Microsoft this week launched the Hosted Applications Development Community, a new Web community for ISVs eyeing the ASP market. More ASP activity from Microsoft is set for the company's upcoming TechEd and Fusion conferences, said Rosa Garcia, Microsoft's general manager of partner programs.
Microsoft now has more than 20,000 ISV partners, Garcia maintained, during an interview with Sm@rt Partner. In the past, most of these ISVs have concentrated on writing client-server applications.
Meanwhile, though, some analysts are predicting a multi-billion dollar ASP marketplace over the years ahead, Garcia pointed out.
Microsoft's new Hosted Applications Development Community contains technical and business information, in addition to a newsgroup. The content is aimed at all ISVs, whether or not they are MCPs (Microsoft Certified Partners). All participants are able to post questions in the newsgroup about creating ASP-enabled applications, for instance.
For MCPs only, Microsoft is also offering free access to telephone support services through the end of June. ISVs can access the community through Microsoft's ASP Web site, as well as through Microsoft's private MCP site.
Before launching the new Web site, Microsoft garnered feedback from potential ASPs during an ISV road show, Garcia said.
Web communities are starting to become a popular way of reaching out to potential ASP developers. Last month, IBM unveiled ASP Prime Online. IBM's new Web site provides a self-maintained inventory for assessing the business and technical elements of planned ASP offerings, noted Ann Reiten, IBM's ASP global business area leader, during a press tour of IBM's ASP Prime facility.
Garcia said Thursday that Microsoft will feature ASP fare at two trade shows planned for this summer. At Microsoft's Fusion 2001 conference in July, for example, the emphasis will be on the business side. Microsoft will help partners to determine "how to make sure they can identify the opportunities, how to make sure they are ready for the opportunities, and how to close the deal and make money," Garcia said.
At its Fusion 2000 conference last year, Microsoft announced a broad-based ASP initiative that included new licensing options, tools, a certification program, and alliances with hosters and integrators.
"We are now focusing at Microsoft on what we need to do to support ASPs," said Dwight Krossa, Microsoft's director for hosting product management, during an interview with Sm@rt Partner at Fusion 2000 in Atlanta. Krossa added, however, that Microsoft "is not by any means abandoning its existing channels."
