Microsoft Supports IT Development in Hong Kong Educational Institutions
New Microsoft Campus Agreement Equips Local Campuses with the Latest Technology

HONG KONG - June 16, 1999 - Microsoft Hong Kong today signed a campus agreement with 10 local tertiary education institutions that will make it easier for them to offer the most current versions of operating system and productivity software to faculty, students and staff. The institutions include all eight members of the Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC): The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Lingnan College and The Hong Kong Institute of Education; JUCC affiliate members, The Open University of Hong Kong and the Vocational Training Council, are also part of the campus agreement.

The new higher-education licensing program, Microsoft® Campus Agreement, gives colleges and universities more flexibility and options when bringing the latest software to campus.

With the push to become one of the leading technology hubs in Asia, Hong Kong's tertiary institutions are looking to provide IT tools to their students and have been investing heavily in promoting technology development and education. The Campus Agreement aims to support these goals by including easier distribution of software to students and extension of the licenses to students after graduation, as well as lower total cost of ownership for the institutions.

"Microsoft believes that providing students and faculty with access to state-of-the-art technology is one of the greatest challenges educators face today, so we are committed to working with our education customers to find new ways to help them make the technology decisions that best fit the needs of their schools," said Graham Brant, general manager of Microsoft Hong Kong. "This software licensing program will help schools maximize their technology dollars and provide faculty, students and staff with the most current software for teaching, learning and administration."


Microsoft Campus Agreement: Efficient and Flexible

Nearly 150 colleges and universities worldwide have signed up to participate in the agreement to bring the latest software to students, faculty and staff. The Campus Agreement makes the process of licensing software easier and more flexible for tertiary education customers.

The Campus Agreement allows colleges and universities to obtain licenses for all versions of Microsoft Office Standard Edition and Professional Edition, Microsoft Office Macintosh Edition, Microsoft Windows® operating system Upgrade, Microsoft BackOffice® Server Client Access License, FrontPage® Web site creation and management tool, and the Visual Studio® development system Professional Edition, based on the number of full-time equivalents (FTEs) of faculty, staff and students. Tertiary education customers also can add licenses for other products, including Microsoft Project and Microsoft Press® multimedia training tools such as Windows 98 Starts Here®, Windows NTŪ Workstation Starts Here and Web Essentials Starts Here.

"To support Hong Kong's drive to become the region's leading high-tech city, the tertiary institutions are making extensive, long-term investments in promoting and deploying IT in tertiary education," said Dr. Nam Ng, director of the Joint Universities Computer Centre.

"We recognize that partnership is the answer in meeting our goal to accelerate IT deployments and equip university students with the latest technologies, and we are pleased that Microsoft can assist our efforts to fulfill this mission while reducing total cost of ownership," he said.

The Microsoft Campus Agreement allows colleges and universities to install and use the software obtained via the license agreement for one year from the date it was acquired. The cost for the Microsoft Campus Agreement is a flat rate based on a college or university's total FTE for students, faculty and staff. In addition, individual departments or schools at a college or university can sign a Microsoft Campus Agreement. At the end of the year, they can renew the license agreement based on an updated count of full-time equivalents for students, staff and faculty.


Microsoft Offers a Variety of Licensing Options for Education

In addition to the Microsoft Campus Agreement, all education customers have the option of participating in Microsoft's other volume licensing programs, which include the Open License Program, for customers with five or more computers, and the Select License Program, which offers a two-year agreement for customers with 1,000 or more PCs. The Open License Program provides discounts based on the amount customers acquire at the beginning of their term and gives customers two years to reorder at the same rate. The Open License Program is available from any Microsoft Authorized Education Reseller. Select discounts are based on customers' ability to forecast their license needs over a two-year period. Customers can aggregate purchases from multiple sites in the same country or around the world. The Select License Program is available only through the Large Account Reseller channel.

For more information about the Microsoft Campus Agreement, visit http://www.microsoft.com/education/pricing/campusagree/.

Incorporated in September 1970, Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC) is a cooperative effort of the Computer Centres of the eight tertiary institutions in Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Lingnan College and The Hong Kong Institute of Education. Besides serving the eight member institutions, JUCC also provides services to its affiliate members, The Open University of Hong Kong and Vocational Training Council.

JUCC's primary objective is to provide information technology services for its members with an aim to further the development of IT and services in the education community in Hong Kong and to serve academics in the nearby region. JUCC is currently operating a high-speed university data network system, the Hong Kong Academic and Research Network (HARNET), developed to support the research, collaboration, learning as well as teaching and administration of the UGC-funded institutions. Other service areas include areas of bulk tendering and purchasing, site licensing of hardware and software, and IT professional training.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day. The Microsoft Hong Kong office was established in 1991.