
How much does it cost to found a Microsoft-based startup? - drm237
http://marcelo.sampasite.com/brave-tech-world/How-much-does-it-cost-to-found-a.htm
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idea
The biggest problem with Microsoft software is imo not the price, but the
complicated licensing structure of their software. When reading pages on
microsoft.com about licensing you will get a headache if you're not an
accountant. With Linux you can simply deploy another server if you need one,
without thinking about all those licensing programs and restrictions.

A related question that i have is: would a startup be less attractive for
potential buyers like Google and Yahoo if it uses Microsoft technologies?

~~~
cellis
orkut.

~~~
nailer
Why are you moderated up? Google never brought Orkut, Orkut was an internal
project.

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gscott
The authors numbers are a little rich. If you have that much money to blow
maybe you just go to Amazon and buy everything. Here are some numbers that are
more realistic.

> 1 Server running Windows Small Business Server 2003 for Email, SharePoint,
> Domain Controller, etc.

Use a workgroup instead of a domain. Host your email on GoDaddy for $5 or $10
a month instead of running your own mail server.

> 1 Server running W2K3 Server as the front-end for the web-based app.

$149 on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/MICROSOFT-WINDOWS-
SERVER-2003-USER/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/MICROSOFT-WINDOWS-
SERVER-2003-USER/dp/B00009ETLG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_10?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1197580799&sr=8-10)

> 1 Server running W2K3 + SQL 2005 as the backend

$795 Get rid of the extras on the cd you just need Windows and SQL Server

[http://cgi.ebay.com/Windows-Small-Business-
Server-2003-Premi...](http://cgi.ebay.com/Windows-Small-Business-
Server-2003-Premium-
SQL-2000_W0QQitemZ300181250399QQihZ020QQcategoryZ80360QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

> 2 Desktop machines for Development, with VS 2005 Pro, Office 2007, Windows
> XP

Buy $400 computers and use Open Office. Dell sent me an email today for a $400
computer with LCD Monitor, I deleted it but it might have come with office not
sure use Open Office instead.

Visual Studio 2 x 137.95 [http://cgi.ebay.com/Microsoft-Visual-
Studio-2005-Professiona...](http://cgi.ebay.com/Microsoft-Visual-
Studio-2005-Professional-Retail-
NEW_W0QQitemZ260192976626QQihZ016QQcategoryZ80300QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

> 1 Laptop for the business guy, with Office 2007 + XP

$598. Use Open Office or look for a laptop that is a little more expensive
that comes with office
<http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7757623>

\------------ Totals

$400 Developer Computer

$400 Developer Computer

$598 Laptop

$795 Windows + SQL Server

$149 Windows 2003 Server

$275 VS Studio x 2 (137.95 each)

\--------------

$2,614.00 excluding shipping

Personally I use Windows Server 2000, SQL Server 2000, and a free tag editor
so I have not paid even close to this in software. But if you want to be
legitimate then I would estimate less then $3,000 for everything you need.

~~~
rms
>But if you want to be legitimate

I presume a post-launch startup would have to be crazy to not license their
Microsoft servers. Or does Microsoft never enforce its licenses against
startups?

~~~
rams
Till recently I was working for a startup, that used evaluation copies of
various Microsoft operating systems, especially Windows 2003 Server - the
evaluation period is 60 days for w2k03 server, iirc.

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DarrenStuart
Its cheaper to become a microsoft partner which is free and then get the
software action pack for about 400 dollars. This will give a small startup
team all the ms software they will need to get the product made. They also
send you a disc 4 times a year with the latest software and updates. It even
includes office, vs, all the new silverlight tools etc.

~~~
drm237
True, but I don't think you can use the action pack software in a production
environment. It's more like MSDN software; for internal use in
development/testing scenarios. Even still, it's a great deal and is highly
recommended if you run any MS software in your shop.

~~~
DarrenStuart
yep your right, you can't use it for hosting your app but you can use it to
develop it. The example they use is you can use it to run your own interanet
but not a clients. Cheaper than an MSDN sup as well.

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kogir
With the Service Provider License Agreement, which most web startups fall
under, you pay per month for what you use. Machines kept as backups cost you
nothing.

The monthly fees are quite reasonable and make the software cost
inconsequential relative to hardware and people. You also always get to use
the latest version of everything.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to divulge exact pricing details, but the whole
bundle of software mentioned in article would only cost $330 per month
assuming reasonable hardware.

Learn more at:
[http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/licensing/default....](http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/licensing/default.mspx)

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sadiq
Everyone seems to be counting the initial cost in monetary terms.

What's the overall cost of pinning your company's technology to a single
supplier?

With a FOSS-based solution (like LAMP/Ruby/etc..) you know you'll always have
access to the tools required. The same really can't be said for an MS-stack
(especially with products constantly being added and removed, and support
expiring for old ones).

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DarrenStuart
You are never going to lose the tools to develop stuff. MS still supports asp
classic on the lastest build of iis etc

The thing with the MS stack is it improves every single release and gets
stronger at a better pace.

I am a developer that makes my living using MS tech to build sites and they
make my life easier with each update to their platform.

You are never tied to a platform in these days, if you decide that you want to
change platform then you hire the talent and change.

~~~
sadiq
"You are never tied to a platform in these days, if you decide that you want
to change platform then you hire the talent and change."

Surely that's a cost though? Not necessarily a minor for one for a startup.

~~~
DarrenStuart
yeah very true, but I would hope that this would not be at startup stage but
serveral years down the line when you can afford it.

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nickb
Imagine if every one of your VPSes or servers used Windows... you'd have to
pay MS for every virtual machine that you add to your setup and if you used
SQL Server, you'd have to pay for replication servers as well.

To run a site that gets 100K uniques a month, you'd need $4K+ worth of
software just to keep growing.

~~~
drm237
I think that MySpace proves that going the MS route can be viable.
PlentyOfFish.com seems to be doing pretty well also. I agree with 'idea' that
the price isn't the issue, the complicated licensing structure is the
administrative nightmare.

I used to do all MS at the company I did IT for, but now that I'm on my own I
concentrate on LAMP. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

~~~
nickb
First of all, MySpace is not a startup and they have plenty of money to burn.
They chose MS for many reasons, including the fact that they can hire a ton of
people who know the platform. MS also did a lot of custom engineering on SQL
Server to help them scale. If you read that giant article from CIO mag you'll
see that this was one of the biggest plusses. If you're rich & have plenty of
cash on hand, you don't have to worry about the cost. But if you're a startup,
cashflow is everything.

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mynameishere
$7,775 according to Amazon.com's price.

Wow. One month's salary and benefits. It's not inconceivable that Microsoft's
products would save that much or more labor. I use linux because I'm cheap.

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nailer
Add clustering - the so called 'server' platform still requires the entire OS
to be restarted for non-kernel updates, so staying both secure and and
available requires a second server.

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downer
> _I envy the LAMP guys, not because of the technology which I think is
> slightly behind Microsft's_ [sic] _(VS + C# + .NET)_

Ruby and Python and Lisp and all their frameworks and PostGres just aren't the
same as those cutting-edge Microsoft products.

~~~
jawngee
I wish I could mod up more than once.

