Verizon Latest to Enter “Code for Cash” Prize Format With $1 Million Top Pay Out for Writing Healthcare Apps That Use Their Platform, Is This the New “Corporate Business Model” To Yield Inexpensive Code?

You know I think these start up incubators and accelerator programs have traveled a little different road that what was the original intention. Do you wonder where some jobs have gone? Are companies all using this model now with the buzz words of incubator and accelerators when sponsored by big corporate conglomerates? It’s looking that way as of course it’s cheaper than hiring employees and they get something out of and most starting out have a very tiny bankroll. It is interesting to see more and more jump on this bandwagon and it does differ a bit from let’s say a start up in Israel quite a bit. I have met some of those folks at the Los Angeles Israel Conference and listened to them talk about how they work and function. Just earlier today we had this announcement with GE (who sometimes pays a little tax). 

GE and Start Up Health Launch Accelerator Program for Consumer Health Products–Companies Can Shop Their Own Investment Start Ups for Inexpensive Code

We have this one sponsored heavily by health insurance companies.

New York Digital Health Accelerator–Health IT Hub For Emerging Technologies–Remember All Start Ups Don’t Make It And It’s A Potentially Good Place for Health Insurers to Shop for Inexpensive Application Code

Even a bit more interesting was Allscripts with their announcement…please come write code using our platform:)  They were probably a little different in their motivation as they had promised code before it was ready with their integration of Eclipsys and shareholders got mad.  Anyway, do you get it, they want cheap code:)  They had already gone to Microsoft for help since both the Eclipsys  Sunrise Suite and their products were both built with Microsoft technologies.  Now they are suing folks out there for not choosing their product?  Write code for us please we have a big carrot out there too:) 

Allscripts Turns to Microsoft To Expand Their Application Development

There may be others but the only Start Up that doesn’t want any of your stock if it is successful is BizSpark from Microsoft, and that’s nice as they really don’t need it so the support is not there for the pocketbook and hard to find these days as there’s always some catch somewhere along the line with today’s complexities in data and in contracts.  Some of the people I spoke with at the Israel Conference were working with the incubator from Microsoft in Israel, and some neat stuff coming out of there too. 

So is this the new corporate business model to get your code written cheap?  Sure there are tons of creative people who do come up with good solutions for sure both inside and outside of companies and we need them, but darn this is starting to resemble something was not meant to be a “business model” but rather programs that would help creative people and you do have to remember about 95 out of 100 might not make it but if they write something that won’t stand on it’s own, folks are there standing by to pay a nominal price for the code written and then they can go start all over again.  I see the communications workers of America not too happy these days with Verizon with the status of their jobs and contracts so again what is all this?  I read where they are working to get their mHealth platform approved by the FDA for their HIPAA complaint cloud service and who doesn’t have a cloud today and we do need a few to choose from that’s for sure. So again, models for cheap code?  You tell me but it’s looking that way.  BD 

http://mobihealthnews.com/19807/ces-verizon-offers-1m-healthcare-prize-pushes-high-speed-mobility/