Microsoft Innovation Center Report 2010-2011 vol.9
2011 Microsoft IT Venture Support Program Launched
Published: March 22, 2011
Japanese >>
February 21st, 2011, Otemachi Technology Center
Microsoft launched the IT Venture Support Program in February this year to provide selected companies one year of technical and marketing support in cooperation with local governments and local information industry associations. On February 21st, a kick-off meeting for the selected companies was held, introducing the program details and Microsoft Innovation Center housed in Otemachi Technology Center.
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Companies Selected for 2011 Microsoft IT Venture Support Program
The 2011 Microsoft IT Venture Support Program selected and semi selected partner companies are listed in the table below.
| Yamagata | JINS Inc. (Mitsuo Hirose)
SIPS Inc. (Tatsuhiko Osada)
Next Vision Co., Ltd. (Naofumi Takayama) | Takahiro Ogawa (individual, now planning to start a company) |
| Okayama | ICON CORPORATION (Yasushi Ishihara)
Johospace Co., Ltd. (Koichi Shimohana)
HeartBird Co., Ltd. (Kiyomi Inoue)
CONTENTS Co., Ltd. (Hiroshi Ono) | ay-System (Aiko Yoshida)
Alion System Co., Ltd. (Tokunori Yamamoto) |
| Okinawa | MIS Okinawa (Tomonori Yamakawa)
Ryusys Inc. (Takaharu Saito) | Able R&D (Toshimitsu Komura)
Savvy Corporation (Shinya Yamaguchi) |
Tips for Utilizing Technology Support Programs and Marketing Effects
 | Aim to develop software that spreads its wings and soars around the world. Join with Microsoft Japan in supporting the future of Japan’s IT industry. |  | | Nobuaki Nagai
(Senior Manager, Business Incubation (LSE), Developer & Platform Evangelism, Microsoft Co., Ltd., Japan)
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Microsoft Innovation Center is the axis of Microsoft Co., Ltd. Japan’s three main areas of focus: student support, start-up company support, and local area revitalization and designed to stimulate domestic innovation. Started in 2003, Microsoft IT Venture Support Program is a corporate citizenship program provided in cooperation with local governments and local information industry associations, with the two-fold effect to stimulate local area revitalization and support start-up businesses.
“Among the programs in place to support IT venture company activities are,” explained Nobuaki Nagai (Senior Manager, Business Incubation (LSE), Developer & Platform Evangelism, Microsoft Co., Ltd., Japan), “Microsoft IT Venture Support Program, offered in cooperation with local governments; Microsoft BizSpark, which supports start-up companies; and Microsoft Innovation Award, which honors companies providing exceptional solutions. Companies registered for BizSpark can utilize Microsoft’s development environments immediately. In the past, Microsoft IT Venture Support Program selected partners and Microsoft BizSpark member companies have been nominated for Microsoft Innovation Award’s Outstanding Award and Best Commercial Best Commercial Business Award. I encourage everyone here today to aim at developing software that spreads its wings and soars around the world. Let’s work together to support the future of Japan’s IT industry.”
Microsoft IT Venture Support Program offers not only support for development environments and technical issues, but also provides support on the marketing front. Companies can use the Microsoft IT Venture Support Program logo, and the company information and solutions from the selected partners would be introduced in Microsoft Innovation Center Activity Reports and Web sites. Additional benefits include invitations to conferences and training at the Microsoft Redmond campus in the U.S., with opportunities to establish a network with Microsoft employees and partner companies within Japan and overseas.
“During the Microsoft Redmond campus training tour,” continued Nagai, “opportunities are created for participants to communicate with Microsoft employees, for instance, by having lunch in the company cafeteria. Past selected partners have even launched a guerilla-style demonstration at the cafeteria, which were well-received by the Redmond campus employees. Their products are now introduced at various exhibitions in the U.S. We would like, like this case, you to make the best use of the events and training opportunities to experience Microsoft’s latest technologies and marketing effects, as well as to be exposed to Microsoft’s various roadmaps."
Great Effects of Microsoft IT Venture Support Program: Feedback from 2010 Selected Partner
| | The biggest result I experienced was increased public awareness and trust in our company. Companies receive new hints and new businesses are born in information exchanges with Microsoft Co., Ltd. Japan and Selected Partners. | | | Koichi Nakamaru
(President, Lecport Inc.)
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Started in 2003 as a part of Microsoft Incubation Program, this Venture Support Program has since cooperated with 23 local governments. Companies succeeded as Selected Partner share three characteristics in common.
The first is a clearly discernable value. For example, selected partners provide product evaluations that are easy to understand, such as case studies, get introduced in many different media. Secondly, the companies aim to become Microsoft Certified Partners. Over 90% of Microsoft’s sales are from business with partner companies. Certified Partners would receive priority in business opportunities. Lastly, successful companies actively utilize this program. All selected partners are provided the same programs, but companies who actively participate in events and training and make good use of the media spotlight find themselves on the receiving end of new hints and business opportunities.
