Microsoft survey branching
Branching issues here, I have 6 questions, i branched Q4 to a sub question Q4a, the issue is that 5 and 6 is hidden and only shows when 4a is open, i want 5 and 6 to be showing regardless of the branching in 4. I have already tried the expected fix with the "Go To" as below Q4 Option A → Q4a → Q5 Option B/C → Q5 Q5 → Q6 (normal flow) But still not working, the form just stops at Q4 and only opens with options are selected showing Q4a , 5 and 6 How do i fix this?MVPs Bring Community, Courage, and Code to the First NDC Toronto
Where Community Took the Stage At the first NDC Toronto, Microsoft MVPs traveled from across North America and across the Atlantic to help shape a new chapter for the NDC community. They brought technical depth, personal stories, and community energy to a new stage, connecting with developers they had only met online and sharing ideas that reached beyond demos and frameworks into the human side of technology. “Being part of the first NDC Toronto felt like helping bring that spirit back to North America while also watching it find its own character.” - MVP Michelle Frost (Microsoft) speaking at NDC Toronto about Union types in C# Why These MVPs Made the Journey NDC events have long been known for warm speaker experiences, curious audiences, and a wide range of technical content. At the first NDC Toronto, that spirit showed up through talks on .NET, web development, architecture, AI, accessibility, ethics, and the stories behind the people building technology. For MVP David Whitney, speaking at NDC Toronto meant stepping into a new city, a newly reimagined event, and a fresh audience. He described NDC conferences as “some of the warmest, best organized and fun events in the industry,” and said they give him room to share “weird, creative, cultural things” that celebrate programmers finding themselves in their work. “As an MVP, speaking at events like NDC helps me connect with my peers, and share ideas that probably wouldn’t get a stage elsewhere.” - MVP David Whitney MVP Dylan Beattie has spoken at NDC events around the world, including London, Oslo, Porto, Sydney, and Minnesota. For him, Toronto was special because it brought “the NDC roadshow to a new country” and created space for the kind of in-person connection that makes community events so meaningful. Based in London, Dylan shared that Europe is right on his doorstep, so it can be easy to forget how significant a long-haul trip can be for North American developers attending European conferences. NDC Toronto gave him the chance to reverse that journey, meet people he had only known online, and show up for the community on their side of the Atlantic. “It was great to meet people I’d only ever spoken to online; I’m based in London, so Europe’s right on my doorstep and I forget that for a lot of folks in North America, making the trip across the Atlantic is a big deal, so it’s great to get the chance to go visit them for a change.” - MVP Dylan Beattie MVP Richard Campbell saw Toronto as a natural home for a new NDC event, with its downtown location, restaurants, hotels, transit, and energized local developer community. His session on the history of .NET connected longtime developers with newer generations, tracing how the platform evolved from a Windows-focused enterprise tool into a cross-platform, open-source toolset for the cloud. Reflecting on that arc, Richard said that “talking about .NET’s past made me even more excited about its future,” because it showed the team’s ability to keep evolving .NET for what comes next. For MVP Michelle Frost, NDC Toronto was also deeply personal. In her talk on ableism in AI, she spoke publicly on stage about having epilepsy for the first time, showing how technical conferences can create space for expertise, vulnerability, accessibility, and inclusion to share the same stage. “The program was deeply technical, but still made room for creativity, live music, humor, and the parts of our work that are harder to reduce to a demo or framework.” - MVP Michelle Frost What They Carried Home The first NDC Toronto highlighted how community events help MVPs do what they do best: share knowledge, start conversations, and create connections. Richard Campbell described the value of speaking to a “huge diversity of developers using different languages and tools,” adding that a polyglot conference creates a “polyglot of opinions.” Those different viewpoints are part of what makes technical communities stronger. “Every time I speak at NDC, I leave with a tonne of enthusiasm for our industry.” - MVP Richard Campbell The event also marked a new chapter for MVP Barry Stahl, who had been named a Microsoft MVP just four days before speaking at NDC Toronto. He shared that the recognition changed how he experienced the conference, helping him feel less like someone trying to absorb every detail and more like someone who belonged in the room. “It let me stop acting like an information vacuum and start acting like someone who actually belongs in the room.” - MVP Barry Stahl That sense of belonging matters. Whether MVPs traveled from London, Kansas City, Arizona, Vancouver, Sweden, or other parts of the world, their presence helped establish NDC Toronto as a place for learning, inclusion, and community leadership. & friends taking a selfie together. (Clockwise) Michelle Frost (MVP), Jimmy Bogard (MVP), Chris Ayers (Microsoft), Dylan Beattie (MVP), Kevlin Henney (community member) Want to learn more about the MVP Program? To find an MVP and learn more about the MVP Program visit the MVP Communities website and follow our updates on LinkedIn. Join us for a future live session through the Microsoft Reactor where we walk through what the MVP program is about, what we look for, and how nominations work. These sessions are designed to help you connect the dots between the work you’re already doing and the impact the MVP Program recognizes — with time for questions, examples, and real conversations. NDC TorontoThe Event Ended. The Community Didn't.
