The Small Business Marketplace

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Do you know who employs 98% of the entire workforce worldwide? Do you know which market has 3 million businesses in the US alone which drives $14 Billion?  Did you also know that only 49% of these businesses had a web site in 2005, even though two-thirds of them in the US have high-speed Internet connectivity?  If you guessed the small business market, you’re right!

Microsoft Office Live provides Internet-based services for small businesses who lack the technology expertise, budget, or time to create a Web site and other online business tools. For developers who specialize in Web design, business process consulting, or creating industry-specific solutions,  Microsoft Office Live offers an opportunity to help small businesses develop a Web presence, attract new customers, and manage their organization more effectively.

In our continued effort to expand the opportunities for our developer community, I’m happy to announce the release of the Microsoft Office Live Innovate On. This site provides partners with a full range of technical and business resources to develop Office Live solutions which can be accessed by the myriad of small-business customers of the Microsoft Office Live Marketplace.  Over the coming weeks we will continue to add more training content and materials that show how to develop for Office Live, including topics like:

  • Incorporating existing client-side or hosted applications into the Microsoft Office Live environment
  • Leverage your existing skills in Windows SharePoint Services & Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007
  • Using Industry Standards like XML, HTML, and Web design tools

I hope you'll take a look!