Apple Announces Mac Apps Volume Purchase Program

Apple, Inc. on Thursday sent an email to developers in which the company outlined plans for a new Mac apps based Volume Purchase Program. Under the plan businesses and educational facilities will be able to purchase multiple copies of an app at a deeply discounted rate.

Along with offering the Volume Purchase Program for Mac Apps, developers will be able to offer discounts on bulk app purchases. The program will help developers target certain demographics within the business and education markets.

Businesses and educational institutions that purchase 20 or more copies of a participating app will receive a 50 percent discount on their order.

Developers can choose to join the Value Purchase Program but are not signed up by default. Developers can join the program by way of the iTunes Connect platform.

By offering the Volume Purchase Program the company may be taking a more pro-active step in attracting business users. The cost of acquiring iMacs, Macbooks and other Apple based products is already high. Offering cheaper software could over time help the company win over new business users.

Many businesses have taken advantage of VPP purchases for iPhone devices in the past which should help them fall in line with the Mac apps Volume Purchase Program.

The Volume Purchase Program started in 2010 and was originally part of the Apple in Education initiative. The program received so much attention that Apple, Inc. eventually extended the offering to businesses that deploy multiple iOS devices in the form of iPads and iPhones.

Apple already offers education discounts on actual hardware, even if only one computer is purchased at a time. With deeper discounts now available for Apple supported software the company could slice off a piece of the Microsoft Windows pie that it has been yearning to push out for many years.