One of the attractions of Windows RT tablets to business was to have been that it was coming with a baked-in version of Office 2013. And, so it will, it's just that you may, or may not, be able to use that edition for "commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities." Say what?
If sounded odd to me too, but Windows RT tablets will come with Office Home & Student 2013 RT and Microsoft expressly states that it is "not for use in commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities."
.....The Windows 8 Pro tablets and Surface devices, with x86 processors, are meant for the mainstream IT market and will support a business version of Office 2013.....
Read more at source:
Businesses can't use Office on Windows RT tablets!? | ZDNet
UPDATE:
Microsoft: Relax, You can Use Office 2013 RT for Work Too
Cue the freakouts. And the anti-Microsoft bloggers—here’s a completely random example—jumped right on this non-story in a bid to quell momentum for the Surface.
The thing is, Microsoft is aiming Windows RT, and thus Surface RT, at both consumers and businesses. And it has announced a coming management infrastructure for Windows RT in businesses. So how could this be true?
Sorry, that was a trick question. It isn’t true.
“I wanted to clarify Office on Windows RT devices for non-commercial use,” a Microsoft representative told me last night. “The answer on our site was incomplete. While Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview and the final edition are not designed for commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities as sold, organizations do have options for using the applications commercially – including purchasing commercial use rights or licensing any edition of the new Office with commercial use rights.”
According to Microsoft, you will be able to obtain commercial use rights for Office RT via Office 365, Office Standard or Professional Plus 2013, a Commercial Use License (which will be detailed in the coming days), or through volume licensing. The way it was described to me is that you simply obtain a regular Office 2013 license and can then use Office 2013 on the RT tablet commercially.
In other words, nothing to see here. Sorry, haters.
Last edited: