Balanced Scorecards for the 21st Century

Back in 1992, Robert Kaplan and David Norton introduced the balanced scorecard methodology for organisations to link current actions to their long-term goals.  Balanced scorecards are significantly more than a method of reviewing past performance –  they are increasingly a tool in helping organisations determine the most effective strategy for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations.

You can hear the latest thinking on performance management from Robert Kaplan at Microsoft’s upcoming launch of our new business intelligence software – PerformancePoint Server.  Microsoft PerformancePoint Server  includes business scorecarding, analytics, and planning to help organisations manage their operations and plan their future strategy based on the latest intelligence and  in-depth understanding of their operations.

The Microsoft PerformancePoint Server launch, with a keynote address from Robert Kaplan (Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard University), will be held  at Vinopolis in London on Tuesday 16^th October. If you would like to hear from Robert Kaplan and find out more about the scorecarding, analytics and planning capabilities of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, register your interest in attending the launch here.

Early adopter information for ISVs in Ireland (VS 2008, SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 and more)

We in the Developer & Platform Group in Microsoft Corp. are about to kick off our early adopter program for ISVs (the successor to the Ascend / Touchdown programs – see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/isv/bb190411.aspx – that some of you may have been involved in).

Microsoft is committed to ensuring that partners engaged in our early adopter programs have all the resources necessary to build applications for the seven technologies included in the program this year:  SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, 2007 Office, Microsoft Dynamics, and Web UX.  Once enrolled, you will be able to view “tracks” associated with each technology and choose from several different areas of concentration.  You will be able to profile your company’s application, invite your colleagues to use the system, get technical support, learn about instructor-led and on-demand training, and more.

If you are an ISV / partner in Ireland and are interested in enrolling then please contact me to check your eligibility and to learn more about the program. If you want to learn more about the above technologies and are planning to start using them within the next 6-9 months then this program will give you the resources you need to make the best use of these technologies.

Microsoft Ireland ISV Resources

ISV Innovation - This is a great resource for on-line training on the latest and greatest Microsoft Technologies. Check in here to find out about Virtual Labs, Lab Casts (think Virtual Lab but with a live instructor), Web Seminars and Live Events

ISV Showcase - Look at inspiring software solutions that are making a real impact in the areas of Healthcare, Education, Clean Technology and Manufacturing. Oh, and if you’re an ISV in Ireland working in one of these areas, think about nominating your application to The Ingenuity Point contest (and do let me know via the Contact link so I can track how you get on or help out ).

MSDN Ireland ISV Developer Homepage - Keep up to date on upcoming events that may be relevant to your specialty.

ISV Programs

Empower Program - If you’re a small startup this is an amazing progam which will give you free software licences for internal use, development and testing to get you up and running on the Microsoft platform. If you want more information on this please feel free to do so via the Contact link).

Saas On-Ramp Program - Are you an ISV offering or planning to offer software as a service (SaaS)? Are you interested in taking advantage of special low pricing on Microsoft server software, as well as receiving a host of additional development and marketing benefits for your business? Check out the Saas On-Ramp Program.

SPLA - The acronym stands for the Microsoft Service Providers License Agreement enables service providers and ISVs with a hosted offering to license Microsoft products on a monthly basis to provide services and hosted applications to their end customers. The SPLA License program is designed for all software services providers. Examples include Web hosters, application services providers, messaging and/or collaboration services providers, platform infrastructure providers, streaming media service providers and ISVs with hosted applications running on Microsoft technologies. For more information, check out the brochure.

ISV Royalty - The ISV Royalty Licensing Program offers Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) a convenient way to integrate Microsoft licensed products into software business applications, replicate the business solution, and distribute a fully licensed solution to customers.

Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) - This program is designed for ISVs and Systems Integrators interested in integrating tools, components, and languages into the Visual Studio .NET IDE.