Microsoft Live@edu now in use by over 22 million people

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that its Live@edu service is now in use by over 22 million people.

The Live@edu service provides communication tools and web-based applications as a hosted service for education institutions. The suite includes access to office Live Workspace, Windows Live SkyDrive, Microsoft Outlook Live, Windows Live Messenger and more. Demand for Microsoft’s Live@edu service has grown by 100% year-on-year. Around 27,000 people sign up for the service each day.

“Academia is often an early adopter of new technologies,” explained Micorsoft’s Anthony Salcito in a blog post on Wednesday. “I’m seeing schools around the globe lead the way in the transition to the cloud and digital learning environments.” Microsoft has signed a number of new schools over the past year, including:

Southern State Community College in Ohio
New Mexico State
Florida State
University of Colorado at Boulder
Kings College London
Royal National College for the Blind
Bahrain Ministry of Education
United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education

A number of schools have also started to adopt Microsoft’s Office 365 for education. Georgia State University, Dundee University in Scotland, East Norfolk Sixth College in England, the Inzai City Board of Education and Wakayama City Board of Education in Japan are all using Office 365. The cloud based service provides access to Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online.

“There’s no question the cloud has become an important asset for schools and universities,” says Salcito. “It enhances the educational experience and fosters 24/7 learning across multiple devices, while enabling skills development to help students prepare for their futures.”