Sales of used licenses for Office 2019 Standard have increased tenfold or more in the past year, European used software provider usedSoft said. The demand for licences for remote access to company servers for teleworking has also exploded.
In 2020, ten times more Office 2019 Standard was purchased than in the previous year. Jennifer Schneider, Managing Director of usedSoft, gives several explanations for this increased demand: "since the beginning of the health crisis, many companies have had to create new teleworking workstations on which Microsoft Office had to be installed. It is hardly surprising that the majority of companies have opted for second-hand licences of the latest version. On the second-hand market, Office 2019 is sold for up to 50% less than a new version. Second-hand licences also continue to be an alternative for those who do not want to depend on Microsoft's cloud or subscription model."
In addition to the explosion in teleworking, the end of support for "Office 2010" would explain the rush to newer versions of Office, adds Jennifer Schneider: "Office 2016 Standard, last year's best-selling product, is also a top seller. The 2016 version costs much less than its successor and still offers all the important programs. In the current economic circumstances, companies do not want to spend more than they have to. More Standard licenses were sold for all versions. Conversely, the Professional Plus edition has seen a decline in popularity. The Standard package is more than sufficient for most companies with its complete basic program package."
The list of the ten best-selling products for 2020 also includes several "RDS CALs" (Client Access Licences for Remote Desktop Services). These are licenses that companies need to access their servers remotely from desktops or laptops. "The creation of new remote workstations must be accompanied by remote access licences", says Jennifer Schneider. "As soon as the pandemic started, we lowered the prices for such access licences. We also take care of the activation of the RDS CALs for our customers to ensure that they receive new licences quickly."
usedSoft has many years of experience in the software licensing market. The company was the first European supplier to integrate the used software trade into the B2B market and is now the market leader.