During its Ignite 2017 conference today, Microsoft announced a dedicated version of Microsoft 365 for the classroom. Appropriately called Microsoft 365 for Education, the program is an extension of the standard Microsoft 365 subscription bundle for businesses, only tailored for educators.
Microsoft 365, which Microsoft first announced in July, bundles together Windows 10 and Office 365 for business and enterprise users. Microsoft 365 for Education works similarly, providing access to Office 365 for Education and Windows 10 for students, faculty, and staff at educational institutions in a single subscription. In addition, Microsoft 365 for Education includes Enterprise Mobility and Security, along with Minecraft: Education Edition, which has become an increasingly impressive educational tool.
In addition to the new bundle offer for education customers, Microsoft also introduced Microsoft 365 F1, a bundle specifically tailored for firstline workers. Microsoft 365 F1 combines Office 365 F1, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility and Security with an enhanced Microsoft Staffhub and a range of new commercial Windows 10 S devices. From Microsoft:
Firstline Workers are those employees who are first to engage customers, represent a company's brand, and see products and services in action. They form the backbone of many of the world's largest industries but have been largely left behind in digital transformation. We believe there is tremendous opportunity to empower these workers to promote growth, spark innovation and accelerate an organization's success in the digital age.
Both offerings are in addition to enhancements to Microsoft 365 announced at Ignite 2017. A major part of the new capabilities revolves around enhancing search capabilities from employees. A private preview of Bing for Business brings together Microsoft's intelligent search and Microsoft Graph signals with public web searches to help surface information from within and outside of an organization.
Though it company recently confirmed as much, Microsoft also took to Ignite to formally announce that Microsoft Teams will replace Skype for Business as the "core communications client of Office 365." This will take place "over time," Microsoft says.