Lecport Inc., a 2010 Selected Partner, is one of the companies who felt positive results from utilizing this program. At the kickoff meeting, Koichi Nakamaru (President, Lecport Inc.) explained how his company benefited from a year’s worth of support activities.
“Lecport Inc. is an IT venture company based in Yamagata Prefecture focusing on Web applications,” began Nakamaru, “We received one year of support as a Selected Partner last year. The biggest result I saw was an increase in public awareness and trust in our company. Many media were present at the selection ceremony and the event was widely covered on television and in newspapers. Selected partners would also be introduced in booklets with Japan’s largest circulations and widely-followed corporate sites. When visiting new customers, we bring the brochure provided from Microsoft. We earned a lot of trust as a software development company selected for this kind of program and became the topic of coverage in many media outlets.”
Nakamaru stresses that another key to receiving greater results is active participation in events and training. He explained that utilizing opportunities to communicate with the people of Microsoft Co., Ltd. Japan and other selected partner companies enabled his company to receive information and new business opportunities it previously could not.
“During the U.S. tour of Microsoft Redmond Campus, we had privileged access to Windows Azure and the Windows Phone 7 Series technology lecturers, which was information to which only a select few in Japan were privy at the time,” Nakamaru added, “Invitations to Tech Ed and other nonfree events led us to valuable information about Microsoft technologies, based on which we developed our product strategy. In addition, we could adopt cloud computing early as well. Introductions in the media also resulted in an increase in public awareness of our company within Yamagata region. The events are opportunities to communicate with Microsoft Co., Ltd. Japan and other selected partners, and new businesses are born amidst such exchanges of information. In fact, we are considering developing a business that utilizes Windows Phone 7 Series and Silverlight this year.”
Working with Venture Businesses: Promoting Great Advances in 2011
| | We encourage you to utilize Microsoft, your ideas and venture spirit to create new businesses one after another. | | | Shunichi Kajisa
(CTO, Microsoft Co., Ltd.)
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The kick-off meeting is the first Microsoft IT Venture Support event opportunity held at the beginning of each fiscal year. Shunichi Kajisa (CTO, Microsoft Co., Ltd.) gave opening remarks to representatives of the companies selected for the Microsoft IT Venture Support Program and introduced Microsoft’s latest technologies and business trends.
“Though now a company with over 90,000 employees worldwide, Microsoft used to be a venture company just like yours when it was established in 1975,” noted Kajisa, “The future of Japan’s economy is as unpredictable as ever before, but I challenge you to broaden your perspective to the world. The keys to success for an IT venture company are technology and vision. Your venture spirit should be the first step towards success. By connecting to the world of cloud computing and many other devices, Microsoft provides technologies and platforms that you can utilize effectively. We encourage you to utilize Microsoft, and create new businesses with your ideas and venture spirits.”
After Kajisa explained Microsoft’s business and technology trends, a Q&A session was held, in which a lively discussion ensued. Questions that did not get answered before time was up were carried over to the evening reception on the same day.
Available Programs
At the Partner’s Meeting, Microsoft representatives explained the details of the programs offered to the selected partner companies. The partners can receive more advanced support through Microsoft Innovation Center programs and the Microsoft Partner Program.
Microsoft IT Venture Support Program
Microsoft offers technical and marketing support for a period of one year to the selected partner companies.
Technical support includes the latest development environment provided through Microsoft BizSpark and an MSDN Premium Subscription. Through these programs, the partner companies will receive development environments including all Microsoft operating systems, software, and server products.
In addition, technical support from Microsoft Innovation Center is also available, and the partner companies will be invited to paid events where the latest technical information is presented.
Marketing support includes use of the programs’ certification logo, which a number of the selected partner companies of previous years use for their products and business cards. Information about the selected companies will be distributed through Microsoft sites and various brochures. Some additional benefits include seminars and training at the Microsoft Redmond campus in the U.S. and membership in wipse IT Venture Community.
| • | Development software/ tools | | • | Technical support | | • | Training at the Microsoft Redmond campus in the U.S. | | • | Invitation to various trainings (nonfree) and conferences | | • | Program logo usage | | • | Promotion in catalogs and on Microsoft sites | | • | Kick-off Meetings | |
Microsoft Innovation Center Programs
The goal of Microsoft Innovation Center is to contribute to the IT industry in Japan by supporting individuals and organizations looking for global business opportunities such as software and hardware development companies, system integrators, educational institutions and entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. Participant companies in Microsoft IT Venture Support Program are eligible to enroll in Microsoft Innovation Center programs. Through Microsoft Innovation Center, partners can access a wide range of programs to use Microsoft facilities, information resources, and more.
Kenzaburo Tamaru (Group Senior Manager, National Technology Office/Innovation Center, Microsoft Co., Ltd, Japan) explained Microsoft’s IP license offerings. Microsoft actively discloses its IP (intellectual property) and offers its licenses. By using this program, the partner companies can use variety of resources, including research results from Microsoft Research, protocol specifications developed by product development departments and used in actual products and libraries, to develop their own solutions.
