AN East Lancashire local authority is to spend £625,000 upgrading its Microsoft licences.

Blackburn with Darwen Council plans to spend the cash to unify its computerised telephony capability with a cloud-hosted system when it meets on Thursday.

Its digital boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood has asked the borough's executive board to approve the spending over four years using money from its ICT Capital reserve.

In a report to colleagues, he says: "This report seeks approval to upgrade the council’s Microsoft licences from E3 licences to M365 E5 licences and to introduce a new unified communications telephony solution from June 2022.

"The council is currently signed up to Microsoft E3 licences which gives the council access to core Microsoft products but does not include the full suite of products that are available.

"Whilst it was envisaged that a move to more enhanced licensing would be required, as a result of the pandemic the council’s operating model and reliance on technology has changed significantly and as a result there will be a requirement to access the full capability of the Microsoft toolset.

"Microsoft currently have a ramp up offer available for organisations moving to the M365 licence model which is discounted for the first two years of the agreement which is unlikely to be available

in the future.

"Purchasing licences separately for Microsoft products is prohibitively expensive. The new agreement bundles all required licences together giving the council the full benefit of the Microsoft

suite with the minimum of costs."