14 DAY TRIAL // With Live@edu
enjoying a strong adoption rate, Microsoft is already preparing to up the ante, from a privileged position thanks to its extensive Cloud investments.
Introduced in 2010, Office 365 is more than just a productivity suite for business users, with the Redmond company also pushing it as a catalyst of a shift to the Cloud for education.
At BETT in London on January 11, 2011, the software giant revealed that Office 365 for education is right on track to become available later this year.
A specific launch date wasn’t provided, and when I asked for one I received this answer from a Microsoft spokesperson: “Office 365 for education will be available in 2011.”
However, with it came the promise that additional details will be shared with me once they’re available, and of course, I’ll make sure to pass them along.
While confirming that Office 365 for education is indeed set for launch by the end of this year, the software giant also underlined that Live@edu is attracting new users faster than ever, having topped the 15 million students mark.
Over 4 million more students are using Live@edu now compared to just three months ago, when the number was at just 11 million.
In this regard, Office 365 for education is designed as the successor of Live@edu, with users getting to leverage extended capabilities.
All existing Live@edu customers will be able to migrate to Office 365 for education, and will be able to do it at their own pace, promised Anna Kinney, director of Live@edu.
“Our mission is to help people and organizations around the world realize their full potential, and we at Microsoft believe there's no better place to make that come to life than education,” stated Jon Perera, general manager of Education Strategy at Microsoft.
“We’re committed to developing technology that can unleash student creativity and help students and educators connect and collaborate.”
Schools and universities that are considering Office 365 for education, need to know that they will be able to allow users to take advantage of the same enterprise-class offerings that are packaged under the Office 365 for enterprises umbrella, namely Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Lync Online, Office Web Apps, and Office Professional Plus desktop software.
Perera however underlines that Office 365 for education will be tailored to the needs of students, teachers, etc. in more ways than one, including in terms of content and pricing.