Microsoft - a friend to startups

My job at Microsoft is to help startups be successful by building a partnership with Microsoft. Today at Joel on Software a contributor wrote about his experience as a one person startup and how Microsoft helped him get going. Here is a snippet from his story;

Now I'm looking back on how I started off. I needed Visual Studio and Microsoft Office. Plus I needed old versions of Office and several localized versions of Office for testing. At the time Virtual PC wasn't free. I couldn't afford to keep buying boxed package software all the time.

Fortunately I signed up for Microsoft Empower and for, I think, 300 USD got a full MSDN subscription. On top of that because of my Windows Marketplace listing I got a small, constant stream of customers. Over time my software product got mentioned in a Microsoft help file, which again gives me a constant stream of orders.

I generally feel that Microsoft helped me (a 1 person software band) succeed in so far as my software product is now the number one choice for a certain niche.

His story and the comments from readers prove that Microsoft really works hard to help startups, small ISVs, and developers from any size company, get what they need to be successful.

I wrote a blog a while ago "How to Partner with Microsoft" that explains many of the programs and resources available for free, and links to sign up. Here are just a few of the programs;

Get free software and support. The Empower Program for ISVs helps new software companies get software, consulting, and MSDN subscriptions for the low price of just $375. The software alone is worth over $10,000.

Join the ISV community. Microsoft has a special ISV Zone for software companies. Find partners, get leads, get beta software, and get involved in the community.

Microsoft Startup Zone. If you are a startup you should visit the Microsoft StartupZone. The StartupZone is managed by the Emerging Business Team which is focused on helping startups build a relationship with Microsoft.

Subscribe - To get an automatic feed of all future posts subscribe here, or to receive them via email go here and enter your email address in the box in the right column.

Comments

[visitor]

I love Microsoft.
Why they don't get the same appeal Apple have? Every body seems to hate them!
Sad but true.

[Jack]

Hi don, how about MS entering its partner's space? For example, AV(Windows OneCare). If we (ISV/Solution provider) build big enough market or provide a function like anti spyware. Aren't we setting ourselves on the chopping block? isn't MS's partner program a double edge sword?

[Scott Quick]

I read somewhere that the vast majority of revenue for MSFT is generated through partner channels - including OEMs, ISVs, SIs, etc... Is this true?

[DonDodge]

Scott, Yes, it is true Microsoft gets the vast majority of its revenue through / around partners. I have heard numbers as high as 80%. A significant portion of that is Windows and Office shipped on PCs. But, there are thousands of partners selling software products that leverage billions of Microsoft revenue.

Jack, There are thousands of Microsoft partners who have built great businesses around Microsoft. In the case of AntiVirus customers demanded a built in Microsoft solution. So, Microsoft made several acquisitions of partners in this space. The partner companies and their investors were very happy.

A/V is a rare case. There is lots of opportunity space for partners across all product lines and market segments.

[Isaac]

Hi Don,

I guess there are several problems with building on top of/relying on MS technology. Two is technological and the other two are philosophical:

1. Technological: By using MS technology, you place a bet on the proprietary software. Indeed there are advantages such as supports. But you also have to rely on the company to fix the bug/release patches. You need a strong faith that MS produce great products because you will not be able to fix the bugs on your own.

2. MS technology are tightly integrated, which means I usually have to use the whole package. MS products are not always the easiest to use (for me... I still have no idea what Sharepoint server is) and will I be willing to sacrifice this flexibility?

3. Economical: although there are incentives, the support cost of MS products will take a toll, esp for startups. I always thought... maybe the best solution is MS develop a VC branch (like Y combinator) that invests in startups... allow them cheap access to MS products (but not mandatory).

4. Licensing. since most MS products are propriety you might run into the licensing fiasco like TestDriven.NET

5. MS has to tendency to extend into its customer market. Nice that you mention the Antivirus market, because MS now directly competes in the market with OneCare. Now can a startup owner sure if MS will not compete with me one day, esp. since MS is so big and pervasive.