REDMOND, Wash., March 31, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of new partner programs and resources for its Independent Software Vendor (ISV) community that will support both business and product development on the Microsoft®
platform as well as strengthen the support offered to ISVs throughout the development life cycle. New programs and resources include the Empower program — the first step in engagement, online community resources, technical enablement initiatives, business tools and a revised embedded licensing program. With this announcement, Microsoft is setting the resources in place to reach its goals of promoting long-term growth for ISV partners and creating an industry-leading ISV partner community.
“The new resources that Microsoft has made available for ISVs will save us time and energy as we move through the development process. By utilizing these resources and earning certification as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Captaris is better positioned to offer our customers the best in Microsoft technology-based unified messaging and electronic document delivery solutions,” said Charles Coats, senior business development manager at Captaris. “In a highly competitive market, it’s important to be efficient in the development process and have the right business tools to drive products to market faster.”
As of March 31, ISV partners across the breadth of Microsoft’s development community will be able to take advantage of the following:
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Empower program. The goal of this new program is to optimize the interaction between Microsoft and its ISV partners during development. The Empower program provides an easy “on ramp” for ISVs and serves as the first step in the engagement path to becoming a Microsoft Certified Partner. With the Empower program, ISV partners can take advantage of technical support, internal use licenses, MSDN®
developer program universal subscriptions, newsgroup support and developer workshops. ISVs in the Empower program commit to developing one product on the Microsoft platform within 12 months. -
Technical enablement initiatives. 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 subsidized testing of ISV software products. -
ISV community. 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/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.
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Business tools. 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 Newsgroups, 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 program to support ISVs in building their business.
The new programs and resources are an initial step by Microsoft to strengthen its commitment to ISV partners and grow the market opportunity to drive ISV profitability. By evolving the Microsoft platform to expose more of the development stack, ISVs can take advantage of a greater continuum of opportunities and focus their resources on developing higher-value technology and solutions for the end customer.
“Microsoft has always been committed to the success of our broad ISV partner community and will continue to rely heavily on that community to drive innovative solutions to market,” said Allison Watson, vice president of the Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Group at Microsoft. “The new programs and resources that we are announcing today are designed to help our partners drive profitability. We aim to provide our partners with the best development environment possible and give them the networking and business tools they need to be successful over the long term.”
More information on ISV programs and resources can be found at http://members.microsoft.com/partner/isv/ .
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