REDMOND, Wash. — Feb. 27, 2014 — The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second-largest school district in the U.S., has selected Microsoft Office 365 as its faculty and staff email solution through implementation provided by SADA Systems, a Microsoft National Systems Integrator with Gold Competency. LAUSD chose Office 365 over competitors’ offerings due to the reliability, flexibility and security features of the service, as well as the opportunity to reduce the amount of time the district’s IT team spends on maintaining its infrastructure.
“With Office 365, we are supported by an integrated communication and collaboration platform that helps us work more efficiently and deliver better outcomes for teachers, administrators and students,” said Ron Chandler, chief information officer, LAUSD. “It also aligns with our vision for the district to move away from relying solely on our datacenter; the cloud enables us to free up resources and devote them to other mission-critical activities.”
Office 365 delivers the power of cloud productivity to educational institutions, helping save time and money while helping increase faculty productivity through a rich set of privacy, security and protection capabilities. It also allows users to collaborate, interact and share documents online, communicate easily via videoconferencing and instant messaging, and access email from many types of devices in virtually any location.
“Microsoft’s unique focus on data security and privacy was key to our decision to partner with them on this deployment,” said Hovig Safoian, chief technology officer, SADA Systems. “We believe cloud technology can transform education, empowering faculty and students to achieve more. LAUSD is incredibly important to us because they are leading technical modernization within school districts by moving to the cloud.”
In addition to providing the trusted and familiar experience of Office, the district also realized Office 365 would offer added benefits should a disaster ever strike Los Angeles, which is prone to earthquakes, fires and other natural calamities. Through the new technology, the district could connect remotely with teachers and staff to keep them apprised of breaking news and other districtwide communications, all while ensuring robust security and privacy for potentially confidential and sensitive information.
“An innovative and forward-thinking district is one that supports the modernization of its schools for the benefit of its faculty, staff and ultimately its students,” said Margo Day, vice president of U.S. Education, Microsoft. “There is no doubt that the Los Angeles Unified School District is leading the way in advancing educational processes through cloud technology.”
More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.
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