Microsoft Empower: how to get MSDN at a low cost

I presume that everybody knows what MSDN is, and how much it costs - it's not exactly what I define a cheap product, but it is undoubtedly of great value, since it includes all Microsoft development tools, and it's a must have for any developer involved in the Microsoft technologies.

Not everybody knows about the Empower Program, a MSDN-like subscription offered at the very low fee of 375 USD, which includes software for development, testing and internal business use along with 5 user licenses. The program is available in almost all the countries, with different prices (usually higher) outside US.

Of course, this program is subject to a set of requirements:

• limited to 1 year only, renewable for a second year only
• available once per company
• being a registered member of the Microsoft Partner Program (registration is free)
• having a company's web site
• development of a reusable software application supporting one of the required technologies

The program is equivalent to the Visual Studio Professional + MSDN Premium subscription (formerly MSDN Universal), which includes almost everything, but it doesn't include Visual Studio Team editions - in fact, Visual Studio 2005 professional only is included.

What is included in this subscription? You'll receive a complete set of DVD on first shipment, along with a binder to collect and organize the discs. Then, on a monthly basis, you'll receive updates, usually a few DVD containing new products or replacing existing ones. Also, after payment, you'll get access to the MSDN download area, so that you're able to download any of the products included in the subscriptions. The included products are:

• Visual Studio .NET 2005 Professional
• All previous development IDE and tools (VS.NET 2003 Enterprise Architect, Visual Studio 6.0, Visual Source Safe, Visual FoxPro, eMbedded Visual C++, etc.)
• All software development kits (SDK)
• MSDN library
• Microsoft Office 2003 (and previous versions)
• Visio, Project, Publisher, and other productivity applications
• Operating systems (Windows XP, Windows 2000 pro and server, Windows 2003, and previous OS)
• Servers (SQL Server 2005 and 2000, BizTalk server, SharePoint and others)

Excluding the development tools, productivity applications (Office and related) and Windows XP, all other licenses are limited to usage for development and testing only - in other words, you can't use for instance SQL Server or Windows 2003 for your own business.

Anyway, if you are a developer dealing with Microsoft technologies, you own a company or are an independent consultant, and you meet the program requirements, it's worth to have a look at this program.

For more information, and to apply to the Microsoft Employer Program, click here