Armed with one-off contributions of $50,000 from Microsoft Australia and the ACT Government, today she begins implementing a three-month plan to hire a part-time program convenor, establish a website, and recruit local software shapers to join the party.

Melbourne describes local ICT companies sector as secluded tropical islands. She estimates that around 200 of them work on the .NET platform.

"If we join forces with the other secluded tropical islands all around us, suddenly you've got a destination."

She says the local .NET network, the fourth to be established in Australia, will be the only forum in town for developers using the platform and will complement networking initiatives already operating in the sector.

"We are very careful to make sure we are not replicating existing programs, which is why it has been very important for the Canberra Business Council to take ownership of running this program," she said.

"I have thrown my hat in the ring to make sure that this fantastic global city of ours doesn't miss out on this opportunity that Microsoft and the Government have offered to us."

Geoff Keogh, director of the ACT Government's Business ACT unit, said the decision to co-fund the project was based on the recognition that the .NET platform is widely used by local developers.

He said the Government would assess the return on its investment based on membership numbers, the quality of events it hosts, and measures of the value companies get from it.

"One of the first things we might do is to get a group of companies across to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond and get access to their future vision," he said.

Norbert Haehnel, Microsoft Australia's Director of Developer and Platform Strategy, said the company had sponsored .NET forums in seven countries.

Networks are already operating in Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory, where activities include workshops offering assistance in developing business plans for new products, applying for industry grants, accessing venture capital, and other areas of shared interest.

"At the end of the day the cluster is only as successful as the local industry makes it," Haehnel said.

"They will make the call, they will define where the cluster is going and what kind of services it will offer to its members."

Other Australian networks had benefited from advice provided by Melbourne consultant Gary Twomey on preparing applications for state and federal industry development grants.

"Some of the five-to-10 people companies just don't have the knowledge on getting access to grants," he said. "We do have a lot of great programs from the Australian Government. However, it's not so easy to work the system. This is where we can help."

DPM's Melbourne agrees that expert advice to the group in this area can help local companies.

"We get more than our fair share of grant money, however we deserve to because I firmly believe that our companies are excellent, so we need to ensure that we continue to be judged on our merits," she said.

She said that the .NET concept differs from the other types of Microsoft partnership frameworks, which are typically top-down arrangements.

"This is from the bottom up. This is about us, as ICT companies in the Canberra region, getting together to see how as a group we can achieve more than as individual companies."

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