The pricing and plans for Office 365 for Small Businesses and Enterprises were announced back in October last year, however details about Office 365 for Education – the replacement for Live@EDU – was vague. Today Microsoft announced at BETT (British Educational Training and Technology) – world’s largest education technology exhibition – the pricing and plans for Office 365 for Education:
Live@EDU customers will receive the same Microsoft Exchange services with new enhancements for free as part of Office 365 for Education, which includes:
- Exchange Online for e-mail, mobile access, calendar, discovery, anti-virus and anti-spam. These enterprise-level services will continue to be free for students, educators and staff.
- Control and management features
- Outlook Web App
- Single sign on
- 24×7 IT-level support
In addition, the following services extend Microsoft’s commitment to bring students the latest technology free of charge and at academic licensing (USD$ 10 per month per person) for educators and staff:
- SharePoint Online
- Lync Online for IM and online discussions
- Office Web Apps web productivity applications
- My Sites and other new team sites
- Site search capabilities
For organizations that want Office Professional Plus desktop software there will be a monthly price of USD$ 14 per educator and staff and USD$ 2 per student instead, which will include the following in addition to all the services listed above:
- Office Professional Plus desktop software
- On-premises licenses
- Control and management features
According to Anna Kinney, Director of Live@EDU, when Office 365 launches later this year, existing Live@EDU customers will have a smooth transition path to the new platform. You can check out further details about the announcement by watching the video below: