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LIVE from ESPC 2025 - Microsoft 365 & AI Conference | Mondays at Microsoft (Episode 63)
Join Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook, LIVE from ESPC 2025 - Microsoft 365 & AI Conference in Dublin as they take you through the latest in AI news, Microsoft 365 product updates, and community news & events. 🎥 Episode 63 of "Mondays at Microsoft" goes live on Monday, December 1st at 8:00 AM PT! #MondaysAtMicrosoft #ESPC2025 #MicrosoftEvents
Aaron_Bode
Dec 02, 2025 Place Community News Desk Events
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Get to know the ESPC25 Community Reporters: Your front-row pass to the pulse of the conference!
If you're heading to ESPC25 in Dublin this December, you’re in for enlightening sessions, networking opportunities—and access to the heart of the event through this year’s Community Reporters. These passionate tech leaders will be capturing the energy of ESPC25, conducting interviews, sharing insights—and amplifying the voices of attendees, speakers, and sponsors. Whether you're attending in person or following along remotely, they’ll help you stay connected to the moments that matter most. Meet the incredible team of Community Reporters who will bring ESPC25 to life: 🎤 Jonah Andersson | Jonah is a developer, lead cloud dev-ops engineer, and Microsoft MVP who champions diversity in tech. She's passionate about highlighting the voices of underrepresented communities and the transformative power of Azure and AI. 🎤 Christian Buckley | A veteran of ESPC and a powerhouse in the Microsoft ecosystem, Christian is a Microsoft Regional Director and MVP. He’s known for dynamic interviews and thought-provoking panels. If you want deep insights and lively debates, follow Christian’s coverage. 🎤 Emily Mancini | Emily brings a sharp eye for design and a deep love for collaboration. As a Microsoft MVP and UX champion, she’s passionate about making tech accessible and intuitive. Expect her interviews to spotlight the human side of innovation and the power of inclusive design. 🎤 Jasper Oosterveld | Jasper is a Microsoft MVP and a data security and Microsoft 365 expert with a knack for making complex topics approachable. His coverage will focus on practical takeaways, especially around Microsoft 365 and Teams, helping attendees turn inspiration into action. 🎤 Eric Overfield | Eric is an author, Microsoft MVP and Regional Director, and a recognized authority in AI, Microsoft 365, data insights, and Azure. He’s passionate about bridging the gap between business needs and technical solutions. 🎤 Chirag Patel | Known for his infectious enthusiasm and community-first mindset, Chirag is a Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer who thrives on connecting people and ideas. He’ll be diving into conversations about real-world solutions, modern workplace trends, and the stories behind the tech. 🎤 Zoe Wilson | Zoe is a Microsoft MVP and Regional Director who helps clients leverage the full range of modern work technologies to drive innovation around business problems. Her interviews will explore best practices, security, and how organizations can empower users while staying compliant. Whether you're attending ESPC25 to level up your skills, connect with peers, or explore the future of Microsoft technologies, this year's Community Reporters will be your guide to the conference’s most impactful moments. Stay tuned for updates, follow the coverage, join the conversation, and be part of a community that’s driving innovation forward. We can’t wait to see you in Dublin—and if you’re still deciding, let this be your sign: #ESPC25 is where the Microsoft tech community comes alive. Subscribe to the ESPC YouTube channel https://aka.ms/ESPCYouTubeChannel and we'll have a playlist on our Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel - https://aka.ms/Community/LearningChannel Register now! - Community discount code: ESPC25COMM (€200 off) Cheers all! Heather
HeatherCook
Nov 26, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Recognizing Microsoft MVPs at ESPC25
