Just read “Where are all the cool startups that run on ASP.NET?”, he asked:
But what puzzles me is that not too many people use ASP.NET to create cool products. Sure there are Community Server, MySpace, DotNetKicks and DasBlog; there are all very fine products, but compare them to LAMP, Rails and Java lineup: Digg, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Flickr, Backpack and the Company, Delicious, all the Google Apps, Mint, Meebo, Twitter, Zillow and of course Infinite Cat Project. If you checkout the new startups on TechCrunch, it seems like every new startup is something Linux based and is not ASP.NET.
And I really want to know why. If you are a new startup, you have only one shot at it, so you really want to use the best tools available. And it seems like everybody picks anything but ASP.NET, unless you are doing corporate development.
Why are there so few startups that use ASP.NET? Is it the cost of tools? Hosting cost? Restrictive licensing? Or maybe ASP.NET became “the van” of web development. Safe, bulky and definitely not sexy.
ASP.NET is a great web development platform, it’s much more advanced than Java, PHP stuff, ASP.NET’s performance is better than Java and PHP (in same hardware environment, as I tested) , ASP.NET MVC just learned many good stuff from Ruby On Rails, and it ofcoz have much much better performance than Ruby on Rails, and now develop in ASP.NET is as easy as (or rather say easier than) Ruby On Rails.
There are some comments which looks even more interesting. Some guys just say MS technology is not as good as blah, blah, blah, or performance is not good blah, blah, blah…, I just ignore those, because that’s not true — Some people may not really use and compare Microsoft technology carefully and jump to a conclusion. I am familiar with PHP(since 1998) , Java EE (since 2000) and Ruby On Rails (since 2005), and use those technology developed web sites that served millions of register users, when I just into ASP.NET this year, I am impressed with its design, featured and yes — performance. The new release MVC CTP is a preview version, but it bring new light in the near future.
Some view points in the comments sounds make sense:
Cost for development and deployment. Web Developer Express is a toy in comparison to Netbeans, Zend Studio, Eclipse (with PHP Development Tools, RadRails, Java Development Tools, Python extension… ) PHP Eclispe….
- Be afraid of locked in Microsoft only solutions
If you pick Microsoft as a platform, that’s it. You will be most likely be running a Windows server, using MS tools, and running an MS database. Not only is the cost prohibitive, but the way Microsoft locks developers in is a big turnoff. Why select Microsoft when I can use Ruby, Java, PHP, etc. and run my applications on any platform and database. The flexibility provided by open sources is a big plus.
- Startup Locked on the very first technology they selected (because of cost, not willing to be locked on MS solution, …)
Start-ups do not start with oodles of money. Two or three merry code jocks can afford to buy copies of Visual Studio. They are reluctant, however, to pay through their noses for hosting. You need Win2k3 and Iis6. Microsoft’s licenses are insanely complex and expensive compared to Linux and Apache. By the time venture capitalists step in, it’s too late. You have a full-blown application, and you don’t feel like re-writing it.
- Lack of good, cheap Hosting providers for Microsoft solutions
(Bringing my applications onto Amazon EC2 is a snap - try this with a .Net application)
- Because VC dislike MS solution
I still think that them Venture Capital giants just weren’t sold on Microsoft and so the money (even though it required more of it) went to other technologies.
Maybe and maybe not. PageFlakes is using ASP.NET, it get fund without problem. I don’t think a VC will consider a startup by questioning using Microsoft technology.
The problem is, using Microsoft technology may looks like not “as cool as” open source LAMP solutions.
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