Software developers get Microsoft "buddies" :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Software developers get Microsoft "buddies"

Posted by admin on Monday, July 12, 2004 - 12:37 AM

Software developers may now find a friend at Microsoft, under the "ISV Buddy Program" announced yesterday in Toronto at the company's annual partner conference.
The program will assign company employees to connect with independent software vendors (ISVs) to be sure they are getting questions answered and the support they need, according to Adam Sohn, a product manager in the platform strategy group. "It's another way of supporting broad numbers of ISVs and giving them a face and a voice and an e-mail address to interact with," Sohn said. More than 800 employees — including Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and platforms strategy Vice President Sanjay Parthasarathy — have volunteered to buddy up with partner companies since the program was announced internally three months ago, Sohn said. If partners embrace the program, the volunteers will be busy. Sohn said Microsoft has about 35,000 ISV partners. The company also announced that partners may now link their applications to Microsoft's error-reporting system, allowing them to get automatic reports of bugs and crashes. Microsoft also told conference attendees about a new Web site for ISVs that's been added to the company's developer-network site.

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