Event Recap - European Collab/Cloud/BizApps - Dusseldorf - May 2025

What an incredible three days the team had at the European Collaboration Summit 2025 in Düsseldorf! From May 26-28, attendees from around the globe gathered to connect, learn, and share their passion for collaboration technologies, AI, and business applications. It’s been an unforgettable event filled with knowledge-sharing, networking, and inspiration—thank you to everyone who joined us in making these three summits in one a tremendous success. 

By the numbers 

• 2817 attendees
• 237 Speakers, 53 Microsoft & GitHub Speakers
• 306 Total Sessions - 65 Microsoft Sessions
• 98 Microsoft MVPs
• 16 Regional Directors

A big thank you to organizers Adis Jugo, Mustafa Toroman, Waldek Mastykarz, Garry Trinder, Brett Lonsdale, Margit Jugo and the community content team - Martina Grom, Thomas Vochten, Eric Schupps and Vesa Juvonen, Microsoft. 

Keynotes & General Sessions 

Day one began with pre-conference tutorials, setting the stage for an action-packed summit. The excitement was palpable as we dove into four groundbreaking keynotes over the course of the event. One of the most talked-about sessions was Marco Casalaina’s keynote, “The Future of AI Is Already Here,” on May 27, where he unveiled the transformative potential of Azure AI and how it’s shaping industries worldwide. The energy continued with Vesa Juvonen’s keynote, “Unlocking the Future of Work with AI and Microsoft 365,” which offered captivating insights into how AI-driven innovation is redefining productivity and featured April Dunnam, Dan Holme, Paolo Pialorsi from Microsoft and Emily Mancini (Left Uncharted),

 

On May 28, attendees had the unique opportunity to attend simultaneous keynotes tailored to their interests. Gurkan Salk’s “Reimagining the Future of Business Applications Using Generative AI” explored the next frontier of Microsoft BizApps, while Azar Koulibaly’s keynote tackled the EU AI Act and how organizations can navigate and leverage Microsoft’s AI ecosystem effectively. These sessions were packed with actionable insights, leaving participants inspired and ready to implement new strategies. 

 

 

Breakout Sessions 

Throughout the summit, Microsoft speakers led 51 dynamic breakout sessions covering everything from Copilot and AI to Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Azure. Highlights included hands-on workshops such as “Microsoft 365 Copilot Extensibility Using VS Code,” where Paolo Pialorsi and Waldek Mastykarz walked participants through practical applications of Copilot, and sessions like “Maximizing Your Information Architecture Strategy,” led by Mikael Svenson and Kasper Larsen, which provided valuable tips for modernizing enterprise content strategies. 

These sessions catered to all levels of expertise and roles, ensuring that every attendee left with actionable strategies and deeper technical knowledge to enhance their organizations' performance. 

 

 

Microsoft-led Collab sessions 

• “AI Beginner Development Powerclass” with Carlotta Castelluccio, Korey Stegared-Pace, and Lee Stott

• “Am I Entitled? How to manage permissions dynamically in the age of Copilot” with Al Eardley

• “Build Your Own Agent Using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Power Platform!” with Henry Jammes, Damien Bird, Bülent Altinsoy, Dewain Robinson, and Daniel Laskewitz
• “Building experiences for the Microsoft 365 Powerclass” with Vesa Juvonen, Hugo Bernier, David Warner II, Paolo Pialorsi, Stephan Bisser, Thomas Goelles, Derek Cash-Peterson, and Julie M Turner
• “Designing Business-Centric Solutions with Microsoft 365 Copilot” with Andreas Krüger

• “Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot with Declarative Agents” with Vesa Juvonen and Paolo Pialorsi

• “Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot” with Paolo Pialorsi

• “Extensibility Options to Improve Your Employee Experiences within Viva Connections and SharePoint” with Vesa Juvonen

• “How well do Copilot and Agents know you and your team?” with Wictor Wilén

• “Insider Risk Management - Technical Deep Dive” with Bernd Vellguth

• “Latest platform and extensibility options for SharePoint and Viva Connections” with Vesa Juvonen

• “Maximizing your Information Architecture Strategy with Microsoft 365 Content Features for Copilot and Microsoft Search” with Mikael Svenson and Kasper Larsen

• “Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility using VS Code - hands-on workshop” with Waldek Mastykarz, Paolo Pialorsi, and Garry Trinder | May 26, 9:00am

• “Microsoft Cloud Security Powerclass” with Tom Janetscheck and Jussi Roine 

• “Microsoft Defender for Office 365 - Defense in-depth" with Dominik Hoefling

• “Secure and govern Microsoft 365 Copilot” with Erica Toelle

• “SharePoint Embedded - API for your applications” with Dragan Panjkov

• “The intranet of tomorrow: Beautiful, flexible, and AI ready” with Vesa Juvonen

• “Together We Succeed: Harnessing Community for Career Success” with Vesa Juvonen, Garry Trinder, and Waldek Mastykarz

• “Unlocking the Potential of People Data in Microsoft 365” with Wictor Wilén

• “What's New and Next for Engage and Teams: Communications, Channels, Leadership, Campaigns and Events” with Dan Holme

• “What's New and Next for Engage and Teams: Knowledge, Storyline, Communities, Copilot and Moderation” with Dan Holme

