Bundling software and hardware

Beware the Bundler

Article from Issue 142/2012
Author(s):

Why do companies pay a “Micro$oft Tax” for putting the Microsoft operating system in each and every desktop computer and laptop? This practice is a time-honored tradition called “bundling.”

When you “bundle” a software product with a hardware product (such as a laptop computer), you cut down on a lot of the costs of sales and manufacture. No longer does the software salesperson have to convince the end customer to buy their software. No longer does the OEM have to keep track of which systems have the software and which don’t. They simply cut a check to the software supplier based on the number of systems shipped.

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