it will increase volume licencing prices in the UK by an average of 29 percent to adjust for the ?sustained currency differences between European countries?. UK businesses have until 1 July to place their orders under the current prices before the Rating: 5

[S?nic]

More business for us

[foxman]

Instead of decreasing prices, digital goods are increasing.

[JGM]

I think it's a case of that more people are pirating their stuff so they are hitting businesses hard which have to have legit licenses. This is going to make things interesting to see how things develop over the coming months and the next year or so and see what Linux do.

JGM.

[M0neyMan]

good share - thanks

[Ladybbird1]

Incredible, but why only for the UK?

Its the same for most things you want to buy in the UK, they are always much higher than what you can buy them in the US for.

For example, if you see a laptop for sale in the US for $600, in the UK it is marked up as 600 pounds sterling, thats about approx $970!!!

Thanks for the report.