In 2026, GitHub Copilot Dev Days set out to help developers build with AI. It did that — and then it did something bigger. It reminded a global community that the fastest way to grow isn't a download link or a documentation page. It's the people around you who are building the future alongside you. Across 58 countries, 294 community-led events brought 22,042 developers together face-to-face — not just to learn a tool, but to experience turning their own ideas into working software with AI. And behind it, in large part, were Microsoft MVPs who carried that experience straight to the places where developers live, learn, and build. The People at the Center of It All Trace the success of Dev Days back to its source and you don't find a content package — you find people. Organizers pointed again and again to one advantage above all: partnership with Microsoft MVPs and GitHub Stars, who were already embedded in their local ecosystems and knew how to bring developers together around something new. MVPs organized 104 of the 301 events worldwide — more than a third of the entire global series. But they did far more than host. They recruited attendees, localized the message, mentored newcomers, and kept the conversation alive long after the last session. That's the one thing a centralized program can't manufacture: trust. When developers show up to create alongside someone they already know from their local user group, they don't just attend — they build. One Global Template, Hundreds of Local Stories A developer in Seoul had a different night than one in Kampala, Mumbai, Lagos, or Lima — yet every event stood on the same foundation. Dev Days gave organizers a repeatable “event-in-a-box” so they could stop building slides from scratch and start building community. Many remixed the content into something entirely their own. The result was a campaign that scaled globally while still feeling unmistakably local — communities from South Korea to Pakistan, Norway to the Philippines, each bringing their own character to the same goal: helping developers turn imagination into reality with AI. Voices From the Community The real proof is in the words of the people who showed up to build — from Dublin to Seoul. MVP names link to their Microsoft MVP profiles. Dublin, Ireland: Over 40 developers packed the room to explore Copilot's agentic capabilities — and the energy stole the night. “The energy in the room was unreal — great people, great conversations.” — Hugo Barona, MVP, Dublin Norway: A community-run Dev Day at Enora drew a full house, co-hosted by MVP Johan Ludvig Brattås and fellow MVPs. The loudest message wasn't about any single tool. “I intentionally didn't mention a single AI tool by name.” — Maxim Salnikov, speaker, Norway Chennai, India: 100+ developers, packed sessions, and unstoppable energy — with a hands-on build of a Social Bingo game in Agent Mode. “We're not just hosting events — we're building a movement around AI-first development.” — Saravanan Ganesan, MVP, Chennai Nairobi, Kenya: In Nairobi, developers didn't just learn — they walked out with a fully offline, on-device AI health assistant running on their own machines. “Prompt engineering is the infrastructure.” — Edgar McOchieng, MVP, Nairobi Toronto, Canada: A full house of 250+ packed Microsoft's Toronto HQ for sessions on agentic workflows and CI/CD that thinks. “AI tools are evolving quickly, but the real advantage comes from communities that experiment, share lessons learned, and help each other deepen their expertise in building AI-powered solutions through local events such as GitHub Copilot Dev Days and practical hands-on labs..” — Jack Lee, MVP, Toronto Sahiwal, Pakistan: Dev Days didn't only land in the biggest hubs. In Sahiwal, students left thinking less about tools and more about how to lead them. “We have to be the driver — not let AI drive.” — Eman Tahir, attendee, Sahiwal Manila, Philippines: Hosted by DEVCON Philippines, Manila's developers saw hands-free, agent-powered development live — led by MVP Ziggy Zulueta. “Hands-free development isn't about replacing developers — it's about amplifying them.” — Ziggy Zulueta, MVP, Manila Seoul, South Korea Two tracks and four sessions showed how one Copilot subscription follows you across every editor — co-led by MVPs Kim Jinseok and Bora Lee, with Microsoft's Justin Yoo. “The only instruction I needed was: ‘upgrade it.’” — Kim Jinseok, MVP, Seoul Why This Matters More in the Age of AI Here's the lesson under all the numbers. AI is changing how we build faster than anyone can keep up with alone. The developers who thrive won't be the ones reading every release note in isolation — they'll be the ones plugged into a community that learns and builds out loud, together. That's what Dev Days revealed. The technology opened the door; the community — the MVP who answered “wait, how did you do that?”, the peer whose idea sparked yours — is what turned a one-time demo into the confidence to build something real. In the AI era, community isn't a nice-to-have on top of learning. It is the learning. The Event Is Over. Your Creating Isn't. The best community events don't end — they start something. Dev Days as a live series has wrapped, but every workshop, lab, and resource is still live, still free, and still waiting for you. You don't need an event on the calendar to keep building. You need an hour, your favorite IDE, and the same content thousands of developers just used to bring their own ideas to life. Start (or continue) at the central hub copilot-dev-days.github.io Everything is here: 12 hands-on workshops across 6 