Microsoft BizSpark's benefits for startups: Now enabled through YourStory!

YourStory, as the online partner for Microsoft BizSpark’s India Startup Challenge, now enables access to the various benefits of the BizSpark program to entrepreneurs. Here’s a sneak peek into all the support that startups enrolling in the program stand to receive:- Get immediate access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of server products (including Windows Azure Platform) for use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions.

- Receive two technical support incidents per startup. Each incident is managed by Microsoft until they are resolved, no matter how many calls it takes.

- Receive business development and technical training at highly subsidized costs or in many cases, no costs.

- Receive access to MSDN Ultimate managed newsgroups, online library, and so on.

- Get connected to BizSpark Network Partners around the world—incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies, and hosters—that are equally involved and vested in software-fuelled innovation and entrepreneurship, and who will provide a wide range of support resources, including expert mentoring.

Startups can use BizSpark Hosting and IT operations servers for production use: that is, to host and manage their "software as a service" (SaaS) application that is accessed over the Internet by their customers. Startups can self-host, or contract with a BizSpark Hosting Partner.

BizSpark hosting servers include Windows Server, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, and Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites products. BizSpark IT operations servers include System Center server products.

Startups may use BizSpark IT Hosting Servers to deploy a software application that the startup developed and that is accessed by its customers over the Internet. They can use BizSpark IT Operations Servers to manage the application and the servers it runs on. Examples of applications like this include, but aren’t limited to:

• A line of business application, such as a CRM application, which the startup’s customer’s use to manage their own customer relationships.
• An online auction site.
• startup’s business is logistics (e.g. package delivery).
• A social networking site.

BizSpark members also receive Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN subscriptions, the highest level development tool offering with access to virtually every software program Microsoft creates.

Interested? Well, to qualify for BizSpark, your startup must be:

- Developing Software

- Privately held

- Less than 3 years old

- Making Less than US $1 million in annual revenue

And the best bit? There is no fee to enrol in the program.

YourStory is proud to partner with Microsoft in presenting the benefits of the BizSpark program for our startups and entrepreneurs. To start leveraging the power of BizSpark and scale your startup, check out https://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/Startup/Signup.aspx.

If you want to get the access to the program write to us at sriram (at) yourstory.in