Microsoft strengthens its commitment to the Indian ISV community

Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. has kicked off a four city event aimed at the Indian ISV community.

"ISV Community Days" is a day long conference aimed at developers and business decision makers from Indian product development companies, and will enable them to build cutting edge products on the Microsoft platform. At the event, local and international speakers will provide attendees with an insight into best practices for product development, updates on the Microsoft platform, and advice on how to leverage venture capital for growth. Microsoft will also provide them with a sneak preview of its upcoming products and technologies. The first leg of the event recently concluded in Hyderabad and Chennai. The event will be held in Bangalore on March 9th and 10th, and in Mumbai on March 15th.

ISV Community Days is part of a broader Microsoft initiative to empower the Indian ISV community. Microsoft is focused on building a robust software product ecosystem in India by enabling ISV's to build world class products. It is engaging with ISVs and the industry at large (Government, Venture Capitalists and Incubators) to increase local software demand, build stronger IPR laws and address issues faced by software product vendors emerging from India. Microsoft has an array of programs and initiatives to assist ISVs in various stages of their lifecycle - to get products out to market faster, reduce development costs and create demand with focused go-to-market initiatives.

Commenting on ISV Community Days Ms. Sheila Gulati, Director, Developer and Platform Evangelism, Microsoft India said "Microsoft strongly believes that software product development presents a huge opportunity for Indian companies. ISV Community Days is a platform for Indian IT companies to connect with Microsoft and learn how they can use next generation technologies to build globally competitive products." She further added, "As an ISV ourselves, we understand the challenges faced by such companies, and are committed to helping them acquire the skills and resources required to be successful. Our aim is to work with the ISV community and build an ecosystem which fosters more product initiatives from India and growth in local software demand."

Microsoft ISV Community Days is focused on equipping ISVs with both the technical and business skills required to become a strong products company. The event comprises both a technical track and a business track. While the technical track will focus on how to develop data centric smart client applications using Windows Server 2003 and Office 2003, the business track will include a session on how to become a globally competitive and successful organization. The business sessions are targeted at senior executives from ISVs, and provide them with an opportunity to gain industry perspectives on how they can grow faster and manage their business better. Microsoft plans to host ISV community days across the country, once every quarter.

In Bangalore on 10th March at The Leela Palace, ISV Community Days will include a special track wherein, Microsoft along with representatives from NASSCOM, TiE and venture capitalists such as Westbridge Capital Partners, Jumpstartup and Silicon Valley Bank , will take part in two panel discussions on the issues affecting ISVs in India. The topics for the panel discussions are - 'What is the state of the Indian venture capital industry' and 'How Indian product companies can succeed in local and global markets'.

For registrations go to the following link:
http://www.microsoft.com/india/msdn/isvcommunitydays/register.aspx