Sun Targets Future Fortune 500 Companies

Sun recently announced the launch of the Sun Startup Essentials programme in India that would help startup companies get to market quickly by offering them discounts on a range of Sun’s technologies and services and the ability to subscribe to Web hosting services from Sun partners at discounted rates.

The programme was first launched in the US before bringing it to the Indian and Chinese markets. In the future, Sun intends to extend it to the European markets. Sanjay Sharma, director-Startups and Emerging Markets, Global Market Development, Sun Microsystems speaks exclusively to Biztech2 about Sun’s long term vision through the programme.

What does the Sun Startup Essentials programme comprise of?

We have four offers in the programme designed to help startups conserve cash and accelerate their time-to-market. First, we are offering our latest systems and storage at a deeply discounted price. Second, we are offering world class web hosting from Sun partners - Joyent and Navisite’ a key requirement of many web 2.0 and Internet Services Startups. Third, we are offering free tech help to startups via email, to get them up and running quickly. And finally, Sun software is already open source and free for development and deployment; additionally we are also offering optimised MP, Apache, MySQL, Postgres, PHP, Python to accelerate their development cycle. We will continue to evolve these offers and add new ones over time.

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How can a start up company avail this programme and what’s the criterion for getting selected?

The companies need to go to www.in.sun.com/startupessentials and apply for the programme online. The membership is free and it takes just a couple of minutes to fill out the application. We expect to process the application and get back to them within 5 business days. If they are less than 4 years old have less than 150 employees, they are likely to qualify. We have deliberately kept our processed as simple as possible so that it is easy for even a 1-2 person company to engage with us.

What are the benefits that the startups can enjoy with the adoption of this programme?

Startup companies are constantly looking for ways to become more efficient with their resources while they have to plan for success. Sun provides startups with an opportunity to help them reach their full potential through this programme. There is a 25% discount on web hosting from partners. Sun systems are discounted upto 60% depending on the model. The free software and tech assistance offers can help startups save. Sometimes the advice we are able to give based on our experience is more valuable than anything else.

Could you throw some light on the costs incurred by Sun for this initiative?

This is really a strategic investment area for us. We do not take this as a cost involving process for the business. Our main goal is to build a long-term relationship with these companies, engage with them and help them be successful. Sun has strong roots in innovation. We want to share our expertise and play our role in growing the ecosystem around startups in India. Also a lot of innovation is taking place in startup companies and this is also a way for us to be in tune with new things. With this programme, we are trying to engage startups today that may be a Fortune 500 company tomorrow.

After the programme’s success in the US, what is your expectation from the Indian market?

In US, we have about 700 startups apply to the programme till date. We are very optimistic about the response to the programme in India as well. Our team has over 250 startups in our database to start with. The startups are a very close- knit community and they all learn a lot from each other. Thus we know that once the programme is set rolling we will have many more to add to our list. We are very positive about this initiative in India.