CloudReady Extends Life of PCs to Run Office 365 Education Edition -- THE Journal

Breaking News

CloudReady Extends Life of PCs to Run Office 365 Education Edition

By Dian Schaffhauser
04/05/17

A company that specializes in desktop virtualization has released an edition of its technology specifically to work with Microsoft Office 365 Education Edition. CloudReady, which Neverware developed in partnership with Microsoft, is intended to help districts run newer software and services on older machines, thereby extending their usage lives.

When installed on a school's devices, including older PCs and Macs released over the last decade, CloudReady enables IT administrators to manage the hardware and online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and other applications. In essence, the software converts the machine into a device that's similar to a Chromebook.

In 2015 Neverware launched the CloudReady operating system, which integrated with Google's suite of education apps and works with Google's G Suite Administrator console. According to the company, the price for the program is $1 per student per school year, including support, when the entire district is enrolled. An annual per-device license is $15; a perpetual per-device license is $59.

"Neverware's founding mission was to bring world-class technology to the students and teachers who need it most," said CEO Andrew Bauer, in a press release. "Through our partnership with Microsoft, we're proud to be able to offer our customers access to the best of both worlds: the speed, security and manageability of CloudReady along with the productivity and collaboration they love in Office 365."

Among the school systems that have worked with Neverware are Huntsville Independent School District in Texas, Woodford County Public Schools in Kentucky, Methacton School District in Pennsylvania and Ovid-Elsie Area Schools in Michigan.

The company offers a three-week trial subscription on its website here.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

E-Mail this page

Printable Format

Featured

Meta Introduces Stand-Alone AI App

Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.
OpenAI Launches GPT-4.1, Offering Upgrades in Coding, Context Processing, Efficiency

OpenAI has introduced GPT-4.1, offering stronger performance across software development, instruction following, and long-context comprehension.
HMH Forms Educator Council to Inform AI Tool Development

Adaptive learning company HMH has established an AI Educator Council that brings together teachers, instructional coaches and leaders from school district across the country to help shape its AI solutions.
Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot to Become Available for Teen Students

This summer, Microsoft is expanding availability of its Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot products for students aged 13 and older. Administrators will be able to grant access for students based on their institution's plans and preferences, the company announced in a blog post.