Office 365 for Nonprofits will be available globally for qualifying nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) through its software donation program, Microsoft announced. The donation is available immediately in 41 countries around the world and for up to 90 countries by July 2014.
“Today we are donating to nonprofits and NGOs access to Microsoft’s best-in-class cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools, enabling them to spend fewer resources and time on IT and focus on their missions addressing global issues, such as disease eradication, education and literacy, and environmental sustainability,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, president, Microsoft International.
He also continued by saying “Nonprofits operate in the same way as any other organization or business; however, many lack the resources to implement the latest technology. The donation of Office 365 allows them to be more effective and efficient in the work they do.”
“In many of the countries served by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), connectivity can be unreliable and equipment disproportionately expensive. Our Digital Divide Initiative aims to build professional capacity across our global network and help Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies that work in challenging environments to introduce technologies, such as cloud-based email servers, that are suited to their needs,” said Edward Happ, global chief information officer, IFRC.
“Building on this, we’ve made available Office 365 as our cloud-based solution. The technology just works; it helps people do what they need to do. This means that the time and energy of the National Society is devoted to helping the vulnerable, not to managing its IT systems. It makes a real difference to humanitarian delivery at minimum cost.” said Edward.
“Microsoft has a long-standing history of philanthropy, providing nonprofits with software donations and cash grants for the past 30 years,” said Lori Harnick, general manager, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft. “Office 365 for Nonprofits is a new, critical investment Microsoft is making in the global nonprofit community so nonprofits can streamline their IT and focus on doing more good.”
In a study by Microsoft’s software donation partner TechSoup Global, nonprofits reported that the top four advantages of cloud computing are easier IT administration (79 percent), cost savings (62 percent), improved collaboration (61 percent) and data security (54 percent).
Microsoft pointed out the many benefits of Office 365 compared to its competitor *cough Google Docs cough*:
- Ability to access information from virtually anywhere.
- Easy collaboration.
- Easy IT implementation.
- Reliability and up-to-date technology.
Microsoft’s has a long history of donating its software and to date has donated $795 million in cash, software and services to 70,286 nonprofits in more than 115 countries around the world.