languages and 6 IDEs. Pick your stack and build something real: New to Copilot? Start free and self-paced with the GitHub Learn Labs at learn.github.com/skills. Go deeper: the Agent Labs (Python, TypeScript, Java, .NET) and Copilot CLI workshops take you from first prompt to real workflows. Your IDE, your way: dedicated labs for Visual Studio 2026, JetBrains / IntelliJ, and Xcode. Keep the resources close Content Kit & organizer repo: github.com/github/GitHub-Copilot-Dev-Days Copilot Docs: docs.github.com/en/copilot The real secret — keep creating with your local community Self-paced content teaches you the what. Your local MVPs and User Groups teach you the how, the why, and the shortcuts nobody wrote down. Find your local User Group on the Microsoft Tech Community User Groups directory and show up to the next meetup. Follow the MVPs who hosted Dev Days in your region — they're still posting, teaching, and building. The workshops are the map. Your community is the guide. Thank You, MVP Community Every city was a different story — a local organizer who spent their evenings on logistics, a speaker who volunteered a Saturday, a community leader who helped someone build their very first thing with AI. From Nairobi to Toronto, from Dublin to Seoul, from Chennai to Manila, MVPs showed the world what community-led creativity can do. Dev Days may have started as a global initiative, but its success was built one local community at a time — and that success belongs to the MVPs who made it happen. The events are over. The community is just getting started. Come build with us. Start a workshop today · Find your local User Group · Follow your local MVPs
Outlook has been locked out for days
I am the sole Global Administrator of my Microsoft 365 tenant My main account has been locked out for days due to a broken Microsoft Authenticator registration (Error 500121). I have tried: Adding GitHub and personal email as alternate methods Signing out of all devices Clearing cache and cookies multiple times Reinstalling Microsoft Authenticator multiple times Removing 2-step verification where possible I was able to sign into Microsoft 365 (admin center / web apps) with alternative email using “Sign in another way” options, but I am still unable to access Outlook (desktop and mobile) — which is the main goal. In Microsoft additional security options - changed some settings. I removed two-step verification because Outlook keeps prompting for approval through the Microsoft Authenticator app. Authenticator app does not let me add my work account it is showing an error. Thus unable to approve the code in the authenticator app, stuck in the loop. When I removed two-step verification in Microsoft additional security options, signed out of all the devices, cleared cache and cookies, attempted to sign in again, being prompted to enter backup email for the verification code, which is not being sent after numerous attempts while I received notifications to that email that two-step verification was removed. Stuck. Any tips would be great. Thank you!
UK Public Sector IT Professionals Needed - MSc Research Participation Request
Hello, I am an MSc Cybersecurity student at the University of South Wales conducting research on Microsoft 365 security compliance in UK public sector organisations. My dissertation investigates the gap between the default security configuration of Microsoft 365 and the outcomes required by the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework v4.0. I have developed a practical compliance roadmap and I am looking for experienced IT professionals to review it and complete a short anonymous questionnaire. What is involved: Reading a compliance roadmap document — approximately 20 to 30 minutes Completing a short anonymous questionnaire — approximately 12 minutes Submitting responses within seven days Who I am looking for: IT managers, cloud architects, systems administrators or CISOs Working in or contracted to UK local government, NHS, education or public sector cloud security Minimum three years of Microsoft 365 experience Everything is completely anonymous. No names or identifying information are collected. This research has received ethical approval from the University of South Wales. If you are interested please reply to this post or send me a direct message. Thank you.Event Recap - Microsoft at the Digital Workplace Conference Australia 2026
The Digital Workplace Conference 2026 (DWC AU) proved to be an unforgettable two days at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins from 28–29 May 2026. Australia's premier in-person event for Microsoft 365 professionals brought together power users, business leaders, IT pros, and adoption and change managers from across the region under this year's theme — One Change. Big Impact. With deep focus on Microsoft 365, AI and Copilot, SharePoint, governance, and real-world adoption, attendees were treated to a packed programme of community-led learning, customer stories, and the kind of practical, take-home guidance that makes DWC such a standout on the Australian tech calendar. DWC in a nutshell 30+ speakers from 5 countries 247+ years of combined digital workplace experience represented on stage 3 parallel tracks across 2 days — Productivity, AI & Copilot, and Customer Journeys Microsoft as a sponsor, with our team on the keynote stage and on the floor Post-event attendee survey across roles, industries, states, and countries captured (full breakdown in the Attendee Insights section below) Give a read to the DW Results recap as well: Digital Workplace Conference Australia: What We Learned About AI, Governance, and Why People Still Matter - DW Results Opening Keynote From AI Hype to Everyday Impact Thursday 28 May, 9:00 AM, Grand Ballroom (90 minutes) Panelists: Heather Cook (Microsoft), Debbie Ireland (DWR), and Brett Gilbertson (ASI Solutions). The opening keynote set the tone for the two days — cutting through AI hype and grounding the conversation in what is actually working inside Australian organisations today. The panel landed honest stories about where Copilot is delivering value, where adoption is getting stuck, and how the right single change — well chosen and well executed — really can have an outsized impact. The energy carried straight into the first round of breakouts and shaped the customer conversations that followed across both days. Breakout Sessions Overview DWC 2026 ran three parallel tracks across two days, anchored on the official conference themes: Productivity Sessions in this track focused on getting more ROI from the Microsoft 365 tools customers already own — practical patterns to work smarter, not harder, and the unlocks people did not know they had. AI and Copilot This was the dominant theme — sessions ran the full lifecycle from governance and security through implementation to adoption, with a strong focus on moving teams from novice to nimble with Copilot prompts, agents, and Copilot Studio. Customer Journeys Real-world case studies from organisations who have shipped — the trials, the tribulations, and the lessons. Customer Journeys remains the track attendees consistently rate as the most valuable. Featured sessions and speakers Build Your Own M365 Copilot Reporting Dashboard — Loryan Strant (Avanade, Microsoft MVP) Adoption & Change Management for AI: The People Side — Troy Waller (ASI Solutions) From SharePoint Foundations to AI Agents: The Blackmores Journey — Sujith Sukumaran and Liza Tinker (Blackmores) Data Security Considerations for M365 Copilot and Agents — Andrew O'Young (Microsoft MVP) Not Just Slop: How AI Agents Run Our Managed Services Helpdesk — Mark Rhodes (Rapid Circle) Novice to Nimble: Mastering Microsoft 365 Copilot Prompts — Kirsty McGrath (OnPoint Solutions) (Microsoft MVP) Side by Side with Copilot Cowork: Reimagining Collaboration with AI — Lisa Crosbie (Akkodis, Microsoft MVP) The Copilot Mirror: Why AI Isn't the Problem, Your Governance is — Alpesh Nakar (EDUC4TE) and James Milne (FrontRow Technologies) Making AI, SharePoint and Intranets work well together — Natalie Ryan (Step Two) Keepin' it real: Lessons from the trenches — Debbie Ireland (DWR) (Microsoft RD) and Shannon Donovan (DWR) Gone but not forgotten: Lifecycle and retention — Jenn Jones (Datacom) Reaching Every Employee: Strategic Decisions Behind High Impact Employee Platforms— Benoit Rabreaud (LumApps ANZ) and Carolyn Coon Unshackled: Forge Your AI Personalised AI-Powered Digital Workplace — Emily Hughes (Circle T) The PowerPoint hacks every M365 user should know — Sharon Connolly (Microsoft MVP) Deliver more, govern better: Practical M365 governance — Peter Varitimidis, Connor Martin (Orchestry), and Louie Newlove (Rapid Circle) From Copilot Pilots to Business Impact: Turning AI Hype into Measurable Workplace Value — Daniel Brown (Archon Gnosis) (Microsoft MVP) You Have No Idea What Copilot Can Do Now — Daniel Anderson (Microsoft MVP) The Future of Intranets: AI Meets SharePoint — Steve Knutson, Stratos Technology Partners (Microsoft RD & MVP) Who Am I Now? Evolving Roles in the Modern Digital Workplace — Megan Strant, Kirsty McGrath, Bec Gallen, Jacob Laurence and Mathew Gilbertson Microsoft on the agenda Beyond the opening keynote, our Microsoft team carried sessions across both days. The Microsoft-led sessions at DWC 2026: From AI Hype to Everyday Impact (Opening Keynote panel) — Heather Cook, with Debbie Ireland (DWR) and Brett Gilbertson (ASI Solutions) — Thursday 28 May, Grand Ballroom Cultivating Trust and Leadership Excellence: Strategies for Respect and Empathy in the Workplace — Heather Cook — Friday 29 May, 9:00 AM, Sydney Room Why do my services keep breaking? — Elaine van Bergen, Principal Site Reliability Engineer, Azure Reliability — Friday 29 May, 9:00 AM, Brisbane Room Agent 365 — the why, what and how? — Jian Sun, Principal Program Manager — Friday 29 May, 12:45 PM, Brisbane Room Microsoft MVPs and Regional Directors Microsoft MVPs and Regional Directors were a huge part of the DWC programme this year — across SharePoint, Microsoft 365 Apps, Business Applications, AI Platform, and Copilot. The MVPs and RD on stage and in the community spaces at DWC 2026: Andrew O'Young Daniel Anderson Daniel Brown Debbie Ireland Kirsty McGrath Lisa Crosbie Liza Tinker Loryan Strant Matthew Gilbertson Brett Gilbertson Megan Strant Sharon Connolly Steve Knutson Their contributions, alongside customers, partner consultants, and DWR community leaders, reinforced exactly what makes DWC valuable — the community in this room shines, and they came ready to share what works and their experiences. Community Highlights DWC has always been a community-first event, and 2026 was no different. A few moments that stood out: The opening keynote panel — a packed Grand Ballroom and a lively Q&A that ran right up to the morning tea bell Thursday Networking Drinks in the Exhibition Area — two hours of unstructured time where the best conversations of the conference happened Customer-led case study sessions that drew standing-room-only crowds Recognition for Debbie Ireland and the DWR team for 35+ events across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia since 2009 Exhibition Area and the