Development of new microscopes most often depends on concurrent software development. To identify and address common challenges and solutions in microscope control software, we assembled a small group of researchers that develop or use software to control their custom-build microscopes at the Janelia Research Campus for a two day workshop in February 2020. The outcome of the workshop was the definition of clear milestones, as well as the recognition of an involved community, much larger than the one assembled at the workshop. The White Paper linked below summarizes the major issues identified, proposes approaches to address these as a community, and outlines the next steps that can be taken to develop a framework facilitating shared microscope software development, significantly speeding up development of new microscopy systems. A video recording of the presentation by the attendees identifying their unique challenges and solutions is also available below.