Microsoft to Donate $1 Billion in Cloud Services to Nonprofits and Researchers - The New York Times

A major expansion to a long-standing program ($1B in cloud services over the next three years); also see Why we need a public cloud for the public good (Satya Nadella in The Official Microsoft Blog)

"Microsoft has been giving away traditional software for years. Mr. Smith estimates the value of those software donations at about $750 million a year and said that they will continue even as Microsoft gives away cloud services.

Microsoft hopes to give away its cloud services to 70,000 nonprofits in the next three years. The company plans to expand by 50 percent an existing program that donates Azure storage and computing resources to university projects. The company will also invest in low-cost Internet access technologies in developing countries."

Microsoft to Donate $1 Billion in Cloud Services to Nonprofits and Researchers - The New York Times