Microsoft booth The Exhibition Area was the centre of gravity for both days — morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and Thursday's networking drinks all happened in the same space, which meant the Microsoft booth had a steady stream of attendees and a constant flow of conversations across both days. Microsoft on-site: Ana Maria Suarez — Cloud Solution Architect Ashish Trivedi – Sr Program Manager, FastTrack Eddie Chua — Sr Program Manager Elaine van Bergen — Principal Site Reliability Engineer, Azure Reliability Garrett White — Biz Apps STU Heather Cook — Principal PM, M365 Customer Advocacy Group Jian Sun — Principal Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation Paul Mineo – Sr Solution Engineer Conversations at the Microsoft booth ran throughout the two days alongside sponsor and partner check-ins — see the attendee insights and themes sections below for what came out of those conversations. Who Was in the Room — Attendee Insights DWR shared post-event demographics from their attendee survey (approximately 64 responses). The room was a genuine cross-section of the Australian and New Zealand digital workplace community: Geography: Attendees came from across Australian states and territories — Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and beyond — plus international guests from New Zealand and further afield Roles: Business Analysts, Change Managers, Developers, Information Architects, IT Management, Knowledge Managers, and Site Administrators and Power Users Industries: Banking and Finance, Government, Education, Health, Professional Services, Technology, Energy, NFP, Defence, Manufacturing, Retail, Transport, and more What attendees told us — four themes from DWR's post-event feedback The pace of AI is real — but no one has it fully figured out. People spoke openly about how hard it is to stay on top of how fast things are moving. There was genuine relief in hearing that even experts are working through it in real time. Foundations matter more than ever. One of the strongest signals: AI isn't the starting point. Good data, clear ownership, and solid governance still underpin everything — without that, even the most advanced tools struggle to deliver value. The biggest challenge is helping people change how they work. Even in a conference heavily focused on AI, the strongest recurring message wasn't about tools — it was about people. Supporting teams through change is still the hardest and most important part. Learning happens faster when we do it together. Again and again, attendees called out the value of being in the room — the informal conversations between sessions, shared experiences, and honest exchanges that are impossible to replicate online. Customer Conversations at the Microsoft Booth Customer conversations at the Microsoft booth throughout DWC 2026 were highly productive. These weren't formal meetings — they were the organic, drop-by conversations that happen when you're in the room — and they clustered around adoption, governance, and what's next for AI in the Australian enterprise. Top themes surfaced Microsoft 365 Copilot — adoption, ROI measurement, governance, agent extensibility, and moving teams from "I tried it once" to embedded daily use Copilot Studio and Agents — where to start, who should build, how to govern citizen-built agents, and how to keep them healthy in production SharePoint as the knowledge platform — search accuracy, information architecture, archive and retention, and getting the foundations right so Copilot actually returns useful answers Data security and Purview for AI — label rollout, sensitivity handling, and what "governance done right" looks like before scaling Copilot organisation-wide Adoption and change management — the people side keeps being named as the gap that determines whether AI investment pays off Intranet modernisation and employee experience — practical stories from customers building production-grade intranets quickly, with AI features layered on top Australian customers consistently asked for sharper guidance on moving Copilot beyond basic tasks toward creative, workflow-specific use cases — and reinforced that internal champions, structured adoption stages, and embedded security and compliance are critical to success. Public sector and federal government attendees raised human-centred digital practice and Australian-specific compliance considerations as recurring themes. Thank You A huge thank you to every attendee, speaker, sponsor, and volunteer who helped bring DWC 2026 to life. Your passion, curiosity, and commitment made this year's event genuinely exceptional. DW Results and Debbie Ireland Special thanks to event founder and producer Debbie Ireland and the entire team at Digital Workplace Results. DWR has delivered 35+ events across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia since 2009 — and the welcoming home you create for this industry each year is a big part of why Microsoft is proud to sponsor and show up the way we do. Microsoft MVPs, customers, and community speakers Thank you to the MVPs, Regional Director, customers, partners, and community speakers who carried the bulk of this year's programme. The full DWC 2026 speaker roster: Alpesh Nakar, Andrew O'Young, Andrew Pope, Annabel Hay, Benoit Rabreaud, Brett Gilbertson, Cairo Walker, Carolyn Coon, Connor Martin, Daniel Anderson, Daniel Brown, David Mitchell, Debbie Ireland, Elaine van Bergen, Emily Hughes, James Milne, Jan Krist, Jemma Hirst, Jenn Jones, Kirsty McGrath, Jian Sun, Lisa Crosbie, Liza Tinker, Loryan Strant, Louie Newlove, Mark Rhodes, Mathew