At ESPC25 in Dublin, Microsoft MVPs will be easy to spot. They will lead tutorials, power “Ask the Experts,” mentor emerging voices, and support hands-on demos across the Innovation Hub. The Most Valuable Professionals (MVP) program recognizes exceptional community leaders for their technical expertise, leadership, public speaking and writing, online influence, and a strong focus on solving real world problems. MVPs also receive early access to Microsoft products and direct communication channels with our product teams, which helps them bring timely, practical guidance back to the community. Why MVPs matter to our community MVPs are a catalyst for learning and connection. They grow technical communities by organizing meetups, welcoming new participants, and championing diversity and inclusion. They amplify expertise through talks, demos, posts, and guides that turn complex topics into repeatable paths to success. They also share product insight from the field, turning customer feedback into opportunities for improvement by telling engineering what works and what needs attention. The outcome is better products, faster adoption, and stronger communities. How to become an MVP You do not apply for the MVP Award directly. You are nominated by a current MVP or by a full time Microsoft employee. If you are active in the community, someone may notice your contributions. You can also be proactive: connect with MVPs in your domain, ask for mentorship and feedback on your portfolio, and participate in MVPled events to contribute and learn. After nomination, you will submit your community work for review. The MVP program team and the relevant product groups evaluate your impact, consistency, and alignment with the program’s values. Learn more: What is a Microsoft MVP? MVP presence at ESPC25 We’re excited to welcome 88 MVPs onsite at ESPC25. You will find MVPs throughout the event experience. Visit the “Ask the Experts” tables for practical Q&A on Microsoft Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Viva, and more. Join MVP meetups to reconnect across regions, share ideas, and celebrate community milestones. Stop by the Innovation Hub for Lightning Talks, Tech Demos, Ideation Lab activities, and the Feedback Lounge. These are hands-on spaces where attendees can experiment, share feedback, and turn ideas into action. MVP sessions at a glance Below is the full set of tutorials and breakouts. Use the conference app for rooms and live updates. Monday — Tutorials (9:00 AM–5:00 PM) Building Custom Agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot — Andrew Connell (MVP, Voitanos, USA), Mark Rackley (MVP, Protiviti, USA) Building effective intranets: The Information Architecture (IA) Blueprint for AI Integration — Susan Hanley (MVP, Susan Hanley LLC, USA) Build Your Own Agent: Copilot Studio in a Day — Joe Griffin (MVP, proMX UK Limited, United Kingdom) Mastering SharePoint Premium from Content AI to Advanced Administration — Vlad Catrinescu (MVP, MCT, Syskit, Canada) Agentageddon and How to Prevent It — Kevin McDonnell (MVP, Avanade, United Kingdom), Zoe Wilson (Microsoft RD, MVP, Kyndryl, United Kingdom) Everything you Wanted to Know About Microsoft Fabric and Power BI, But Were Afraid to Ask — John White (MVP, AvePoint, Canada) Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals Bootcamp — Mike Maadarani (MVP, Taiga AI, Canada), Habib Mankal (MVP, WaveCore IT Inc., Canada) Getting Started with Power Platform & AI on SharePoint — Luise Freese (MVP, M365Princess, Germany) Hacking and Securing Windows Infrastructure — Paula Januszkiewicz (Microsoft RD, MVP, CQURE, Poland) Tuesday 10:15–11:15 AM Building smart agents with Azure AI Foundry — Luise Freese (MVP, Germany) Smarter Contract Management in M365: AI, eSignature & Knowledge Agent — Leon Armston (MVP, United Kingdom) Generative AI: Shaping the future of LowCode and Pro Code Development — Jussi Roine (MVP, Finland) The Oversharing Solution Blueprint — Sara Fennah (MVP, United Kingdom) The Anatomy of an Agent — Kevin McDonnell (MVP, United Kingdom) Cracking the Code of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s ROI — Pieter Op De Beeck (MVP, Belgium) Technical changes in M365 compliance — Tony Redmond (MVP, Ireland) Fireside Chat with Two Recovering Consultants — Karoliina Kettukari (MVP, Finland), Sari Soinoja (MVP, Finland) 11:45 AM–12:45 PM Scaling new heights: Mastering AI with Enterprise Scale AI Factory — Kim Berg (MVP, Sweden) Case Study: 2 years with M365 Copilot — how did we succeed — Karoliina Kettukari (MVP, Finland) Securing Generative AI: A Zero Trust Approach to Deploying