We’ve spent quite a bit of time on our blog crowing about the benefits of Microsoft Office 365, but we just had to share this news.

Effective as of March 2012, Microsoft is now offering Office 365 for FREE to students, school faculty, and staff members! Offered as the Microsoft “A2” plan, the free service includes the standard Office features you know and love like Word, Outlook, and Excel. But Microsoft ups the ante by the including power-packed applications Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync.

Microsoft is cutting prices for Office 365 across the board to make it more easily affordable for organizations of all types, and will be releasing a full Office 365 for education service this summer. But you can get the jump on it and get your faculty, staff members, and students using this great service today, free of charge.

For more details check out the full announcement from Microsoft.

Have questions about MS 365 and cloud-based computing? Just give us a call. We would love to hear from you.

Jeff Dettloff is the President and Chief Problem Solver for Providence Consulting, Lansing’s leading provider of advanced computer services and innovative technology solutions.