Redmond has signed a new partnership with Thai authorities

May 21, 2014 12:12 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft Thailand has just signed a deal with the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) in the country to provide 8 million students and 400,000 teachers across Thailand with free access to Microsoft Office 365 for education for the next 5 years.

All schools under OBEC jurisdiction will thus receive access to Office 365 productivity tools, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, but also to powerful communication and collaboration solutions that could support the growth of the education sector.

The deal represents the biggest cloud service deal ever signed by Microsoft, the company said in a press statement, mostly because so many students would be provided with the company's productivity suite as part of the partnership with local authorities.

“OBEC and Microsoft have enjoyed 10 years of collaboration for the betterment of Thailand’s future under Partners in Learning,” said OBEC Senior Advisor in Technology for Teaching and Learning, Anek Ratpiyapaporn. “The 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan states that Thailand’s top priority is to develop its human resources through improvement in education. Microsoft’s support will ensure that educators and students are empowered with solutions and platforms that are aligned with their needs.

Just as expected, Microsoft officials were absolutely delighted with the deal and said in a statement that investments in the country would continue.

According to Haresh Khoobchandani, managing director of Microsoft Thailand, said that the company has until now invested $5.2 million (3.6 million euros) in the country, and similar programs will go on as part of the YouthSpark initiative.

“Microsoft has always seen technology as an important enabler of quality education, and this memorandum of understanding underscores our long-term commitment to Thailand and our vision of a holistic transformation of the Thai education system. Throughout Microsoft’s 20 years in Thailand, we have invested $5.2 million (156 million THB) in Thai education as part of our vision of We Make 70 Million Lives Better,” he said.

Office 365 continues to play a key role for Microsoft, especially because the company continues the transition to a devices and services approach, meaning that Redmond really needs to bring as many users as possible to its cloud productivity suite.

The company has already signed several deals for Office 365 with other companies across the world, but today's partnership is clearly the biggest of its kind. Of course, expect the software giant to do the same in the coming months, so don't be too surprised if more such deals will be announced soon.