Inside the Nordic Summit: A Community-Driven Success

Nordic Summit is the largest and sole in-person conference in the Nordics dedicated exclusively to Microsoft’s Power Platform and Dynamics 365. It is organized by MVPs and community members from various Nordic countries. Enjoy their highlights and insights about organizing the event.  

Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the Nordics Summit and how it all started?

“The inspiration behind the Nordic Summit began with the merging of two events: Dynamics 365/Power Platform Saturday in Stockholm and Power Platform Saturday Oslo,” says Gustaf Westerlund. “Initially, we relied on community and third party event platforms, however, we decided to create our own brand, leading to the birth of the "Nordic Summit." This decision was influenced by the decline of community feeling in larger conferences like eXtremeCRM and CRMUG Summit after they were bought by venture capitalists.”

Guro Faller adds, “The Saturdays-community flourished with smaller conferences worldwide, targeting consultants and SI’s who couldn't use client work as an excuse for not attending. Our first meeting for the Nordic Summit was on February 3, 2020, with a team covering Norway, Sweden, and Finland. We knew early on that cross-country collaboration was essential for the event's success, ensuring a good distribution of speakers, sponsors, and audience.”

“Nordic Summit started with the realization of “we can do this ourselves” and we hosted the first conference in Sweden,” states Antti Pajunen.

What were some of the key benefits you observed from organizing a conference that spans multiple Nordic countries?

Vivian Voss says, “Bringing together people from all Nordic countries fosters team-building, and ensures local presence and networking.” Gustaf continues, “By merging events, we avoided cannibalizing each other's potential and created a larger, more valuable event for attendees, sponsors, and Microsoft.”

What were the biggest challenges you faced in coordinating an event across different countries and how did you overcome them?

“Coordinating across different countries and appealing to a diverse audience is challenging. However, with three successful events under our belt, our strong brand has helped,” Vivian said. “Working with sponsors involves not only communication and coordination. It’s also very much about navigating cultural differences and non-trivial things like tax laws,” Gustaf adds. “Ensuring representation from each country is not always easy – you cannot force people to help you organize a conference,” Guro adds with a  and smile.

How did you ensure effective communication and collaboration among the organizing team spread across various locations?

“We relied heavily on Microsoft Teams for meetings and document coll

aboration, but the real value came from dividing into smaller teams responsible for specific areas. This structure allowed us to make bigger decisions in full team meetings while using WhatsApp for quick communication,” Vivian explains. “Having dedicated teams managing all the moving pieces like agenda, venue, speaks, sponsors, volunteers, economy etc. makes the process agile and flexible,” Carina Claesson adds.

“Communication tools like Microsoft Teams is great, but what is more important is avoiding misunderstandings. When you collaborate across countries speaking English, which is not our first language, you can easily have misunderstandings. Therefore, we focused on being humble, presuming the best intentions, and recognizing our diverse values and experiences. This approach helps us navigate cultural differences and work effectively together,” Gustaf adds. “Exactly,” Guro chimes in and adds, “we also make sure to connect when we meet up at other events and conferences throughout the year leveraging the opportunity to talk face-to-face.”

What advice would you give to other communities looking to organize similar cross-border events and do you have some best practices to share?

The group passionately chimes in and list the following best practices:

• Find Passionate People: Surround yourself with team members who are as passionate about the event as you are. Having representatives from all the countries involved ensures local presence and effective networking.
• Agree on Commitment Levels: Determine the right number of people for each group and agree on the level of commitment expected from everyone.
• Understand Formal Requirements: Be aware of the formal requirements, such as tax laws and organizational responsibilities, to avoid potential risks.
• Build Trust: Trust is crucial for success. It can be built over time, but it's essential for effective collaboration.
• Start Small and Grow: Begin with a small event and gradually expand. Regular retrospectives can help identify areas for improvement and set long-term goals.

How did you manage to engage and attract attendees from different countries?

“We started by leveraging our own networks and inviting international speakers who brought their followers along. Consistent blogging, social media presence, and our podcast kept the event on people's minds. Establishing our own brand helped us grow and connect with established groups and local Microsoft subsidiaries,” said Carina and Vivian. “Community connections brought in brilliant speakers, and their networks extended our reach beyond the Nordic countries. Despite not having a professional marketing team or budget, we relied on community evangelization, which often resulted in a surge of attendees just before the conference. This approach, while challenging, helped us attract a diverse audience and manage financial risks,” Antti adds.

How do you see the future of the Nordics Summit evolving in the coming years?

“The future of the Nordics Summit looks bright as long as we have passionate and amazing organizers. We're already the largest Dynamics 365 and Power Platform conference in the Nordics, and we aim to keep evolving and improving,” Vivian and Carina chime in.  

Magnus Gether Sørensen continues, “Consistency over the past three years has made us more efficient and well-known, attracting sponsors and attendees.” Magnus continues, “It's crucial that sponsors see the value we bring and how they can be part of the community.” Feedback from the community, audience, speakers, and sponsors has been positive, and we hope this continues,” Guru adds.

“Expanding to other locations, like Finland, is a possibility, but it requires local organizers to take the lead. I’d love to see the Nordic Summit become truly Nordic,” Terho Antila says and Magnus ends by saying, "I believe we have yet to reach our full potential. Each year, we strive to improve consistently. The Nordic Summit is entirely community-driven, and as a group, we never take for granted the time and money invested by everyone involved."

Who are the MVPs behind Nordic Summit?

Denmark: Magnus Gether Sørensen, and Vivian Voss
Finland: Antti Pajunen and Terho Antila
Norway: Guro Faller, Malin Martnes, Thomas Sandsør and Ulrikke Akerbæk
Sweden: Carina Claesson, Benedikt Bergmann, Gustaf Westerlund,
Jonas Rapp and community member and CEO for CRMK Kathrine Hogseth.

About the logo:
The logo, created by the talented Oleksii Shytikov, shows northern lights (aurora borealis). Each corner of the pentagon represents one of the Nordic countries. You can spot the contours of a snow-covered mountain, which at the same time looks like a flash which symbolizes power