Microsoft Teams was recently rolled out to National Health Service (NHS) doctors in the U.K. to aid in obtaining coronavirus test results much faster. Today, Microsoft announced a new partnership with NHS that will see the availability of Microsoft 365 tools to more employees of the health organization.
As part of the new agreement, some 1.2 million NHS staff members and medical professionals will have access to the full Microsoft 365 suite including Teams, among others. The tools will be distributed across various NHS organizations including Trusts, CCGs, and health Informatics Services. The partnership is expected to "save the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds," Microsoft says.
Regarding the new alliance, Cindy Rose, CEO of Microsoft UK, said:
“Microsoft is proud to support the NHS any way we can, especially in these challenging times. Since COVID-19, the NHS has rapidly accelerated its adoption of digital tools to enable clinicians and support staff to perform their life-saving work more effectively. This agreement ensures NHS organisations across England have access to modern productivity tools and solutions necessary to delivering better patient outcomes now and in the future.”
The Redmond-based software giant will also provide security tools to help the NHS protect access to various Microsoft applications across its healthcare system. The cybersecurity aspect of the deal builds upon an agreement announced in 2018 meant to help NHS beef up its cyber defenses using Windows 10.