When you buy a prebuilt computer from a company like Dell or HP, you will often have the option to include "Microsoft Office" with your new system. Since Office comes in several versions, this option is not as clear as it might seem.

Microsoft Office Basics

Microsoft Office is actually a "suite" of computer programs. It includes a word processor called Word, a spreadsheet called Excel and a presentation program called PowerPoint.

A Variety of Versions

While almost every version of Office contains those three programs, Microsoft may offer up to nine "flavors," depending on your budget and needs. The link in the Resources section titled "Comparison Chart" provides details.

Scalability

These flavors also vary substantially in price. If you are a student, you may pay less than $100 dollars for a special version of Office. If you're buying software for a large corporation, Microsoft offers "volume licenses" to purchase thousands of copies at once.

Volume Licensing

With volume licensing, Microsoft can sell you a large batch of "product keys" for Office. You can use the same physical copy of Office to install on these computers, while allotting each install one of those product keys.

Separating Components

Most of the individual applications in the Microsoft Office suite can be purchased separately. Buying a suite costs less than buying multiple components separately.

Source:

Microsoft.com: Microsoft Word overview

Intowindows.com: Microsoft Office timeline

Resource:

Comparison Chart