14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced a new partnership with the city of Toronto in order to provide technology tools for small companies in the region, which the company says should help them grow their businesses and create more jobs.
While this might look like a long-term investment from local authorities, it’s also an important win for Microsoft, as several large cities across the world decided to give up on its services and replace them with open-source alternatives.
Microsoft says that its productivity services can indeed help the city of Toronto and small and mid-size businesses grow and improve their offering, with the company also providing assistance and training sessions as they adopt the new solutions, including cloud-based services.
“The way we work, collaborate and communicate is changing and it is important that small businesses have technology in place that empowers them to be more agile, cost-efficient and competitive in today’s digital world,” said Janet Kennedy, President of Microsoft Canada.
“We are excited to bring our productivity suite of services to the City of Toronto’s program and look forward to continuing our commitment to helping Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses grow and prosper with modern technology.”
Cities moving away from Microsoft
The partnership between Microsoft and the city of Toronto certainly comes at the right time, as other authorities across the world already announced decisions to give up on Windows and Office and replace them with open-source alternatives.
Munich is the city that started the entire trend, but it wasn’t at all a smooth transition. Some of the local officials proposed a return to Microsoft software, claiming that training and assistance actually impacted productivity and explaining that in the end it all pays off to use Microsoft software because of the familiarity that users experience, which translates to a substantial productivity boost.
And yet, the transition off Microsoft products is happening and more authorities are willing to do it, not necessarily because of the costs, but also due to security concerns, as is the case of Russia.