My day-to-day work involves enhancing the most promising software startups innovating on the Microsoft stack to realize their potential. Our most precious resource to ensure we achieve this vision is the interaction with the people and infrastructure from the largest Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) in Europe, located in the center of Paris. The Paris MTC, a true business enabler for Microsoft ISVs and clients, definitely stands out as the most precious resource for software publishers of the IDEAS French startup enhancement program.
WHO? Actually, when we choose to
support the growth of a high profile software publisher and invest IDEAS
(click for a short description published on Tech IT Easy, a collaborative high tech blog I founded and regularly contribute to) resources in it, the very first thing we do with them is bring together
engineers from the actual startup and our most experienced software
architects at the MTC. The Paris MTC is led by chief software architect Frédéric Aatz and comprises - amongst
others, Frédéric Queudret, a former consultant @ MCS and a software development expert, and Bertrand Audras, also known internally as the "King of SQL Server and database architectures". Lately, we have also built a very fruitful partnership between IDEAS startups and MS Regional
Director and Gold Certified Partner Winwise, a VC-backed (AXA Private Equity, Crédit Lyonnais, ODDO) IT service company
specialized on the .NET environment that directly meets with IDEAS ISVs at the MTC.
HOW? Here are two amongst many sorts of projects the MTC can handle with ISVs:
- Architecture Design Sessions: an ADS is a consultative session with a dedicated Microsoft lead to help walk through your business problems and develop an
initial architecture and project plan that meets your business needs. Indeed, a brilliant
software architecture lays the groundwork for future success, providing there's
an adequate marketing strategy and execution know-how - obviously.
- Proofs of Concept: a POC at an MTC basically takes your newly planned architecture for a
road-test. A POC is aimed at proving out scalability, reliability, and key functionalities; ultimately, the goal is to have the ISV leave MTC facilities with a working solution in hand after their software solution has spent two to three weeks in our datacenter.
No
wonder 100% of IDEAS program software startups report software
architecture reviews and proofs of concept as the one most valuable thing they've done with
Microsoft ever: as a young company, having access such resources is just priceless. Therefore, it is no surprise that venture capitalists are keen on investing in software publishers innovating on the Microsoft stack (a prerequisite to joining the IDEAS program): potential access to the Microsoft Technology Center, that will help the ISV optimize and validate its software architecture, can in some ways be a deal maker in itself.
