Microsoft sells software direct via Internet
Microsoft has launched a new online store that sells its products directly to Australian end-users.
The online facility is part of the software giant’s global push to allow users to download and purchase its software without going through physical resellers or retailers.
It is being launched in partnership with Microsoft gold partner, arvato digital services, which selects product pricing. The company operates online Microsoft stores in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
“We went out with a global tender. Arvato replied to that tender and was successful and have been rolling out the store across a number of markets over the last 12 to 18 months,” Microsoft Australia Windows consumer product marketing manager, Karl Miklis, said.
He claimed there was no net loss for physical retailers and that Microsoft remained committed to its current distributors and retailers.
“We know from our interaction with customers that people really value the ability to go and have a one-on-one engagement with sales people and experience the full range of services that retailers provide,” Miklis said. “The programs and pricing we’re doing on the [online] store are reflective of what you’ll see with our retail partners.”
Miklis said the vendor was investigating the idea of physically sending customers product backups on discs, but there were no official plans to do so and that all purchases would need to be downloaded.
Calvert Technologies sales manager, Daniel Calvert, saw the move as a positive that wouldn’t detract from his company’s business due to its retail-style focus.
“From our point of view in our SMB space, it’s probably not going to affect us too much. It might make people more aware of what Microsoft has and any exposure is good exposure,” he said. “It’s not like our clients are going to go buy 10 copies of Office at the retail scores, so they still have to do that type of thing through us.”
The new store can be found here and will offer Windows 7 for online purchase from October 22.
Comments
Took em long
Took em long enough.
Innovation is slow at Microsoft.
the start of something big
This announcement may just be about the consumer products, but Microsoft's decision to offer its software products directly online is another example of a major paradigm shift occurring in the software distribution space.
Last week, ARN wrote about the gaming industry's increasing push to distribute its products directly and digitally, cutting out the retailer. Software-as-a-service is another exmaple of how software distribution is becoming an on-demand game.
The question is, what role do retailers and commercial software sellers morph into? Do they have a role? In the corporate end of the market, I see huge opportunities for holistic consulting and advisory services - the channel has always taken the "trusted advisor" approach, but it's going to be even more important as software moves into this new realm.
But I do question how physical retailers can compete in this space moving forward.
Dunno what all the fuss about
Dunno what all the fuss about windows 7 is about..
A lot of people have had windows 98 for ages..
And yes i am an idiot, thanks for asking lol
Wed, 07/10/2009 - 08:38 — Anonymous (not verified)
***..Slowly but surely, we'll all become slaves to these guys and we don't even know it yet.****
We have been for F**king years, its all Bull Sh**t, same with IBM, ACER, HP they have all dictated the selling price and its getting worse, they expect you to move their products but F**k you by leaving no margin.
At least it's only retail box product...
The only good news that we can get from this is that they are only selling the Retail Box software on the site, and not OEM.
Because the prices listed on the site are RRP, then all of us "little guys" will still get to preserver whatever small amounts of margin we get to make!
Microsoft are charging the same price for a downloaded piece of software... what happens when the customer's HDD crashes? They certainly don't have the CD to re-install! (So we can use this to our advantage)
Come on guys... let's try looking at the world with rose coloured glasses for a few minutes, and we might see the benefits! :-)
Little love from the big boys.
I agree with the first guy..Slowly but surely, we'll all become slaves to these guys and we don't even know it yet. Eventually we'll be at their mercy and they'll dictate everything - how much money we make etc and etc. It will affectively be a matter of who you know in order to get ahead in this business, which is not really fair for those who genuinely try hard. These are a sign of the times boys & girls !!
Just another example of a big
Just another example of a big player screwing the little guy. Thank God there's no NBN - as soon as people get cheap and fast internet, small players like us are gooone!
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