Gilbertson, Megan Strant, Mel Finnigan, Mia Tait, Natalie Ryan, Peter Varitimidis, Shannon Donovan, Sharon Connolly, Shelley Van Hoos, Steve Knutson, Sujith Sukumaran, Sutter Schumacher, and Troy Waller. The community in this region keeps showing up with sharp, practical content — thank you for the time, the prep, and the generosity of sharing what you've learned. Sponsors Microsoft is proud to be part of the DWC 2026 sponsor community. Thank you to: Platinum: ASI Solutions Gold: Rapid Circle, Orchestry, Ideagen Silver: Athentra, LumApps, EDUC4TE, Audio Visual Distributors / Barco ClickShare, Microsoft, Datacom, Circle T, DW Results Bronze: Step Two, Technomancy Whether it was your first DWC or you've been with us since the early years, your presence helped create an inspiring and unforgettable experience. What's Next? The journey continues. Watch the dwcau.com.au and DWR channels for the 2027 dates and venue announcement — and in the meantime, keep the momentum going on the customer follow-ups and adoption commitments that came out of this week's conversations. Until then, let's keep the energy alive. Continue exploring, innovating, and collaborating with this community. The Australian M365 ecosystem is one of the strongest and most generous in the world, and DWC 2026 was a reminder of exactly why. #DWCAU | One Change. Big ImpactWindows 11 lock screen bug
We are having an issue where some users cannot log back into windows 11 after going to a lock screen. Windows will tell you the password or username is incorrect even though the credentials are defiantly correct. The only solution I've found so far is to reboot the machine. What could be causing this? Our users are loosing unsaved work from having to reboot through out the day.Community and Education Tenant Retirement
We provided additional transition time for organizers and users of these experiences. That transition period is now complete. As we move our shared services forward from their Covid-era deployment into more flexible and sustainable systems there will be no further extensions, no read-only period, and no Microsoft-managed archive after retirement. Our User Group and Event Leader experience on the Microsoft Technical Community will meet some of the needs previously served by these experiences in a secure and compliant fashion. We will continue to review other opportunities to provide Microsoft-hosted solutions for our community at large. What is happening on August 6, 2026 All services provided by the tenants (e.g. Teams, SharePoint sites, OneDrive, Power Platform, and email) will be turned off. All accounts will be removed, and @msftcommunity.com & @msft365edu.com email addresses will stop working. Recovery of anything removed will not be possible after that date. No data will be retained by Microsoft after retirement. Anything you need must be exported by you to a new location of your choice. Questions? Direct all questions to cmtymigration@microsoft.com. The support@msftcommunity.com and support@msft365edu.com mailboxes are being decommissioned along with the tenants and will not be available after August 6. Thank you for the work you have done in these communities. Together, we provided essential infrastructure during stressful times and beyond. Our committment to community remains, though the tools are changing. We look forward to seeing you on the Microsoft Tech Community or at one of the many events you can find on CommunityDays.org soon. Karuana Gatimu Director, Customer Experience PM M365 Customer Advocacy Group Decommissioning Plan Details Fix Date Milestone Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Self-export deadline at 5:00 PM Pacific; affected resources set to read-only after that time Thursday, August 6, 2026 Microsoft Education Tenant and Microsoft Community Tenant services retired; accounts, services, and data removed Team Owner Actions: What Owners need to do before August 4, 2026 Export anything you want to keep. The export window closes at 5:00 PM Pacific on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. Affected resources will be read-only after that time and deleted after August 6. Move your User Group to the Microsoft Tech Community. Our recommended destination for ongoing user-group activity is https://techcommunity.microsoft.com. The Microsoft Tech Community provides a user group experience with discussions, blogs, event spaces, member roster, and messaging — all under your control. Onboarding details are available at https://aka.ms/mtc/usergroups. Plan for additional usage. Email hosting, meeting hosting and document collaboration are out of scope for the Microsoft Tech Community. Microsoft is not providing migration assistance or alternative hosting for these scenarios. Depending on your group or event needs you might consider one of the available Teams or Microsoft 365 options at Compare Microsoft Teams Pricing Update external links. If your group’s website, social profiles, or event listings point to msft365edu.com or msftcommunity.com resources, update them now. Those URLs will stop resolving after retirement. Update account usage. If you are using your @msft365edu.com or @msftcommunity.com accounts in other services (e.g. ownership of event or call listings on www.communitydays.org) ensure you transfer ownership to a new account.MVP Mentoring Rings: Where Community Becomes a Catalyst
