Microsoft Wants To Make BizSpark Fly
It's a tough time to be...well, anything in business right now, it seems. But
it's a really tough time to be a startup business, what with credit markets
still tight and so forth. But there's some hope for those companies trying to
get a technology infrastructure up and running, and it's coming from Microsoft.
BizSpark
is a program through which Microsoft is providing lots of technology and services
with no up-front costs to companies that are fewer than three years old and
earn less than $1 million per year in revenue. It's a shot over the bow of open
source for Redmond, which has at times in the past had trouble convincing small
companies that the total cost of ownership for Microsoft technology is less
than that of open source.
Well, nothing's cheaper than free, and free is the initial price tag that BizSpark
carries. Of course, the idea is to get small and emerging firms hooked on Microsoft
by offering something free up-front -- not exactly a novel concept, but historically
a pretty effective one in lots of different markets. The timing of it seems
pretty good, too, and BizSpark will also include reasonable
credit terms for when money does inevitably change hands.
Windows Azure is, or can be, prominently involved in the plan, and hosting
partners will also have a role as providers of low-cost hosting to BizSpark
customers. And if BizSpark does start a fire that burns open source, the entire
Microsoft partner community could end up benefiting from the introduction of
a new generation of small companies into the Microsoft fold. That could end
up providing a little relief for everybody.
Are you participating in BizSpark? If so, how? Tell us at [email protected].
Posted by Lee Pender on November 06, 2008