In appearance, the backup discs look the same as discs often supplied with a new PC and are Orange (Office) Blue (Visio) & Green (Project)*. A white disc envelope with a DVD labled as a backup disc inside and a sticker bar code on the envelope. The software is initially downloaded using a key code supplied by email to a private email address. The process is not straightforward due to a software glitch on the download page. You have to 'add to your basket' and then click on your basket without waiting for the download bar to travel its course. Once the order has been placed, the reply (confirming acceptance) is not automated and some time may pass by before the operator sends her response. You also have to order Office as a single item order whereas Project and Visio can be ordered as a pair. For myself, a combination of telephoning the support line before and after placing my order helped oil the cogs.
You pay Microsoft direct not the agent however the agent is the gateway into the MS process by ensuring entitlement via a mod.uk email address. Service users without Dii access will not be able to process an application other than by proxy which is probably illegal. As I have stated previously; I did order backup discs at the same time which doubled the cost to approx £52 for three software downloads +discs. Office 2010 for a windows based PC, online download only would have been £8.95. Double that with a back-up DVD. The MAC software is Office 2011.
*The back-up discs are not in boxes and do not include documents.
MS Software Offer:
MS Office Professional 2010
MS Visio 2010
MS Project 2010
All at £8.95 instead of several hundreds of pounds each. The link is:
https://sabs.sbl.r.mil.uk which can only be reached by a Dii computer.