Small and mid-size software vendors can get discounted software licenses and technical help through Microsoft's new Empower partner program. The introductory program is part of a larger campaign to help smaller ISVs create certified applications on the latest versions of Windows and gain formal partner certification for their organizations. This in turn could make it easier for customers and systems integrators to find certified Windows applications and vendors in specific industries, and for small ISVs to jump-start efforts to get technical or marketing help from Microsoft.

Empower Offers Licenses, Support

Empower is an introductory program for ISVs who aren't already certified partners and who are seeking Windows logo certification for an application. ISVs accepted into the program receive the following:

• A five-user Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Universal subscription, which delivers the Visual Studio development tools as well as test versions of most Microsoft enterprise products
• Up to five Windows XP or Office XP licenses for production use (in addition to the test-only licenses delivered by MSDN Universal)
• One production server license and up to five production Client Access Licenses (CALs) for Windows Server, SQL Server, Exchange, or SharePoint.

Members receive a free trial for "concierge" support (in which an operator helps locates online resources, such as MSDN articles) and have access to MSDN Online managed support newsgroups monitored by Microsoft Support personnel.

To join Empower, a company must commit to releasing a certified application within 12 months on one of the following platforms:

• Windows Server 2003
• Windows XP
• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• SQL Server 2000
• Windows-powered Pocket PCs or Smartphones.

Software vendors who meet the certification requirement for an application automatically become Microsoft Certified Partners, and they get the other benefits of application certification, such as a listing in a certified application catalog on Microsoft's Web site. Software vendors have always been able to gain Certified Partner status by developing a certified application, but the new program makes that route easier. (An alternative route is to keep two Microsoft Certified Professionals on staff.)

Companies joining Empower must pay a membership fee of approximately US$750 (the fee varies by region). This represents a substantial discount off the cost of the licenses the program delivers: five MSDN Universal user licenses, for instance, would cost US$7,595 at typical discount levels. Some "early bird" discounts are available as well: companies that enroll by June 30, 2003, receive a rebate of US$250, and the entire fee will be waived for companies that enroll by April 30, 2003, and commit to getting an application certified on Windows Server 2003.

Surprisingly, Empower does not require that certified applications run on the .NET Framework. According to Margaret Cobb, general manager of Worldwide ISV programs at Microsoft, Empower does not currently require use of the .NET Framework because there aren't yet technical standards that define what it means to use the .NET Framework and there aren't test technologies for verifying its use.

Tour to Aid Testing

The Empower program complements a number of other changes to Microsoft's ISV programs. Most notable is a new "Windows ISV Tour" program, which helps vendors test applications for formal Windows certification. Under the program, vendors can bring a candidate application to a test site, run it through the certification test suite, and get help interpreting the results from support personnel at the site. Vendors who participate by Dec. 30, 2003, also receive a coupon for free certification testing by Veritest. In the United States the tour will visit four Microsoft Technology Centers (Mountain View, CA; Chicago, IL; Boston; MA; Austin, TX); sites and dates outside the United States will be set by the subsidiaries for those regions.

The company has also made some adjustments to its pricing and licensing programs, which could benefit small ISVs that redistribute Microsoft products such as SQL Server. In particular, the Royalty Licensing program, which offers the steepest discounts on licenses for redistribution, now requires ISVs to commit to only US$50,000 in sales of Microsoft products annually, rather than US$100,000 as before.

For details on Empower, the Windows ISV tour, and other partner programs for ISVs in the United States, see the company's new ISV partner site, www.microsoft.com/partner/isv/. ISVs outside the United States should check the site of their local Microsoft subsidiary.