Microsoft recently announced changes to the licensing model for Office 2010.  The first of these is to discontinue OEM editions of Microsoft Office, and replace it with what they are calling a PKC (Product Key Card) licence.

The product key card will be available from the PC manufacturer at the time of purchase or via retail stores.  Like the current MLK versions of 2007 and unlike versions prior to 2007 it will ship with no DVD media.

The key number contained on the card will unlock Office 2010 software that has been pre-loaded onto your new PC, and enables a simpler way for you to begin using Microsoft Office.  The three versions this applies to are, Office Home & Student 2010, Office Home & Business 2010, and Office Professional 2010.

Microsoft are also introducing Microsoft Office Starter 2010. The starter edition is basically a reduced-functionality version that includes in program advertising and will be available exclusively on new PCs. The goal for Microsoft being to expose as many people to office before they get a chance to install open source alternatives such as Open Office or Lotus Symphony both of which are free.

The Starter edition includes Office Word Starter 2010 and Office Excel Starter 2010, with the basic functionality for creating, viewing and editing documents, which on the one hand is offering a replacement to Microsoft Works, and on the other hand is offering the user a consistent experience, with things such as the Ribbon toolbar and a simple path to upgrade to a fully-featured version of Office 2010 directly from within the product.

From a technical perspective this is a great because there will be only two licence models, (Volume licence and PKC)  and it’s likely that every PC from major manufacturers like HP, Dell, and Lenovo to name a few will all ship with office on every PC.