Microsoft renews Becta contract

UK schools will be able to buy cheaper software for another year after Becta licensing contract is extended another year

Schools across the UK will continue to benefit from cheaper software after the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) extended its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft for a further 12-months.

Under the agreement, which ran out last month, schools buying Microsoft software receive a discount ranging between 20 to 37 per cent.

Stephen Lucey, executive director, strategic technologies at Becta said: “We welcome this extension and the considerable savings already accrued under the MoU, estimated at around £47m over the last three years.

“This extension will ensure that schools can continue to benefit from the discounts set out in the original MoU for a further 12 months. We work on behalf of schools to make sure that if they choose to purchase Microsoft products, they can get the best value from those licensing agreements.”