San Francisco — In a bid to win over future business, software heavyweight Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced a new “BizSpark” project in an effort to help a bunch of fledgling Internet startups and entrepreneurs to use Microsoft technology when launching new companies by providing them with free access to software, tech support and introductions to its business partners around the world.
BizSpark is a global project intended to “accelerate the success of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups” that have been in business for less than three years with less than $1m in annual revenue, using, of course, Microsoft technology, according to the Redmond, Washington-based software colossus.
“Microsoft BizSpark is an exciting way for us to help provide business startups with the development tools, advice and exposure they need,” said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.
The software giant is partnering with business networks around the world as well as government agencies. “We look forward to working with organizations and development agencies around the globe to foster entrepreneurship and help new companies succeed,” the company said.
“We are building a customer base for the future,” said Microsoft’s Dan’l Lewin.
“The rising tide of people building new companies, building successful companies using our product is good for us because we share in that over time. The goal is to remove any barriers to getting going.” he said in a statement.
The program helps start-up software companies with access to the company’s current full-featured development tools, server products and production licenses of server products with no up-front costs and minimal requirements, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said. The technology Microsoft is making available includes Visual Studio, Windows Server, SQL Server and Windows Azure.
“We will provide access to our software with no upfront costs whatsoever –qualified through a set of network partners,” Lewin said. The software available to the BizSpark participants include Microsoft’s Visual Studio application development tool set and “and virtually all of our servers,” including Windows Server, SQL Server and other technologies, such as Windows Azure — Microsoft’s recently announced cloud computing platform, Lewin said.
“Entrepreneurs play a vital role in driving innovation and creating the kinds of new jobs that are essential to sustainable economic growth,” said Ballmer, who no doubt has also been thinking about ways to lock-in small firms to the software giant’s platform.
The program is broken into six divisions: business applications; collaboration; consumer; enterprise infrastructure; mobility; and online content and service.
BizSpark comes with a three-year Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Professional subscription; MSDN allows developers to download development tools that are needed to build, test and maintain an application on the Microsoft platform, including Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft .NET Framework.
For start-ups building hosted software, BizSpark includes production licenses for application hosting and management servers, including Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server, BizTalk Server and Systems Center, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM to be added in the near future, the company said.
Moreover, the program also provides a global network of hosting partners that proffer discounted hosting services to start-ups that would want to take their businesses or products online using their BizSpark licenses. Start-ups will also be profiled and promoted on the BizSparkDB, Microsoft’s online directory of start-ups, where Microsoft said it will promote “promising” start-ups every day.
Criteria for Participating in BizSpark:
The criteria for taking part in the BizSpark program: BizSpark is available worldwide to privately held startups building a software-based product or service that have been in business less than three years and have less than $1 million in revenue, Lewin said.
Startups must be “nominated” by BizSpark Network Partners including economic development agencies, venture capitalists, business incubators, and groups such as global nonprofit The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).
“We think Microsoft BizSpark addresses a fundamental challenge startups face: access to current, full-featured tools and technologies that help turn ideas into a thriving business,” said TiE chief executive Suren Dutia.
“We are excited to be part of this new effort to propagate entrepreneurship globally, cultivating the future generation of highly successful entrepreneurs.”
There is no cap on the number of startups that can get into the BizSpark program and they can come from any of 82 countries.
“One of the most important concerns for companies is finding access to our technology. Sometimes the up-front costs can be a consideration and we wanted to remove those barriers,” said Lewin.
“It is coincidence; we were certainly not prescient in any way as to what is going on with financial markets around the world,” Lewin said.
“Our goal was always to launch this off the back of our Developers Conference held last week but regardless of the time, entrepreneurs are not dissuaded by poor economic times.” “We think this is really an opportune time. There are all these new applications for desktops, mobile phones, networks and there is a lot of stuff going on in the cloud.”
“Great economic companies get started in a downturn. It is timely to make an offer like this is a moment in time when for many companies these costs could be an inhibitor,” said Lewin.
Microsoft admits it is safeguarding its own interests by reaching out to help startups.
“Pretty much our entire business model is hinged on other people using our technology,” Lewin said. “Most startups do not make it. We would like them to survive and be using our technology.”
Start-ups pay nothing to be involved with BizSpark but there is a 100 dollar “exit fee” at the end of the three-year program or if companies leave for other reasons, such as being acquired or going bust.
More information about BizSpark and other startup resources is available at the Microsoft Startup Zone.