I’ve heard from some of you that that are developing products that you are struggling to get access to the software you want and I’m undersand that there is a general lack of awareness of a programme called “Empower” that is designed to make this easy for you so hopefully you’ll find this information useful!

If you developing product on the Microsoft platform then, subject to a few conditions, you can get access to the following list of products for up to two years for the sum of £260 per year.  To find out if your company qualifies and to see exactly what you can get you should go to the following link: https://partner.microsoft.com/UK/40011351?PS=3.

Outline of the software available on Empower

Up to five internal-use software licences:

·         Windows Vista, or Windows XP Professional

·         2007 Microsoft Office system or Microsoft Office 2003

One software licence and up to five Client Access Licences (CALs) for:

·         Windows Server 2003 (Standard or Enterprise Edition)

·         Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (Standard or Enterprise Edition)

·         Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (Standard or Enterprise Edition)

·         Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or 2003

Development and Testing Licence: One MSDN Premium Subscription Media Kit and five user licences

·         One MSDN Premium Subscription Media Kit (DVD)

·         Full range of Microsoft servers integrated server-software, all Microsoft operating systems, Microsoft productivity products (Microsoft Office Developer, Microsoft Project, FrontPage, Visio and MapPoint) and access to SDKs, DDKs and the MSDN Library

·         Five licences for Visual Studio 2005 Professional, for up to five users, concurrent with development and testing licences provided with the MSDN Premium Subscription

·         Priority access to new product releases, updates and betas through the MSDN Downloads site

MSDN online managed support newsgroups

·         Forums for your software, hardware and related technology questions supported by Microsoft support professionals

And probably the best kept secret of all...

ISV Advisory Service (10 Hours)

·         Phone-based consultation service helps you develop products using Microsoft technologies. Select from a broad range of services, including ad hoc development advice and best-practice recommendations.