Should Microsoft bundle Office Pro?

By Lewis A. Mettler, Esq.

A lot of posts on here and elsewhere support the idea that an application could or should be bundled or integrated with the OS and that somehow that is appropriate.

Well. What if Microsoft decided to bundled (or integrate) Office Pro with the OS?

Would this not make a lot of sense? Would not all of the arguments regarding the inclusion of IE with the OS not also apply for Office Pro (you know the version that also has the DB system)? Certainly some cross dependencies can be fabricated so that they look inseparable. But, most importantly some real advantages would be sure to surface for Office Pro customers.

Could Microsoft do that? Clearly they could. Not a problem. Would the market accept it? I would argue that they would have no choice. The market has no choice now with IE. So, why would Office Pro be any different? It would increase the base price of all new computers by about $500. But, everyone gets this great product, right? And, of course 100% of the Microsoft customers want the latest version of Office Pro. Why use version 7 when you are forced to buy version 8?

The upgrade would only cost $300 or so. New systems pay the higher price. (ah..so what).

If bundling or integrating Office Pro is not fair, why or how can bundling or integrating IE be so?

I do not know any users on the Internet that does not already have a browser or does not want one. Yet, they are forced to buy now. Same with Office Pro. Either you have it or you do not want it. Either way you would have to buy the latest version and continue to maintain it.

Do not the technical arguments look a little lame? Oh, it is integrated, goes the cry. It is not bundled, it is integrated. When customer pay the money without choice on their part, they care less about some silly technical argument why their visa card gets hit so hard.

So. Do we bundle Office Pro? Do we bundle IE?

The only real question is whether we force all customers to pay for the selections of only a few.

Lewis A. Mettler, Esq.