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If I would start to focus on the .NET platform and be self-employed, then I probably would like to have some Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2010 licenses just for the development environment and for testing, and then a few licenses for the production environment (a Windows Server 2008 Web) and added to that upgrades when new versions is available. This will end up in a quite big amount of money.

Is there any kind of bundle discount that I can get from Microsoft in such a case? And what is the requirement to be able to get that discount?

gnat
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Jonas
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6 Answers6

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How about a 100% discount? If you are making software you intend to sell, you qualify for BizSpark, which gives all your developers MSDN subscriptions.

If you intend instead to offer your services, you don't qualify for BizSpark, but you still don't need to buy separate licenses for dev, staging etc. You can get an MSDN subscription, which covers one developer across any number of machines other than production. You don't install dev tools on production, and your clients are responsible for the Windows, SQL etc licenses they need.

It is generally useful to join the partner program. The Registered level is free and lets you buy an MSDN subscription at a dramatically reduced price, 80-90% off or so. The program names vary over time - Empower, Action Pack, etc so you would need to check the partner program to be sure what they are and what they cost at the moment.

Finally, back to the free angle, don't rule out Visual Studio Express, SQL Express etc - absolutely no cost ever and almost all the features of the full products.

TheLQ
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Kate Gregory
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If you are a student you should check out dreamspark. It allows students to get basically any professional level tool for free. Last I checked there was VS 2010, Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 Developer, Expression Studio Ultimate, and a bunch of others.

8

There's also an Action Pack Subscription in addition to the MSDN subscription and BizSpark program.

Walter
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You should look into getting an MSDN subscription. The "free" software you get can/will pay for itself pretty quickly.

Muad'Dib
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You could also get a free MSDN Ultimate Subscription and Technet by contributing enough to the community to become qualified as a Microsoft MVP. It takes a bit of time though, but it's definitely well invested time especially if you want to be independent. Building your personal brand should be one of your highest priorities before you embark on self-employment.

Michael Brown
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The recommendations here for BizSpark and MSDN are great recommendations, in addition something that would be helpful is to look into becoming a "Microsoft Certified Partner", the process is quite simple, and you get a multi-tenant MSDN license for development/test installations. I did this for my consulting business three years ago and it was the best investment ever, and the price is right. ($1,500 a year).

Mitchel Sellers
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