Over 90% of all schools in Maryland, be them public, federal or private, K–12-and-higher education institutions, will use Microsoft software over the course of the next four years.
Microsoft announced that it has extended an agreement inked with the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC) in 1999 to 2015, providing in excess of 1.4 million students with access to cloud and on-premise solutions.
Microsoft announced that it has extended an agreement inked with the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC) in 1999 to 2015, providing in excess of 1.4 million students with access to cloud and on-premise solutions.
Because the education consortium negotiates on behalf of no less than 90% of Maryland schools, the software and services purchased from the Redmond company is available at discounted prices.
“It just makes sense for states to aggregate purchasing,” revealed Sig Behrens, general manager for U.S. Education at Microsoft.
“When done correctly, larger institutions end up helping the smaller ones get a better deal along with premier training and support. Those states that are looking to save money and increase student access should look to MEEC as the gold standard in statewide consortia.”
The software giant reveals that MEEC end up saving its members a few tens of millions of dollars per year since 1999, and that the cost saving will continue with the new agreement.
Over 250 Maryland schools are MEEC members, and as such will benefit from the new deal with Microsoft.
Don Spicer, associate vice chancellor and chief information officer, University System of Maryland explains that the consortium was able to negotiate a consistent set of technologies for all its members.
“Without the power of big organizations in the state helping the smaller schools, there would have increasingly been a digital divide,” Spicer added.
“Now that everyone has the opportunity to bring the latest technology to their campuses at competitive prices, the hope is that it will be easier for students to move from one segment of education to another because they will already be familiar with the products, and training for faculty and staff also becomes simpler.”
“It just makes sense for states to aggregate purchasing,” revealed Sig Behrens, general manager for U.S. Education at Microsoft.
“When done correctly, larger institutions end up helping the smaller ones get a better deal along with premier training and support. Those states that are looking to save money and increase student access should look to MEEC as the gold standard in statewide consortia.”
The software giant reveals that MEEC end up saving its members a few tens of millions of dollars per year since 1999, and that the cost saving will continue with the new agreement.
Over 250 Maryland schools are MEEC members, and as such will benefit from the new deal with Microsoft.
Don Spicer, associate vice chancellor and chief information officer, University System of Maryland explains that the consortium was able to negotiate a consistent set of technologies for all its members.
“Without the power of big organizations in the state helping the smaller schools, there would have increasingly been a digital divide,” Spicer added.
“Now that everyone has the opportunity to bring the latest technology to their campuses at competitive prices, the hope is that it will be easier for students to move from one segment of education to another because they will already be familiar with the products, and training for faculty and staff also becomes simpler.”
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