What if mentoring did not start with matching one expert to one learner, but with bringing a small circle of community leaders together to learn out loud? That is the idea behind MVP Mentoring Rings: small, community-led groups where Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) share experience, ask honest questions, and help one another grow. Unlike traditional one-to-one mentoring, Mentoring Rings are built around collective learning. The result is a model that feels both practical and deeply human - especially in a global community where connection across regions, languages, and experiences matters. Across the MVP community, Mentoring Rings have created space for something powerful: technologists showing up not just to teach, but to listen, encourage, and lead alongside one another. In a fast-moving industry, that kind of peer support can make all the difference. More than mentoring: a circle of shared momentum MVP Mentoring Rings were created to address a real need: even in a vibrant technical community, people can still feel isolated. The ring model offers a different path forward. Each group is intentionally small, guided by MVP Mentor Leads, and designed for recurring conversations rather than one-off advice. MVPs learn from one another through shared experiences, practical problem-solving, and accountability that grows over time. Why did MVPs participate? For many, it was about finding community as much as guidance. Some joined to better understand how to contribute in ways that felt authentic. Others wanted a space to navigate visibility, leadership, or the challenge of translating deep technical expertise into content, talks, demos, and impact for others. MVP Mentor Leads participated for another reason too: to give back in a way that scales generosity and multiplies belonging. When MVPs show up, others rise The most inspiring part of Mentoring Rings is how MVPs showed up for each other. They did not arrive as polished experts with all the answers. They came ready to be open, practical, and encouraging. MVP Christine Flora, who led a Women in the MVP Program Ring, described the experience this way: “Leading a Women in the MVP Program Ring reinforced how important representation, examples of someone like yourself, and showing up as your authentic self is for confidence and connection - especially when battling imposter syndrome.” That theme surfaced again and again: confidence grows when people feel seen. In Christine’s ring, one meaningful shift was helping participants move beyond the idea that they had to contribute exactly like someone else. As she shared, a major win was watching members realize “there are many, many ways to contribute and give to the community that fit their styles and personality types.” That is a powerful message for aspiring contributors and current MVPs alike: community leadership is not about copying a formula. It is about discovering your own voice and using it to help others. Confidence grows in spaces built for trust For MVP Sucheta Gawade, the value of the ring was rooted in psychological safety and clarity. She reflected that leading a ring reinforced the importance of “a psychologically safe, technical peer space” where MVPs from different domains could turn uncertainty into action. In her experience, mentoring became more than encouragement; it became a structured way to help people transform expertise into community-ready contributions such as talks, blogs, demos, and frameworks. That same sense of safety came through in MVP Agnieszka Mietz-Blijleven’s experience as a mentee. What surprised her most was how quickly trust and openness formed, even among people who had never met before. In that environment, she said, “real experience mattered more than titles” and honest reflection began to feel natural. Sucheta also saw quiet hesitation turn into confident engagement. One of her proudest wins as a Mentoring Ring Lead was helping her group move from “I am not sure what counts as technical contributions” to a clear, trackable plan for how they could participate. That kind of progress matters because it changes how people see themselves - not just as community members, but as future speakers, writers, mentors, and leaders. Agnieszka described a similar shift from the mentee side. The ring helped her recognize that she could support others not only through empathy, but through the strength of her own experience and skills. As she put it, the experience moved her mindset from wondering whether she was doing enough to recognizing that she already brought value - and could build on it with intention. Belonging sounds different in every language One of the strongest lessons from Mentoring Rings is that accessibility is not only about time zones or format. It is also about language, representation, and whether people feel safe enough to participate fully. MVP Ivana Tilca, who led a New to the MVP Program ring and a Women in Tech ring in Spanish, saw how quickly those layers intersected. She shared that one of the most powerful themes in her conversations was the hesitation some women felt about asking questions or speaking up because they were often among the few women in the room - and in some cases were also navigating events and meetings in a language that was not their own. That experience, she said, changed how she thinks about community events: inclusivity cannot be an afterthought; it has to be meaningfully designed in from the start. Ivana also reflected on what changed when conversations happened in Spanish. Having grown up bilingual, she said she had not always seen language as a barrier. But through the ring, she realized how much harder technical instructions, outreach, and even simple follow-up could feel for others. As she put it, “Not everyone speaks or understands English,” and for some