About 80 percent of all university teachers in Australia will have access to the software under the agreement, said Don Carlson, national education manager at Microsoft Australia.
Individual universities will pay an annual subscription fee for the products. Microsoft declined to put a value on the deal - which is an extension of an existing three-year agreement at the universities. Carlson said with this contract, Microsoft took the base worldwide licensing agreement available to universities around the world and tweaked it for the local market.
This involved extending software access to entities that support the various universities such as research facilities, on campus child care centres and student unions. It also provides access to visiting professors, work at home rights and access for employees of universities affiliates. "We looked at the local needs and wrote them into the contract," he said.
