Microsoft education price rises push schools to weigh Collabora and Nextcloud

Costs remain uncertain

The fallout from Microsoft’s education price rises and service cuts has left institutions weighing potentially higher bills. The precise amounts they will pay remain unclear, and Microsoft’s rivals are positioning their services as alternatives.

Mary Jo Foley of Directions on Microsoft gave indicative student prices of $2 a year for Microsoft 365 Education A2, $4 for A3 and $6 for A5. Teams would add $1 annually, while faculty licenses cost considerably more. The student A7 tier is priced at $385 a year before Teams; Foley said actual prices are set by Microsoft’s partners.

Free tier has limits

Microsoft 365 Education A0, the new no-cost student tier, does not include Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or Teams, services available in Office 365 A1. Its eligibility rules also require full paid faculty coverage on A2 or higher.

Students must actively use Windows devices for education to qualify. That condition could be awkward for institutions with fleets of Chromebooks.

Rivals see a migration window

Michael Meeks, CEO of Collabora Productivity, said Microsoft’s free offering helped draw schools’ email accounts, documents, identity management and classrooms onto its cloud. He described the arrangement to The Register as “Free was the bait on the hook.” Meeks said schools have a year to plan a move, and pointed to large-scale education projects such as the University of Lille as evidence that migration can be done in that time. Collabora Productivity and Nextcloud are among the alternatives being promoted to institutions.

Digital sovereignty in focus

Digital sovereignty is another factor that could lead educational institutions to consider leaving Microsoft, according to Collabora and Nextcloud. European governments are pursuing digitally sovereign strategies. The article also notes that the UK government has often accepted deals from Microsoft and other US technology companies, underscoring the continuing role of major US providers in public-sector technology decisions.