As Office 2010 draws closer to completion, Microsoft has assailed any fears for those purchasing Office 2007 before the official release of 2010 by announcing the Technology Guarantee Program. The program is designed to let customers who purchase qualifying version of Office 2007 to receive a free download of Office 2010 when it becomes available to the general public in June this year.
Timeline of Technology Guarantee Program (3/5/2010-9/30/2010)
The qualifying editions of Office 2007 and the upgrade available to each can be seen in the table below.
The following 2007 products are not eligible for this program:
- Office Groove 2007
- Office Accounting
- Office InfoPath 2007
- Office SharePoint Designer 2007
Language packs need to be purchased separately for 2010.
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Program
When will the Office 2010 download be available? After Office 2010 is generally available and before October 31, 2010
How much will it cost? The download is for free, if you wish to have a DVD sent to you it will be for an additional cost.
What are the eligibility requirements?
- Offer valid on qualifying Microsoft Office 2007 products purchased and activated between March 5, 2010, and September 30, 2010.
- The Technology Guarantee upgrade must be requested by October 31, 2010. Requests made after this date will not be accepted.
- This offer is only for customers who purchase new, genuine, qualifying Office 2007 product from Microsoft or an authorized retailer, distributor, OEM or system builder. Ebay sellers or sellers reselling a used product are not authorized retailers.
- This program is not valid for volume license customers, customers with a Not-For-Resale or promotional product, or customers who purchase Office 2007 through the Home Use Rights or Student Select programs.
- Internet access is required. The Technology Guarantee verification and redemption process occurs online. Customers can choose to order physical media for a fee, but this order must be submitted online.
- Customers will be required to confirm the purchase date and have an activated Office 2007 Product Key in order to redeem the Technology Guarantee upgrade. Both the purchase date and the key activation date must be within March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010. Customers may also be required to provide their Office 2007 dated sales receipt, so customers should keep it until they redeem their upgrade offer.
- Customers are limited to one Office 2010 product for each corresponding qualifying Office 2007 product purchase.
- Customers are limited to 25 Office 2010 Technology Guarantee licenses each.
- The offer applies only to initial purchases or acquisitions of a qualifying Office 2007 product. See full list of the Office 2007 products that qualify for the Technology Guarantee and those that do not qualify.
- There are no refunds or returns for software downloaded or ordered on physical media through the Office 2010 Technology Guarantee program.
- Technology Guarantee upgrade availability varies by language, based on language-specific Office 2010 product release dates. The offer is not available in all languages. See the list of eligible languages.
- The program requires a Windows Live ID.
Knowing all of this, will you be purchasing Office 2007 now or will you wait for Office 2010?
Source – Microsoft OEM Partner Center
