Microsoft BizSpark - (Basically) Good Idea meets Vendor Lock-in
I was kindly invited by Microsoft to join their UK launch of BizSpark - a worldwide initiative from Microsoft in which they will give participating startups three years of free software licenses, mainly to their development tools, server and database software as well as Microsoft-powered cloud hosting. Further Microsoft provides some level of additional support through their network partners and selected people within the broader Microsoft organization, as well as some sort of visibility on Microsoft’s website and through their communication. After the three years startups are asked to pay a $100 program enrollment fee and (obviously) purchase the necessary licenses for your, then hopefully humming, business. Participation rules are simple: Your company must be less than 3 years old and generate less than $1m in annual revenue.
Sounds good? Even great? Ready to enroll?
Well - not so easy my dear friends. Consider what the program really means for your company on the one and evaluate the real benefits on the other hand.
Let’s start with the benefits: You get development tools, server and database software for free. Well - big deal. My companies (and many, many more) are developing software with free tools since the dawn of the Internet. The magic sauce is called Open Source - Webserver happily hum along using Apache, databases run smoothly under mySQL, applications are served by PHP, coders spend nights happily hacking away using Eclipse. And this is only one set of possibilities. There are nearly endless options for you to have all the best (literally the best) tools in the world for free. So - what I get from Microsoft is something I would get for free anyway.
Ah - I forgot. Cloud hosting. Well - I get really cheap and reliable hosting from a whole stack of companies. And great cloud hosting from companies such as Amazon (with their amazing S3 and EC2 services) or Mosso (which is essentially RackSpace, one of the great hosting companies out there). So - yes, Microsoft is offering me something for free which I would otherwise pay a few dollars per month for. But at which price?
Now this brings me to my second point - the true costs of the program: What Microsoft is obviously trying to do here is lock you in. Just as they locked you in with Windows and Office, they lock you in their .Net framework as well as Microsoft server and database systems. Even the rather long period of three years for the benefits of the program are really cleverly chosen - after three years you are normally at least at version two of your software. Which makes it really unlikely that you will switch the technological backend anymore.
What does vendor lock-in mean for you? Hmm… it might not mean anything for you and your business. It might mean that you will need to pay dearly for licenses at the end of the three year program. It definitely will mean that your options in this evolving world of technology are reduced - you put your bets on a single horse and have to go with it.
In essence I applaud Microsoft for their program - I am all for every support the startup community can get. But you have to weight the advantages and disadvantages of a program like this - and personally I will continue to build companies who’s servers run on Open Source software. Simply because it’s a better business decision for me.