Microsoft-led Cloud sessions  

• “Add multi-channel communication to your AI apps” with Boris Bazilevskiy

• “AI Agents for the Rest of Us: Building with the Azure AI Agent Service” with Korey Stegared-Pace

• “Build apps that don't fail in production” with Waldek Mastykarz and Garry Trinder

• “Build Serverless AI Agents with Semantic Kernel & Azure Cosmos DB” with Mark Brown

• “Build voice-based AI agents on Azure” with Boris Bazilevskiy

• “Building an Automation Framework Using Ansible for Configuring and Installing Line of Business Applications on Azure” with Kimmo Forss

• “Building Application Landing zones in Azure” with Kimmo Forss

• “Copilot for Security - advanced automation scenarios” with Shruti Ailani and Bert-Jan Pals

• “Device Intelligence with SLM: A Path to Edge Deployment and Cloud Integration” with Lee Stott

• “From Traction to Production: Maturing your LLMOps step by step” with Maxim Salnikov

• “How to compile models and build agentic applications capable of exploiting the power of Copilot+ PCs for on-device inferencing” with Sam Kemp

• “Integrating AI with Semantic Kernel” With Majid Hajin

• “Measure and mitigate risks for a generative AI app” with Carlotta Castelluccio

• “Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Deployment Best Practices” with Dominik Hoefling

• “Microsoft server protection - one agent to rule them all” with Tom Janetscheck

• “Orchestrating Intelligence with Multi-Agent AI Workflows” with Daron Yondem

• “Personalize your AI: model Fine-Tune with your data in Azure OpenAI” with Massimo Bonanni

• “Supercharge Your Startup: Build Faster, Smarter, and Cheaper with AI Agents” with Amit Svarzenberg

• “You’ve built an intelligent app powered by Gen AI models—now what?” with Julia Muiruri

 

Microsoft-led BizApps sessions   

• “Building Power Apps in the Modern Era” with April Dunnam

• “Building Secure and Reliable Copilot Agents created with Copilot Studio” with Marco Rocca and Fabio Franzini

• “Copilot in Dynamics 365 Finance” with Severin Bock 

• “Copilot Studio - You Can't Improve What You Can't Measure” with Henry Jammes

• “Innovating with Power Platform's Copilot Studio: Extending and Enhancing SAP with Intelligent Agents” with Marysol Mantilla 

• “Mission UX: Decoding the Science of User Experience in Microsoft 365 and Power Platform” with David Warner II and Hugo Bernier

• “Modernize your Contact Center with Dynamics 365” with Ivica Ivančić

• “Quickstart to Microsoft Power Pages” with Dragan Panjkov 

• “The art of crafting effective prompts for your Power Platform AI tools” with April Dunnam 

• “Transforming Document Management in Power Platform with Intelligent Automation” with Marco Rocca and Fabio Franzini 

• “Unleash the power of Custom Actions in Power Automate Desktop” with Dieter De Cock 

• “Unlocking the Power of AI in Microsoft Fabric” with Josh Ndemenge 

 

Community Highlights 

The European Collaboration Summit has always been about more than just technology—it’s about fostering a vibrant, inclusive community. From the bustling expo floor to lively networking sessions, the passion and enthusiasm of attendees were unmistakable. The “Together We Succeed” session, led by Vesa Juvonen, Garry Trinder, and Waldek Mastykarz, exemplified this spirit, emphasizing the power of collaboration and community in building successful careers and innovative solutions. 

The Ask the Experts station was another highlight, offering attendees the chance to engage one-on-one with Microsoft experts, MVPs, and community leaders. Many left the event not only with answers to their toughest technical challenges but also with new connections and renewed inspiration. 

 

Microsoft Booth – Microsoft for Startups 

During the European AI and Cloud Summit, the Startup Stage, powered by Microsoft for Startups and co-organized by ECS, became a vibrant hub for innovation and collaboration. This dynamic space brought together major industry players, visionary thought leaders, and ambitious startups to explore groundbreaking AI solutions and cloud computing advancements. 

On Day 2, the Startup Pitch Competition showcased how start-ups engaged with potential investors while building innovative AI solutions. The winners were honored with prestigious awards, including membership in the Microsoft for Startups Program, which granted them access to exclusive resources, personalized mentorship, and invaluable growth opportunities. 

Startup Pitch Competition Winners 

• 1st Place Graia  

• 2nd Place iThink 

• 3rd Place ShArc 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Microsoft Developer Blog - Deep Dive into Microsoft for Startups Competition

Be sure to check out this wonderful blog post by our partner Cloud Advocate, Lee_Stott​ thank you for all you do for the community and this event! This article goes into more details on the Startup competition winners!  European AI and Cloud Summit 2025

 

Attendee Reception & Social Engagement 

To celebrate being together in person, the summit hosted an attendee reception that allowed attendees to relax, connect, and enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of Düsseldorf. Attendees also had the opportunity to explore the city’s rich cultural heritage while forging meaningful connections with peers and industry leaders. 

 

 

 

Looking Ahead 

As we look back on the European Collaboration Summit 2025, we’re filled with gratitude for the incredible speakers, volunteers, and attendees who made this event possible. Your energy, curiosity, and contributions created a truly inspiring atmosphere. 

Thank you for being part of this amazing journey. See you next year in Cologne, May 5-7, 2026!