Microsoft Office annual certification test competition draws 300,000 students?

Impressive marketing:  Not only can Microsoft get 750 million people around the world to pay for Microsoft Office, but they can get 300,000 students to proudly compete to show off their word processing skills at a worldwide certification test competition.

Meanwhile, it’s considered a big deal that 1 million people have downloaded Symphony,  a free alternative.  That is only 0.1% of the Windows PC market (I can’t speak for the other operating systems).  P.T. Barnum clearly underestimated the birth rate of suckers.  (or whoever said it)

If you are a Lotus professional, you could do a better job advising your management of their options.  Save your company a few hundred thousand dollars and you’ll be a hero.  Some companies have a cost reduction incentive program where you can get 10% of the first year’s savings.  Unless you work at Microsoft, that’s a big chunk of change to leave on the table.

Some news is worth revisiting…

Microsoft Office Alternatives: Productivity Software Showdown

I am very curious to know how many of you have tried Symphony or Apache Open Office?  If your company uses MS Office, do you know how much your company is spending on it?  Have you presented the alternatives to your management?  What was their response?