Programs Build ISV Businesses, Channels

In an effort to rebuild a healthy network of ISVs that write software for its platform, Microsoft is introducing two programs aimed at helping ISVs write business plans and build delivery channels for their software. Business Builder aims to help develop basic business skills among the technical people who run small software companies; Channel Builder aims to put them in touch with systems integrators and consultants who can put their products in front of customers.

Both programs are part of the new Microsoft Partner Program, unveiled in Oct. 2003, that will get under way in 2004. This program puts great emphasis on serving smaller partners better, and the new “builder” programs follow that theme. They supplement the company’s Empower Program, announced in the spring of 2003, which offers ISVs low-cost access to development resources such as the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN).

Rebuilding the Partner Network

The software business and the partner landscape have changed significantly in the last decade: as Microsoft grew more dominant on the desktop and as the Internet offered a new outlet for developer interest, the ranks of the thousands of commercial developers that once built products for Windows desktops have thinned.