We got accepted into Microsoft BizSpark Plus a few weeks ago. $120K in Azure credits, access to the full Microsoft software catalogue, and some introductions to their startup network.
I want to be honest about what this actually means in practice.
The obvious upside
Infrastructure costs are real. For an early-stage startup running on a shoestring, not paying for servers for a year or two is genuinely significant. It lets you redirect money toward things that actually move the product forward.
Azure's feature set is solid. App Service for hosting, SQL Database for storage, Service Bus for messaging. Everything we need for the current version of Trendoline is available and the integration with our .NET stack is seamless.
The non-obvious risk
Free infrastructure encourages bad habits. When you're not paying for something it's easy to over-provision, leave things running that shouldn't be, and avoid the discipline of thinking about cost as a constraint.
The discipline of building efficiently matters regardless of what things cost today. Credits expire. Startups that never learn to optimize end up with infrastructure bills they can't afford the moment the free period ends.
I'm trying to build as if we're paying for it anyway. Not aggressively, but enough that nothing surprises us later.
The vendor lock-in question
It's a real consideration. Azure-specific services that don't have easy equivalents elsewhere mean switching costs if we ever need to. I'm keeping the core application logic portable and being selective about which Azure-specific features we adopt deeply.
The BizSpark programme is a good deal. Just go in with clear eyes about what you're trading for the credits.
With gusto, Fatih.