New York State picks up Microsoft's Office 365

I'm a proud New Yorker -- I love my state. However, it has been a bit embarrassing lately with the scandalous Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer dominating the local and national news. Today, Governor Cuomo and Microsoft announce some much needed positive news -- New York State has selected Office 365 for its 120,000 employees. This is good news, as it will reportedly save New Yorkers $3 million per year!

"Our agreement with Microsoft [...] will make collaboration among state agencies easier and increase productivity, in addition to saving approximately $3 million annually for taxpayers. This agreement shows the progress we are making in our efforts to make state government more resourceful while delivering results for New Yorkers", says Governor Cuomo.

According to Microsoft COO Kevin Turner, "New York and Microsoft share the same goals -- to make state employees more productive, to ensure continuity of service and operations in times of emergency or natural disasters, and to save taxpayer dollars through a move to efficient and secure cloud technologies".

Office 365 will provide the state with the following benefits:

• A standardized platform for email, document creation, calendaring, contacts, and improved collaboration along with the ability to share files more efficiently across state executive agencies.
• Increased mailbox size of 25 gigabytes. (The current email capacity to these state agencies is 500 megabytes.)
• Secure access to email and files virtually anywhere, anytime, from multiple devices including laptops, smartphones, and tablets. This will help mobile workers and remote employees to provide valuable services to the state’s residents.
• Always up to date Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher, available from multiple devices, rather than restricted solely to a desktop computer.

The move to Office 365 is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2013 -- a lofty goal, to say the least, for transitioning an entire state. One thing is for sure; there will soon be 120,000 potential new users of the Microsoft Office app for iPhone and Android phones, so Microsoft benefits in yet another way.

Image Credit:  JCElv / Shutterstock