14 September 2006 | Hannah Fitzgibbon

Public-sector users of Microsoft licences are set to benefit from a potential £1 million discount after 1.5 million signed up for the service, OGCbuying.solutions said this week.

An OGCbuying.solutions spokeswoman said the savings were the result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft. The agreement was that as long as 1.5 million OGCbuying.solutions' clients required licences, the discount would be made available.

Under the deal, the price of Microsoft licences will be cheaper for public-sector organisations when the licence is renewed. The MoU covers enterprise agreements whereby companies pay a fixed price per PC, based on the number of PCs owned and products bought. The licence cost is then split over three years.

Hugh Barrett, OGCbuying.solutions' chief executive, said in a statement: "One and a half million public-sector users have joined together under OGC's leadership to make the most of their combined purchasing power. The savings can be reinvested into front-line public services."

OGCbuying.solutions has MoUs with companies such as Sun Microsystems, Oracle and IBM, which helped to contribute to £412 million savings it delivered in 2005 (Web news, 28 July).

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