BDO Digital Responds to Microsoft's Recent Investment in Education Software

Microsoft has made recent attempts to ramp up investment in education software and technology. This move reflects the company's strategy to capture a bigger piece of the education market from rivals such as Google, as well as place a greater importance on engaging students at a young age.

Some of the new tools Microsoft is rolling out include new dictation capabilities in Office 365. They're also expanding a Reader feature to Word for Mac, iPhone, and Android, which read texts out loud along with highlight the text simultaneously. Additionally, Microsoft has plans to infuse learning into popular games such as Minecraft and HaloLends.

I think that Google has done a great job in working with that market, and adjusting their technology early. A concern that I have had and I have voiced for quite some time is that for a young adult or child, if their first experience is not a Microsoft experience, and investment doesn't occur there, the risk becomes that you lose a generation of business buyers or business users or developers for a platform. So I'm excited that Microsoft is investing here.

- Ric Opal, BDO Digital

Get more of Ric's perspective on Microsoft's recent investment in education at CRN.com: Microsoft Deepens Education Investments in Bid to Close the Gap with Google.