MVPs, the language gap made “sending a simple inquiry or email feel nearly impossible” - especially when reaching out to Microsoft employees already felt intimidating. That perspective sits alongside what MVP Walter E Calcagno Lucares described in the Spanish-language ring: “Not having to translate my thoughts in real time allowed me to express myself with greater clarity and depth, which led to more strategic and meaningful conversations.” Together, their experiences make the case clearly: language-inclusive mentoring does more than remove friction. It creates trust, confidence, and a stronger sense of belonging. From the ring to the stage: Mentoring Rings at MVP Summit The momentum behind Mentoring Rings was also visible at MVP Summit in the session MVP Mentoring Rings: Learn, Grow, Connect. The session brought the spirit of the rings to a wider audience by centering real stories from mentors and mentees - what worked, what surprised them, and how mentoring helped both sides grow. It reinforced an important truth: mentoring in the MVP community is not one-directional. It is a shared experience that builds confidence, connection, and practical wisdom for everyone involved. Agnieszka Mietz-Blijleven captured that spirit by describing a meaningful moment from her ring: realizing how much wisdom can come from “a simple, honest conversation shared at exactly the right time.” For her, mentoring also brought perspective - showing how differently people can respond to the same situation and how often the hardest work is learning to stop criticizing yourself. Diego Domingos da Silva, Agnieszka Mietz-Blijleven, Sucheta Gawade (left to right) Designed to leave attendees with practical tips they could use right away, the session explored how to be a thoughtful mentor, how to get more from the mentee experience, and how to build meaningful, supportive relationships in the community. MVP Diego Domingos da Silva helped bring that message to life by reframing mentoring as something far more human than a formal exchange of answers. As he shared, he joined as a mentee expecting guidance but instead found “something closer to a support group of like-minded people in the community, sharing real experiences without the pressure of a work setting.” His reflection captures what made the MVP Summit panel resonate: mentoring was not presented as hierarchy, but as honest connection. Diego also spoke to the kind of growth that happens in these spaces. Rather than coming only from a perfectly mapped plan, he described growth as something that often takes shape through shared stories - hearing how others handled uncertainty, setbacks, and opportunity, and realizing you are not the only one figuring it out as you go. That perspective reinforced one of the panel’s strongest themes: mentoring creates momentum not because it removes uncertainty, but because it helps people move through it together. MVP Jeremy Sinclair added another important dimension to the panel: the idea that mentoring becomes most powerful when it is reciprocal. For him, the experience was not only about guiding others, but also about paying close attention to the ways mentees were already learning, contributing, and growing in their day-to-day work. His reflection underscored one of the session’s most resonant takeaways - that the best mentoring spaces create room for everyone to teach and everyone to learn. Agnieszka also connected mentoring to a very practical kind of growth: confidence in public speaking. She reflected that mentoring strengthened her on-stage presence by helping her stay steady in front of a live audience, navigate real-time reactions, and move through troubleshooting moments with diligence and calm. That kind of growth shows how mentoring does not stay inside the ring - it carries into talks, demos, and the visible moments where community leaders share what they know. The invitation: learn, lead, and lift someone else up MVP Mentoring Rings show what is possible when community leadership is shared. They help technologists grow their confidence, expand their networks, and see new possibilities for how they can contribute. They remind current MVPs that mentorship is not a side activity - it is part of how strong communities sustain themselves. As Agnieszka Mietz-Blijleven reflected, the rings create “continuity, confidence, and a culture of giving back.” And for aspiring MVPs, they offer a glimpse of what this community is really about: generosity, curiosity, and the willingness to help others thrive. If you are inspired by these stories, take the next step. Learn from the MVPs who are investing in others through Mentoring Rings. Look for ways to actively support and uplift people in your own tech community. Reflect on how you can be an ally - especially for those who may need representation, encouragement, or a clearer runway to be seen. And if you have been wondering whether you are ready to contribute more, start now. Share what you know, help someone take their next step, and keep building the kind of community that future MVPs will be proud to join. Want to learn more about the MVP Program? To find an MVP and learn more about the MVP Program visit the MVP Communities website and follow our updates on LinkedIn. Join us for a future live session through the Microsoft Reactor where we walk through what the MVP program is about, what we look for, and how nominations work. These sessions are designed to help you connect the dots between the work you’re already doing and the impact the MVP Program recognizes - with time for questions, examples, and real conversations.
