Cost benefits

• Academic software versions are much cheaper than other software versions. Academic software versions are provided for free or at reduced prices by companies, including Microsoft, to students and faculty. Donated software provides a tax deduction to the software seller. An academic software discount provides access to students who may not be able to afford the cost of the full program.
  
  

Feature Restriction

• Academic software versions may include limits. Often, these programs operate similarly to shareware. Shareware programs disable certain features, so that users must pay the company for a full edition if they want to unlock the full functionality of the program. An academic software version allows students to learn basic features of the software, as they may not be skilled enough to operate advanced features while they are in school anyway.
  
  

Piracy

• Piracy is reduced by academic versions of software. Students may be able to download pirated versions of a software program, so an academic version of software allows them to gain a legitimate copy of the software. Providing discounted software versions to students promotes a positive image of the software company.
  
  

Brand Loyalty

• Brand loyalty is increased by academic software. Since academic software is available, a professor may design lesson plans around the use of a specific program. When the students graduate, they are more skilled in performing their work with the program they used in school. This makes the graduates more likely to buy the full version of the software for home use, as well as to persuade managers at their company to buy a corporate license for the program.
  
  

Software Regulations

• Academic software programs include regulations. A typical feature of the license agreement is that the student or faculty must use the program for non-commercial use. This limits competition from users of the free or cheap version of the program, and provides an additional incentive for software users to purchase the full version of the software program later. According to Studica Software, academic users are also required to verify that they are a student or teacher at a school.