Experts Live is a global community initiative showcasing Microsoft technologies across AI, Security, Azure, and Microsoft 365. The idea was founded in 2009 by an MVP & Microsoft Regional Director (RD) Maarten Goet in The Netherlands that set a mission to ‘enable sharing of knowledge and experience about Microsoft technologies worldwide’.
Today, Experts Live events have expanded across the world, with the two most recent events taking place in September 2023 – Experts Live Europe and Experts Live Australia, hosted in Prague and Sydney.
The significance of this community initiative saw many MVPs, RDs and Microsofties contributing to the event success. It saw numerous international MVPs & RDs fly in for both regions to participate as speakers or guests, as well as creating side meetups and roundtable around the main event days.
Giving back to community
With global impacts over the last 5 years due to COVID and a new planning team taking the lead in Australia, there were challenges to reestablish the momentum of the community buzz in the region. However, organizers of Experts Live Australia, Tao Yang, Microsoft Azure MVP and Alessandro Cardoso, MVP Alumni & Program Architect at Microsoft, did not let these hurdles stop them from giving back to the community and create an unforgettable experience for attendees.
Tao reflects on how he got involved in such a global movement of Experts Live and leading the organizing in Australia.
“Alessandro and I have been working together for many years. In March this year he mentioned to me that he’s thinking about organising a community event.”
“I have been involved as a speaker in many previous Experts Live, including events held in Australia, Malaysia and USA. Although some of the previous event organisers are my close friends and I understand the amount of effort involved in organizing such events, this has been the first time that I was actually part of the organising team. I truly appreciate what Alessandro has gone through and I wanted to help him wherever I can, because it is not an easy task for anyone,” said Tao.
Connect and learn
With her passion and love for community, M365 MVP, Isidora Katanic, is the main driving force and lead organizer in bringing the Experts Live Europe community together. This year, Experts Live Europe saw 450 IT professionals gather in Prague, eager to connect with industry peers and learn from each other on the Microsoft solutions in cloud, datacentre, security, and the modern workplace.
Edyta Gorzoń, an M365 MVP from Poland, attended Experts Live in Prague as a speaker. “Participating in an event like Experts Live Europe is a great privilege. It allows me to connect with incredible Microsoft experts from around the globe, share experiences, learn, and inspire one another. Each attendee at this conference has a fascinating story to share”, says Edyta.
“Participating in an event like Experts Live Europe is a great privilege. It allows me to connect with incredible Microsoft experts from around the globe, share experiences, learn, and inspire one another. Each attendee at this conference has a fascinating story to share”, says Edyta.
Edyta continues, “as someone who is extroverted and thrives on social interaction, it's also a chance to reunite with community friends, make new connections, and recharge my social energy. I'm genuinely thankful for this opportunity!”
Whilst Australian MVP Tao Tang, reflects that the highlights for him was the power of connection. He says, “the highlight would be having to meet many friends and colleagues that I hardly see (or meeting for the first time).”
Empower others through storytelling
MVP Edyta Gorzoń shared her expertise with others by presenting on “Teams governance: undressed. Case studies of gross mistakes”.
Edyta describes the value of being able to share her stories as a technical expert. “What mattered most to me was realizing that sharing my real-life experiences through specific case studies could potentially help many other professionals avoid hurdles in their future projects. It gives me a sense of making an indirect positive impact on more successful Microsoft user stories”.
She continues, “additionally, my session at Experts Live Europe was co-led with my speaking partner, solidifying my belief that presenting together is not just about teamwork but also an opportunity to present different viewpoints and creating even better value for attendees”.
Experts Live makes buzz around the world
The impact from Experts Live in both Prague and Sydney created buzz from local and global audiences. This saw additional community led activities leverage this momentum through various meet ups for customers, developers and IT professionals.
Australian MVP & Microsoft Regional Director Troy Hunt, Creator of Have I Been Pwned, hosted a CISO roundtable for selected customers at Microsoft Prague, while in Sydney, the Sydney Azure User Group meet up hosted international guest speaker, MVP Morten Knudsen, who travelled from Denmark to be part of the Experts Live action in Australia.
Edyta who travelled from Poland to the Czech Republic to be part of Experts Live Europe encourages anyone using Microsoft technologies to mark this event in their diaries for next year. She says, “I believe this is one of those 'must-attend' events in Europe that you should experience at least once. It ensures that you'll return home with the knowledge you seek, fantastic new connections, cherished memories, and a big smile on your face”.
MVP Tao Yang is excited to bring Experts Live back to Australia next year, expressing that “I’m looking forward to meeting everyone again at Experts Live Australia 2024”.
To explore upcoming Experts Live events taking place in a region near you, go to Experts Live. If you want to be involved as a speaker or event organiser, reach out to the committee and be part of this global initiative at https://expertslive.org/contact/.