Microsoft pushing Office 2007 with promos galore

Office 2007 is selling like hotcakes, according to the market researchers at NPD. And one big reason is the try-before-you-buy program that Microsoft put in place when it launched the product.

But promotions and steep discounts also could be another reason behind Microsoft's success with Office 2007.

On August 1, Microsoft launched a new incentive program called the "Office Partner Services Subsidy Promotion." The promo runs until January 31, 2008. To take advantage of it, customers must purchase a minimum of five and maximum of 200 qualifying Open volume licenses for Office Enterprise 2007, Office Professional Plus or Office Small Business. With each copy of Office purchased under the program, customers get up to a $150 partner subsidy that they can spend on software, hardware and/or services from their preferred partner.

Meanwhile, at the lower end of the market, Microsoft is kicking off on September 12 a promotion aimed at moving copies of Office 2007 Ultimate. Students can obtain a copy of the latest Office suite for $59.95. The normal retail price of this SKU is more than $600. The offer ends on April 30, 2008.

(Ironically, given Microsoft's growing crackdown on software piracy, the student promotion is named "The Ultimate Steal.")  Here's Microsoft's official release on the Office-student program, which it issued on September 12.

There just don't seem to be as many high-visibility Vista promotions out there as Office ones. Maybe if there were, the retail sales numbers for shrink-wrapped copies for Vista wouldn't be quite so bad.... Anyone know of any Vista deals worth checking out for those who've decided to upgrade?