The Microsoft UK BizSpark team are proud to announce a new series of monthly briefings entitled “The Magic of BizSpark”, for startups, focusing on the Microsoft BizSpark program, and exploring how the Microsoft platform, tools and software can be used to build great applications.

These briefings will run monthly, and the content will evolve to reflect both emerging software and technology trends and input from attendees. The briefings will include the following technologies and topics:

• An overview of the BizSpark program
• Software development with Visual Studio, Expression and the .NET Framework
• Building rich, interactive and scalable web applications with ASP.NET, AJAX and Silverlight
• SQL Server, Data Mining, Business Intelligence, and designing high performing data access systems
• Windows Azure and Microsoft’s utility cloud computing platform

Microsoft BizSpark is a program designed to accelerate the success of early stage startups, and provides entrepreneurs fast and easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and productions licenses of server products, at minimal and no upfront cost. BizSpark provides high-potential startups with:

• Microsoft Software
• Support and Guidance
• Visibility

The day will consist of lots of demos and lively discussion, with the aim of exploring these technologies at a high level - it’s all about the “art of the possible” rather than detailed code walkthroughs. The sessions audience size will be small to keep the conversation flowing, and these sessions are suitable for Technical Decision Makers, CTOs, Application Architects, Developers, etc.

All these BizSpark briefings take place at the Microsoft Offices in London, close to Victoria, and to book, click on one of the links below:

24th March 2009: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=CA-62-B8-9E-67-44-86-36-A4-DF-42-0D-9B-79-E1-2F&Culture=en-GB  Invitation Code : 13EFCD

5^th May 2009: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=1F-8D-9B-00-8D-2A-96-25-D6-44-C7-AA-B6-43-AB-5F&Culture=en-GB Invitation Code : F9F429

9^th June 2009: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/InviteOnly.aspx?EventID=1F-8D-9B-00-8D-2A-96-25-31-27-4B-6B-39-5F-9F-2B&Culture=en-GB Invitation Code : 9F17D8

For more information about Microsoft BizSpark, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/ 

To influence the topics covered at this briefing, and future briefings, please visit http://ukisvfasttrack.uservoice.com/ and create your own personal account, and either vote on the existing topics, or add your own.

If you have any questions about the event and its format, or want to be kept updated on future briefings, please email ukdev@microsoft.com