Microsoft Releases New Office 2007 Edition for Africa

At the end of the past year, Microsoft launched a new edition of Office 2007 targeted at markets on the African continent. The Office 2007 Home and Student for Africa SKU comes with a discounted price of approximately 39 Euro or $53, namely the equivalent of 3,999 Kenyan Shillings. According to the Redmond company, the new edition of Office 2007 was considered necessary after taking into account feedback from customers and partners in Africa, and after studying the market for a few years. (via the Kenya Broadcasting Corp.)

Microsoft is making no secret of the fact that the new The Office 2007 Home and Student for Africa is designed to curb rampant piracy on the continent. The promotional price of just 3,999 KES is designed to make the product more attractive to customers, as opposed to counterfeit copies of the productivity suite. General Manager, Microsoft East and Southern Africa Louis Otieno stated, "As a pioneer in Information Technology, Microsoft is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to genuine software and the skills they need to achieve their potential at the most affordable pricing.”

African customers that buy the Office 2007 Home and Student for Africa edition will be able to install the productivity suite on no less than three different computers. The product features the following components: Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, OneNote 2007. Microsoft reveals that the new SKU of Office 2007 has been available for purchase to customers in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria since December 15th 2009. The company has not said whether it plans to make available a similar offering built around Office 2010, which third-party sources have indicated is on track for general availability on June 15th, 2010.

It is estimated that approximately 80% of computers in Africa run pirated software. Otieno underlines that users must understand that genuine products come with added security, and are in this regard superior to pirated materials. "This means that documents are safe from hackers who may want to collect private data. With the advent of online banking and other forms of payment through e-commerce, it pays to operate on a secure platform with built in malware, firewall and online updates direct to your PC especially when banking from home or ordering goods and services online like courses and holidays," Otieno added.