Microsoft helps ISV community to realise potential, improve bottom line

Microsoft South Africa recently announced a new partner programme and resources for the local ISV (independent software vendor) community aimed at supporting business and product development on the Microsoft platform, as well as additional support for ISVs throughout the product development lifecycle.

ISVs are responsible for the development and design of software or Web-based solutions. The ISVs that develop products on the Microsoft platform are now able to benefit from various resources that have been put in place to promote long-term business growth and assist in improving their bottom lines.

The Microsoft ISV programme will offer initiatives such as online community resources, technical enablement initiatives, business tools and a revised licensing programme to better suit their business needs and environment.

"Microsoft has always been committed to the success of our local ISV community and we will continue to rely heavily on that community to drive innovative solutions to the South African market," says Gail Moffitt, ISV partner and programme manager at Microsoft. "These new programmes and resources are designed to help our partners drive profitability within their own businesses and we will be sure to provide them with the best development environment, networking and business tools to reach this goal."

The programmes and resources include:

The goal of this new programme is to optimise the interaction between Microsoft and its ISV partners during development. The Empower programme provides an effortless introduction for ISVs and serves as the first step in the engagement path to becoming a Microsoft Certified Partner.

With the Empower programme, ISV partners can take advantage of technical support, internal use licences, MSDN developer program universal subscriptions, and news group support and developer workshops. ISVs in the Empower programme will need to commit to developing one product on the Microsoft platform within a 12-month period.

Microsoft is aware that profitability is challenging for ISVs, given market demands and the required investments in developing software. To this end, ISV partners can access support and network through the Microsoft for Partners site (http://www.microsoft.com/southafrica/partner/isv), the ISV Newsletter and ISV Community Newsgroups. These resources provide around-the-clock access to information and a broader reach into the Microsoft partner community.

To assist ISV partners with expanding their business, Microsoft will offer sales and marketing tools, including a comprehensive guide to Microsoft ISV resources, access to solution provider and reseller contacts, new business news groups, go-to-market resources, and a worldwide resource directory to promote ISV applications and products. In addition, Microsoft is introducing new pricing on the embedded licensing programme to support ISVs in building their business.

The Windows ISV Tour is the first in a series of technical enablement initiatives. This broad-reaching testing initiative will assist ISVs in the migration and testing process by offering migration workshops and subsidised testing of ISV software products.

If the ISV commits to developing your products on the Microsoft platform, and selling or embedding your product combined with the Server products as a complete solution, Microsoft is offering preferential pricing on licensing, ensuring that ISVs remain competitive and aggressive in your solution pricing to your customers.

This is especially relevant to South African ISVs, who are able to develop their products with rand-based development costs. Microsoft does not want the Microsoft portion of the solution to hinder the sale of a combined solution, hence the reasoning for the introduction of the ISV licensing programmes and the greatly reduced pricing on the Microsoft Server Software, should the ISV sell or embed it with their applications.

Microsoft offers two primary licensing options to help ISVs achieve their business objectives, the Product Integration Programme and ISV Royalty Licensing Programme.

Both of these programmes deliver reduced costs, increased revenue, one-stop shopping for customers as well as the extension of product lifecycles.

If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft and the ISV programme, please visit the Microsoft Web page at www.microsoft.com/partner/isv and the Microsoft South Africa home page at www.microsoft.com/southafrica/partner/isv.