Micro ISV

A Micro-ISV (abbr. mISV or μISV), a term coined by Eric Sink, is an independent software vendor with fewer than 10 or even just one software developer. In such an environment the company owner develops software, manages sales and does public relations.

The term has come to mean more than just a "one-man shop," but any ISV with more than 10 employees is generally not considered a Micro-ISV. Small venture capital-funded software shops are also generally not considered micro ISVs.

Some Micro-ISVs sell their software through the shareware marketing model where potential customers can try the software before they buy it. The shareware marketing model has become the dominant method of marketing packaged software with even the largest ISVs offering their enterprise solutions as trials via free download, e.g. Oracle's Oracle database^[1].

Micro-ISV Support Organizations

There are several support organizations geared towards micro ISVs, with the Association of Software Professionals (ASP) being the oldest and perhaps best known of them. Other organizations geared towards micro ISVs include the Association of Independent Software Industry Professionals (AISIP), and the Organization of Independent Software Vendors (OISV). Membership in each of these organizations is private with membership dues ranging from free for the OISV to $100.00 for the ASP for a general membership. Membership in each of the organizations is subject to review.

Microsoft and Other Micro-ISV Outreach Efforts

Inside of Microsoft's group of technical evangelists, Microsoft also has a dedicated MicroISV/Shareware Evangelist^[2], Michael Lehman. Part of the Microsoft micro ISV technical evangelism program includes Project Glidepath, which is a kind of framework to assist micro ISVs in bringing a product from concept through development and on to market.

Although not specifically targeted at micro ISVs, the Microsoft Empower Program for ISVs^[3] are used by many micro ISVs. Microsoft Empower Program members are required to release at least one software title for Windows family of operating systems within 18 months of joining the program. The Microsoft Action Pack Subscription^[4] is similar to the Empower Program in some ways.

Alternatively, rapid application development PaaS platforms like Wolf Frameworks have partner programs specifically targeted towards Micro ISVs enabling them with software, hardware and even free development services.^[5]

Industry Shows

The Software Industry Conference^[6] is an annual event in the United States attended by many Micro-ISVs. The European Software Conference^[7] is also attended by many micro ISVs and is held in various locations throughout Europe. ISDEF (Independent Software Developer Forum^[8]) also hosts an industry event in Russia with many micro ISVs attending.

See also

• Software engineering
• Software development process

References

1. "Exploring Micro-ISVs", Eric Sink, Founder of SourceGear, accessed January 05, 2006
2. "Micro-ISV: From Vision to Reality", Bob Walsh
3. "[1]", Scott Kane Moderator comp.software.shareware,

1. ^ "Oracle Database 10g Downloads". 2007-03-01. http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/database/oracle10g/index.html. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
2. ^ "Home page for the Microsoft Micro-ISV/Shareware Evangelist podcast". 2007-03-01. Archived from the original on 2007-02-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070227064422/http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/The_MicroISV_Show. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
3. ^ "Microsoft Empower Program for ISVs". 2007-03-01. https://partner.microsoft.com/40011351. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
4. ^ "Microsoft Action Pack". 2007-03-01. https://partner.microsoft.com/actionpack. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
5. ^ http://www.financialexpress.com/news/wolf-frameworks-drives-mobile-saas-penetration-enabling-real-time-analytics-over-the-iphone/551915/
6. ^ "Shareware Industry Conference". 2007-03-01. http://www.sic.org/. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
7. ^ "European Software Conference". 2007-03-01. http://www.euroconference.org/. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 
8. ^ "Independent Software Developer Forum". 2007-03-01. http://www.isdef.org/. Retrieved 2007-03-01. 

External links

• MicroISV.com: A community for independent software developers
• 47hats.com: A microISV community web site/blog created by Bob Walsh
• The MicroISV Show: A microISV Channel 9 podcast from Microsoft with host Michael Lehman and co-host Bob Walsh
• The Business of Software: A discussion forum created by Joel Spolsky
• ISVSearch.com: A MicroISV themed Google Custom Search Engine
• Developer Resource: A Marketing Resource for MicroISVs