What are some good alternatives to Microsoft services for our student team?

0
6
Asked By TechNinja99 On

I'm the sysadmin and IT department leader for a formula student team in Germany, which includes around 100 active members and 250 alumni. We've been using Microsoft's nonprofit plan effectively, benefiting from 300 free E1 licenses for active members and 300 Business Basic licenses for alumni. However, Microsoft just announced they will discontinue the E1 grants on July 26th—this gives us just 72 days notice. Now we're looking at having to pay around €4,000 for licenses, and I suspect the Business Basic licenses might be next on the chopping block. We rely on Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online, and I'm wondering if there are good alternatives that are easy to implement and ideally free or come with a one-time cost. We're okay with self-hosting since we've done that before.

4 Answers

Answered By AlternativeExplorer87 On

Have you looked into Univention? It's developed specifically for educational institutions and could provide an all-in-one solution for your needs. Just a thought! It might save you some trouble managing different services.

CautiousCoder42 -

I checked their site, but they mostly focus on identity management. It doesn't seem to cover email and chat features as well.

Answered By UserFriendly124 On

It sounds frustrating! While Google and Microsoft are the usual go-tos, have you checked if you qualify for the A1 licenses for education? They're free and might help bridge the gap a bit. That said, self-hosting email can be tough. If you do decide to pay the license fee, I'd recommend planning for a more orderly transition to alternatives like Google Nonprofits for the future. Just keep in mind that many organizations face similar situations and often return to Microsoft after trying to move away.

RaceCarBuilder27 -

Thanks for the suggestion! The A1 license sounds promising, so we'll definitely look into that. I appreciate the advice on planning for future transitions.

Answered By FutureFreeSpaces On

Just as a heads-up, if your licenses are monthly, the changes take effect immediately, but if you go annual, they might last until your renewal date. Also, there are rumors of good experiences with Linux alternatives if you want to venture that way, though many have returned to Microsoft. Whatever you choose, just keep your users informed. It'll help ease the transition.

RaceCarBuilder27 -

That's good info to have! We'll need to stay on top of when the licenses actually change. Thanks for the heads up!

Answered By DigitalNomad365 On

It seems like managing everything in such a tight timeline will be really hard. If you're looking for complete independence from Microsoft, consider open-source solutions like Nextcloud combined with a mail server. They require some setup and learning, but it's a good long-term solution. Also, contacting your university's IT department could yield some helpful resources or support.

TechNinja99 -

Totally agree! I’ve heard Nextcloud can do a lot, but the initial setup might be a bear. I’ll reach out to our IT department to see if they have any existing systems we can use.

Related Questions

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.