Jonah Andersson is a Microsoft Azure MVP from Sweden and the founder of Azure User Group Sweden, part of the Azure Tech Groups. She noticed the absence of an Azure user group in her area, the Mid-Norrland Region of Sweden. Driven by a passion to share her technical knowledge and contribute to the growth of others, she successfully established a new community during the pandemic despite everyone being physically apart. She shares details about her community, “The Azure user group community is where I host bi-weekly Saturday virtual tech events together with fellow Microsoft MVP (AI) Håkan Silfvernagel. We also provide 1:1 public mentorship to our community members. The result is inspiring because some of our community members have volunteered to speak in our community and share their knowledge about Azure and other developer technologies and tools. Håkan and I try our best to be inclusive and diverse in the content or session we organized.”
Jonah recently won the Developer of the Year award at the Nordic Women in Tech Awards, recognizing her achievements in the technology sector across the Nordic countries. This blog celebrates her remarkable honor, introducing her journey, community activities, and thoughts as a community leader.
“My career journey as a developer started and got triggered through life circumstances,” says Jonah. Unlike many other MVPs, she didn't grow up with a strong background in technology but initially aspired to be a civil engineer or architect. Her path changed when she received a government scholarship to study computer science in college, opening the door to technology. However, upon graduating, she lost her mother to illness and, as the main provider for her family, focused first on her job. She didn’t start her career as a developer but learned a lot about solving technical problems along the way.
A turning point came in 2011 when she moved from the Philippines to Sweden. Determined to realize her college dreams, she relearned programming and Swedish, and finally made her debut as a developer. “Today, I may not be designing and building buildings, but I am working as a Senior Azure Consultant that designs and builds applications and infrastructures on the cloud. I also share this knowledge as a Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer,” she says.
Upon hearing about her award, Jonah was both happy and surprised, knowing there were other excellent candidates. Having been nominated twice before but not winning, she felt that this year was finally her time. “I was so happy that I dedicated the award back to the community and the people who supported me in my journey. I did not prepare a winning speech, but I spoke from the heart when I was announced as winner. My speech is available on Nordic Women in Tech Awards YouTube channel - Nordic Women in Tech Awards 2023 Iceland Live Stream - YouTube”.
“I would like to share with the community to share knowledge of your experiences and including lessons learned,” Jonah says she is actively participating in the community through Azure User Group Sweden, speaking at user group meetups, local and global conferences, sharing technology inspirations on the Extend Women in Tech Podcast, and more. She recently published her first book, “Learning Microsoft Azure (O'Reilly) – Cloud Computing and Development Fundamentals by Jonah Andersso...,” and shares the inspiration behind it. “I was once involved in a cloud migration journey of moving old .NET legacy applications and databases to Microsoft Azure. My challenges and lessons learned of that journey, led me to the idea of authoring a book about learning Azure – my first ever tech book project I worked on my spare time and weekends for almost 2 years. The hard work was not wasted because the book is published internationally this month of November 2023 and I am very thankful to all community tech friends, fellow Microsoft MVPs who helped and contributed!”
Jonah's achievements are enough to make her a role model for other women in the tech industry. She provides a message for other female technologists: “I encourage women and underrepresented groups who are aspiring to build a career in tech or as a developer to know your WHY and passion. Once you know that, use them to inspire others and follow your dream job and the things you want to do. Get a career that will help you grow and help others grow, and in order to grow, choose the right and inclusive workplace for you that values you and where you can also contribute. Find mentors and inspiration from others – through the tech communities. Most of the people involved in the communities are driven by their WHYs and passion as well. Be part of the tribe and make a difference.”
