Reading Time: 5 minutes

Barracuda Education Licensing: How It Works for UK Schools and Colleges

What is Barracuda Education Licensing?

Barracuda education licensing is a tailored programme that provides cybersecurity and backup solutions to schools, colleges, academies, and multi-academy trusts (MATs). The big benefit? Students go free. Eligible UK institutions can license Barracuda’s full product suite for students without charge, while staff get heavily discounted rates.

This approach helps education providers safeguard their digital environments affordably, meeting regulatory and safeguarding requirements without straining IT budgets.

How Does Barracuda Licence for Students vs Staff?

Licensing is split into two main categories:

Students – 100% free licensing for eligible users, with access to email protection, DNS filtering, backup and more.
Staff – Paid per user, but at substantially discounted rates compared to commercial sectors.

The number of student licences provided usually scales with staff numbers. For example, for every 1 paid staff licence, you may receive up to 10–15 student licences free of charge. However, exact ratios may vary based on the product bundle and institution size.

Eligibility Criteria for Free Student Licensing

To qualify for free Barracuda education licensing, your institution must meet these key requirements:

Be a registered UK educational establishment
Operate under a .sch.uk, .ac.uk, .org.uk domain (or recognised educational domain)
Be procuring a minimum number of staff licences
Have an approved supplier such as Qual Limited facilitate the application

Colleges, academies, universities, and MATs all qualify — even independent and private schools can benefit.

Whats Included in Barracuda's Premium Plus Free Education Offering?

Feature	Student	Staff
Email Threat Protection
URL Filtering
Impersonation Protection
Microsoft 365 / Google Backup
Phishing Simulation
Reporting & Analytics
Incident response

This structure ensures schools protect all users while enabling compliance with KCSIE, Prevent, and Cyber Essentials standards.

Common Misunderstandings About Education Licensing

Let’s clear up a few myths around barracuda education licensing:

“It’s a limited version” – False. Students get full security features, not stripped-down versions.
“It’s a short-term deal” – No. Education licensing renews annually and is available long term.
“Setup is complicated” – Not true. With the right partner, onboarding is straightforward and low maintenance.

Working with a Barracuda-approved supplier ensures everything is configured correctly and support is ongoing.

How to Apply for Barracuda Education Licensing

Getting started is easier than you might think:

Speak to a Barracuda education supplier like Qual Limited
Confirm your eligibility with a quick call or email
Receive your quote for staff licensing (student licences come free)
Set up your environment with remote or on-site help
Start protecting your users within days

We recommend renewing licenses annually and reviewing staff numbers to ensure you continue receiving the student bundle free.

Why Work with an Approved Barracuda Education Supplier?

Choosing an approved supplier like Qual Limited guarantees:

Verified eligibility
Correct licence mapping
Integration with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace
Ongoing technical support
Cyber security advice tailored to education

This isn’t just a vendor transaction. It’s a partnership designed to protect your school and keep costs predictable year-on-year.

FAQs on Barracuda Education Licensing

How much does staff licensing cost?

Staff pricing is heavily reduced for education — it’s typically 40–70% cheaper than business pricing.

Can we protect hybrid users (staff who are also students)?

Yes. Your licensing partner will help ensure each role is assigned the appropriate license type.

What happens if we grow and need more licences?

Your supplier can top up your licensing throughout the year. Many schools request new student or staff seats each term.

Are licences site-wide or user-based?

Licensing is typically per-user, not per-device or per-site. That means each email or cloud identity gets a licence.

Get Support from Qual Limited

As a trusted Barracuda education licensing partner, Qual Limited helps schools and colleges across the UK:

Claim their free student seats
Set up staff subscriptions
Migrate safely from legacy security solutions
Train IT staff for confident rollout and management

If you’re looking to modernise your security, reduce costs, or simply understand your licensing options better — speak to us today.

Contact James: Free Consultation

At Qual Limited, we specialise in streamlining IT procurement and fulfilment for businesses of all sizes. Our approach includes:

A dedicated Personal Account Manager to handle your IT needs
End-to-end procurement support, from vendor selection to delivery
Strategic cost-saving solutions tailored to your budget
Access to an extensive network of global IT vendors

With 30 years of experience, we understand the challenges of IT procurement and provide customised solutions to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce costs, and improve IT fulfilment speed.

Cyber Securirty doesn’t have to be complex. Qual Limited simplifies the entire process, ensuring you get the right IT solutions at the right price, without the usual frustrations and delays.

Book a consultation today with your dedicated Personal Account Manager and discover how we can streamline IT procurement, enhance efficiency, and drive cost savings.

Contact James book your consultation now and take the stress out of IT procurement with Qual Limited