Bob Walsh writes an interesting blog about Micro ISVs. He is a Micro ISV himself as founder of Safari Software. He is also a blogger, and is writing a book, "Micro ISV - From Vision to Reality". He recently interviewed me for his blog and future book.
The whole interview can be found at, "Don Dodge, the man from Microsoft", but here is an excerpt;
Q. Would you say that the Emerging Business Team is the leader in Microsoft as to where Microsoft will put its acquisition dollars?
A. Well, we can be. What we try to do is find the emerging companies before everyone else does. We try to find the leading edge technologies where innovation is happening and companies that are going to be leaders in their space. So our job is to find the golden nuggets amongst the thousands and thousands of little start-ups. And surface those to the product groups in back in Redmond so they are aware of them, so they can work with them. They may work with them on a partnership basis, or it may graduate to a licensing, cross promotion deal, or in a few cases it results in acquisition.
There are thousands of small software companies out there creating useful solutions to real problems. They are closer to the customer and the problem so they can build customized solutions that totally meet the need. They can innovate quickly and react to problems and new opportunities much faster than the big software vendors.
At Microsoft we are always looking for ISV partners with unique insights and innovations. Sign up here to get into the action. You don't have to be a multi-million dollar company to partner with Microsoft. We love Micro ISVs too. We have a special partner program for small ISVs called Empower. It includes tons of software, memberships in MSDN, and even includes ten consulting hours. Sign up for Empower here.
Microsoft does not normally build vertical applications. We specialize in building low cost, high performance platforms and tools that address the widest possible requirements. Platforms like Windows, Office, Sharepoint, SQL Server, Live Communications Server, BizTalk, and others provide a rich platform for software developers to build innovative software applications. Tools like Visual Studio 2005 give developers everything they need to build robust applications in a highly visual and productive way.
There is lots of room for small software ISVs to fill in the holes in our product line and add tremendous value for customers. My group, the Emerging Business Team, is here to help you get started and build a successful partnership with Microsoft. Come grow with us.
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