The first ever UK Microsoft Innovation Academy Workshop took place on the 10th Dec 09 at Daresbury Innovation Centre. It was delivered by Jyoti Banerjee. I tweeted the full workshop, a two-day event squeezed into one-day, and my tweets are captured on the following report, which you can read on-line or download.

Whilst I had reservations about the value of the workshop prior to participation, I was proven wrong during the afternoon session. As far as I was concerned, it was a day well spent getting a valuable insight into developing the right business model for edocr.com.

Few quotes from fellow participants:

“Interseting day, very useful, covered strategic issues that will have a big impact on our approach to the market”, Aldo de Leonibus, Director of Inventya.

“Useful and timely overview covering a variety of issues around the value chain and approaching new markets”, Katrina Delargy, Managing Director, Aventura.

I sincerely hope Microsoft will continue to offer these workshops to high growth businesses across the country.

As you are probably be aware, Northern StartUp 2.0 has been a Microsoft BizSpark Network Partner since we launched the programme at Cloud Computing event held in April 2009 when Bindi Karia visited us.

For the first time in the UK, Microsoft is running an Innovation Academy Workshop For Start-Up Software Businesses on the 10th of Dec 2009, and I am honoured to inform you that this event will be run out of Daresbury Innovation Centre, where both of my companies are head quartered.

The course takes the form of one-day interactive instructor-led workshop covering:

- Introduction to the software industry: How it’s the same, why it’s different
- The Market Environment and its Analysis: Managing change and ambiguity
- Building Customer Value and Loyalty: Which Software Business Model?
- Solutions Selling and Managing the Complex Sale
- Software Operations: Introduction Application Life Cycle Management

This  free  workshop is designed to provide executives and managers of independent software application vendors with the business tools and knowledge required to determine their competitive advantage in their targeted value chain, bring software products to market and plan for international marketing and channel promotion.

The programme will be delivered by Agitavi Research.

The software development industry contributes in the region of £20 billion per year to the UK economy. Microsoft is committed to supporting a thriving software development industry in the UK through their partner programmes and through the BizSpark programme for software startups.

The event is co-hosted by Northern StartUp 2.0, Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus and the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

If you wish to attend this event, please contact me in the first instance. Please note that Microsoft is expecting to deliver this programme to about 20 startups, with preference given to those who have already signed up to the BizSpark programme. The sooner you apply the better chance you have of securing a place.