Isn't the Partner Network another way to get dev. softwares at a reasonable price if you meet the requirements? I always thought it was kind of the suggested path: bizspark => ms partner, but I may be wrong.
Some higher tiers of the partnership program receive free software. But initially you'll be at "Network member" which doesn't provide any free stuff.
Silver and Gold tiers receive:
- Free support (20 and 50 hrs respectively, 15 and 20 incidents)
- Internal use licenses: 25 and 50 on-site respectively.
- MSDN: 5 or 10 seats.
However to get to Silver or Gold you need:
- Customer references: 3 or 5 (silver or gold).
- Business-focused competency assessment: 1 or 2.
- Revenue commitment (i.e. buy a certain number of Microsoft licenses)
- Microsoft certified staff: 1 or 2 minimum (that must be active, so renewed every few years).
The Silver and Gold partnership tiers are pointless for large business/corporations, and unreachable for startups/small businesses. They're really for mid level businesses that are Microsoft focused.