14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is moving to help even more startups get off the ground by providing them with the opportunity to leverage its technologies free of charge.
US entrepreneurs that are qualified members of the Startup America Partnership will be able to take advantage of Microsoft BizSpark, a complete collection of free software and services from the Redmond company.
Today, Microsoft BizSpark offers such products as: Visual Studio, Windows Server, SQL Server, SharePoint, System Center, Windows Azure, etc.
In the future, Microsoft BizSpark is slated to evolve with new offers tailored to the broader Startup America Partnership community.
“Microsoft has been a longstanding and active participant in the entrepreneurial community and has formidable assets to contribute to the success of the Startup America Partnership,” noted Carl Schramm, founding board member of the Startup America Partnership.
“Thousands of young entrepreneurs and technology companies have already benefited from its programs.”
Microsoft BizSpark was introduced in November 2008 and has already helped a large number of startups to become successful.
38,000 startups around the world have leveraged the free Microsoft technologies available through the program, with 13,000 of them based in the United States.
“Microsoft is an entrepreneurial company at heart, and we recognize that today’s startups are tomorrow’s customers and partners,” added Dan’l Lewin, corporate vice president for Strategic and Emerging Business Development at Microsoft.
“We look forward to welcoming thousands of new companies to the Microsoft BizSpark program, and we’re pleased that our U.S.-based members will have access to the growing resources offered through the Startup America Partnership.”
Microsoft is not alone in offering support for Startup America Partnership. In fact, thanks to commitments from a range of additional companies, Startup America Partnership has secured an estimated $400 million in products, services, mentorship and funding.
Among the companies that joined Microsoft in supporting US startups are Cisco, Google, HP, LinkedIn, Salesforce,com, and others.