Hi all! The Microsoft Build 2022 Book of Reviews continues... Today, I have a new Build story for you. In this story, we will revisit the Microsoft Build 2022 UK regional spotlight and learn more about this regional spotlight as a venue. We will also have another look at Build from a speaker (subject matter expert) point of view. I had the big pleasure to speak with Vesa Nopanen after the event!
"Cool is kind of an understatement"
Remember the sneak peak in my first post about Build 2022, there was this quote from Vesa. I repeat it here, simply because I like it so much. I think it tells the excitement Vesa felt being able to attend and speak at Build in-person.
Say hello to "Mr. Metaverse"
Let's introduce the main character of this story. Vesa lives in Turku, Southwest of Finland. He works with Metaverse and Future Work, is a speaker, blogger, Office App & Services MVP, “Mr. Metaverse” and a principal consultant at Sulava Oy.
Vesa attended Build 2022 at the UK regional spotlight, Microsoft UK headquarters.
As Vesa describes it, his work is all about how you can utilize all these tools to be a better organization and how to embrace the change. Something can happen quickly and if organizations have not prepared for hybrid work it can be difficult to adjust in the last minutes. Your ways of working needs to be prepared, both on individual and organizational level.
The sessions
Together with Chris Hoard on-site and Sharon Sumner virtually, Vesa held the session Microsoft Teams - are you ready for the Metaverse? More than 20 people were in the room and over 100 people online. Vesa mentions that Chris and Vesa have made talks together before, but never standing next to each other, being able to interact with the audience.
During our conversation, Vesa mentions that it takes a lot of courage to present at big events. He also talks about how it can be easier with having an online audience, but at the same time when presenting online you do not have the feedback you get when having the audience in the same room. You simply do not get the energy back from the audience he mentions and you cannot see how a joke is going and how people react to it. Vesa had a really good time presenting with Chris and Sharon.
Later on the day Vesa, Chris and Sharon were joined by Tom Morgan and Garry Trinder for the Q&A session Create next-gen experiences at scale with M365.
The UK regional spotlight as venue
Vesa describes being at Microsoft Build 2022 UK regional spotlight, in-person, as EPIC. There were lots of screens, playing sessions, lots of Build buzz, texts and graphics all around.
We talk some more about the venue. There were different activities on different floors. One floor dedicated to the Connection Zone, where Connection Zone sessions were held and a main stage on the ground floor. Vesa mentions there was also an outside area which was nice and great for catching some fresh air (when it was not raining).
There were lots of great food and snacks available!
The UK regional spotlight was free to attend, and a few hundred people were there on-site. Even though it was not a huge number of participants, the “large event vibe” was present.
“They did a really good job at making it feel larger. It had a really good vibe”
What Vesa wants to highlight about participating from a regional spotlight is the possibility to engage in conversations, to meet with other MVPs in-person which he had not met before. The informative, spontaneous conversations and interactions. Especially after the Metaverse sessions when people came and asked questions.
The announcements
When we talk about favorite announcements, Vesa mentions Live Share for Teams, since it will give more purpose for synchronous meetings. He compares it with working with a whiteboard, how it can engage more people. He describes how Live Share will change the way we have meetings.
“Meetings are changing big time with that, because we can do something together in the meeting instead of one doing and everyone else watching”
Vesa also mentions how Microsoft Loop can help in the future, for instance to be able to have Loop components within Teams meetings. An announcement he mentions is the possibility to build Adaptive Card-based Loop components (preview coming next month) and copy paste across Teams chats and Outlook e-mails.
Another part of Build that Vesa found interesting was the industrial metaverse, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Azure IoT to create Digital Twins, machine learning and visualizing Digital Twins.
Vesa also wants to highlight Virtual visits, using Azure communication services, a tutorial you can use and create your own demo quickly.
One thing he had hoped for, was a Mesh for Teams preview and more information related it, since that is an area Vesa has been following enthusiastically. Now we saw more of how it will be and were told that more info will come during the upcoming months.
Build 2022 described with three words from Vesa:
Energizing, Future, Metaverse
What's next?
Besides waiting for the Mesh for Teams preview, Vesa has more Metaverse sessions planned. He recently attended Scottish Summit and will also speak at the European SharePoint Office 365 & Azure conference later this year. Other exciting news is the launch of Metaverse One, which will be a Metaverse focused event, keep an eye on it!
Thank you Vesa for taking time telling me about your Build experience! You can connect with “Mr. Metaverse” on Twitter and LinkedIn. Vesa also wrote about his Build experience on his blog, so if you want to dig even deeper into the details and see more pictures from the UK regional, this is the post to visit.
This was the last Build story from my side. I hope you have enjoyed all parts of the Microsoft Build 2022 Book of Reviews!
