Microsoft pays university $250,000 to move to Office 365

Microsoft has paid the University of Nebraska $250,000 to use its new cloud productivity suite, Office 365, Neowin reports.

Though there are many jokes that could be made about a company that has to pay people to use its software, software companies often use incentives to accelerate adoption of enterprise software.

The funds will cover consulting, licenses, and a Microsoft Premier Support plan, and the move will save the university $500,000 in a year in email operating costs. The transition will apparently take 12 to 18 months.

Google and IBM had also approached the university with sales pitches, but Microsoft’s bid won because it was the most cost-effective solution.