Copilot in your Company — Seyfallah Tagrerout (Microsoft RD, MVP, Switzerland) Unleashing the Power of RAG in Copilot Studio: Applications and Best Practices — Rick Van Rousselt (MVP, Belgium) Model Context Protocol vs. Connectors: Rethinking Integration in the Power Platform — Mats Necker (MVP, Germany) You’re Holding it Wrong — Best practices in Power BI Reporting — John White (MVP, Canada) 2:00–3:00 PM How to work like a Brainiac with M365 Copilot — a nobrainer — Caroline Kallin (MVP, Sweden) 3:15–4:15 PM Navigating the AI Agent Landscape: Strategy, Selection, and Use Cases — Foyin OlajideBello (Microsoft RD, MVP, Ireland) From Assessment to Action: Strengthening Microsoft 365 Governance — Christian Buckley (Microsoft RD, MVP, USA) Mastering the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK — Tony Redmond (MVP, Ireland) Navigating Communication Channels in Microsoft 365 for Meaningful Engagement — Emily Mancini (MVP, USA) Testing smarter: Bringing AI into your E2E testing workflows — Elio Struyf (MVP, Belgium) 4:45–5:45 PM Keynote: Hacker’s Perspective on New Risks: Revisiting the Cybersecurity Priorities for 2025 — Paula Januszkiewicz (Microsoft RD, MVP, Poland) Copilot Customization: Choosing Between Copilot Studio & Teams Toolkit — Andrew Connell (MVP, USA), Mark Rackley (MVP, USA) Intune 2025: The Latest Features in Action — Florian Salzmann (MVP, Switzerland) Scaling Azure Applications: From Small Projects to Global Infrastructure — Tiago Costa (MVP, MCT, Portugal) Power Platform Governance: Taming the Wild West! — Agnius Bartninkas (MVP, Lithuania) Wednesday 10:15–11:15 AM Voice AI Agents with OpenAI and Microsoft Teams — Renato Romao (MVP, Ireland) Developing Hybrid Cloud with Azure Local: A Synergy of Bridging OnPremises and Cloud — Jonah Andersson (MVP, Sweden) Beyond the Black Box: Creating Transparent and Ethical Reporting for Microsoft Copilot — Thomas Golles (MVP, Austria), Stephan Bisser (MVP, Austria) From Code Villain to SPFx Hero: SPFx Best Practices for Sustainable Solutions — Dan Toft (MVP, Denmark) Deep dive into Microsoft Security Exposure Management — Jussi Roine (MVP, Finland) Implementing SCIM for MultiTenant Identity Management in M365 and Azure — Rodrigo Pinto (MVP, Portugal) ErrorFree Solutions — Error Handling in Power Apps and Power Automate — Tomasz Poszytek (MVP, Poland), Krzysztof Kania (MVP, Poland) Voices of Change: Real Stories of Mentoring in Action — Keith Atherton (MVP, United Kingdom) 11:45 AM–12:45 PM Elevate Your Intranet: Practical PresentDay Tips for a FutureReady Platform — Susan Hanley (MVP, USA) Use Agents Toolkit to Build Solutions on Microsoft 365 — Bill Ayers (MVP, MCM, MCT, United Kingdom) Accelerate Agent Building with Copilot Studio — AlbertJan Schot (MVP, Netherlands) Microsoft 365 tenant setup & configuration. Been there, done that? — Thomas Vochten (MVP, MCT, Belgium) Defence Against the Dark Arts — Building Rock Solid Entra ID Security Solutions — Andy Malone (MVP, MCT, United Kingdom) Microsoft 365 Copilot Extensibility: Navigating the Possibilities and Pitfalls — Thomas Golles (MVP, Austria), Stephan Bisser (MVP, Austria) 2:00–3:00 PM Automating 2500 RFPs per year with Azure AI Foundry and Azure AI Search — Chris O’Brien (MVP, United Kingdom) Developer challenges in GenAI projects — Stas Lebedenko (MVP, Ukraine) Automating Microsoft 365 Governance — Best Practices to Ensure Compliance — Tobias Maestrini (MVP, Switzerland), Daniel Kordes (MVP, Switzerland) The adventures of a Microsoft 365 Platform Owner — Jasper Oosterveld (MVP, Netherlands) Canvas Apps Mastery: Create Reusable Code — Krzysztof Kania (MVP, Poland) IntuneDriven Approaches to Minimize Local Admin Risks — Simon Skotheimsvik (MVP, Norway) Ask Me Anything: Life at Microsoft & the MVP Journey — Susan Hanley (MVP, USA), Jonah Andersson (MVP, Sweden) 3:15–4:15 PM Taming the Wild West of Generative AI with Purview and Defender — Tatu Seppala (MVP, Finland) Demystifying Agent Types within the Semantic Kernel Framework — Arin Roy (MVP, Netherlands) How to deal with 2.8 million files? — Sari Soinoja (MVP, Finland) Deep Dive on Power BI, Teams and SharePoint — John White (MVP, Canada) Prepare for GenAI and Copilot: Step up your Data Security and Information Governance game! — Bram de Jager (MVP, MCM, Netherlands) Entra ID App registrations — The good, bad and the ugly — Andy Malone (MVP, MCT, United Kingdom) 4:45–5:45 PM Zero Trust — Dope or Nope? — Sami Laiho (MVP, Finland) Utilize a Local LLM to Chat with Your M365 and onpremises Data — Peter Paul Kirschner (MVP, Austria), Guido Zambarda (MVP, Italy) Assess Power Platform Governance, from Results to Action — Edit Kapcari (MVP, Deutschland) AIPowered Content Management Transformation with SharePoint Premium — Eric Overfield (Microsoft RD, MVP, MCT, USA) Securing Your Copilot Agents: Implementing Robust Security Controls — Reshmee Auckloo (MVP, United Kingdom) Looking back: ESPC24 photos and highlights ESPC24 offered a vivid snapshot of community in motion. MVP meetups felt like a reunion of peers who build together. “Ask the Experts” tables turned complex questions into practical next steps. The Microsoft booth was a high energy hub where conversations led to collaboration. The D&I luncheon brought a full room together around inclusion and belonging. Connect with MVPs at ESPC25 Visit the Innovation Hub for Lightning Talks, Tech Demos, Ideation Lab activities, and the Feedback Lounge. Introduce yourself at MVP meetups. Make time for the “Ask the Experts” tables to get tailored guidance for your scenarios. If you are exploring the MVP journey, these touchpoints are ideal for learning more, sharing your portfolio, and asking for mentorship.
JonJones_MSFT
Nov 26, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Event Recap - Midwestern Community Events and AI Tour Chicago
This September, I had the opportunity to connect with three incredible Microsoft communities across the Midwest. From leadership development in Minnesota to AI-powered innovation in Chicago, each stop offered a unique perspective on how our customers and community leaders are embracing Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Copilot. Here's a recap of the journey: Stop 1: M365 Twin Cities – Brooklyn Park, MN (Sept 19) The trip began at M365 Twin Cities, a free, community-led event hosted at Hennepin Technical College. This event continues a legacy that began with SharePoint Saturday Twin Cities, running twice a year for over a decade. It’s one of the longest-running Microsoft community events in the U.S., thanks to the dedication of organizers like Wes Preston, Sarah Haase, and Tamara Bredemus, along with a strong network of Microsoft MVPs and volunteers. Highlights: ~400 attendees from across the region, over 700 registered 29 sessions across 8 tracks, led by 32 speakers Strong community energy, with support from 7 sponsors and giveaways (including LEGO sets!) The welcoming speaker dinner—featuring a standout Midwest walleye dish—was a highlight, setting the tone for a day full of energy, learning, and community building A warm, welcoming atmosphere fueled by donuts, pizza, and shared purpose I presented a session titled “Cultivating Trust and Leadership Excellence: Strategies for Respect and Empathy in the Workplace.” The session sparked meaningful conversations about emotional intelligence as a leadership cornerstone. We explored how respect, empathy, and kindness help build trust within teams, and I shared practical strategies for: Deepening domain knowledge Empowering autonomy Encouraging authentic communication Modeling compassionate leadership Gold Standard for Community Engagement by Donald Donais It was fantastic to connect with Donald Donais, Director - Cloud Solution Architect in Minneapolis, who has been a true champion of the Twin Cities tech community for well over a decade. As an FTE sponsor and advocate, Don has consistently given his time, energy, and expertise to support local user groups and community events—something every region wishes they had from the Microsoft Field. His dedication has helped make the Twin Cities a vibrant hub for learning and collaboration. Huge thanks to Don for setting the gold standard for community engagement! Check out this video on what it means to be a community supporter working in the Microsoft field. https://aka.ms/CommunityDaysTwinCitiesDonaldDonais AND - I couldn’t be more impressed and proud of Harsha Sridharan and Yi Liu for their outstanding session at Community Days M365 Twin Cities! Their talk, “Engineering People Skills: Building for Humans in the Flow of Work,” was a terrific blend of technical depth with human-centered design. They shared how Microsoft 365 is evolving to help individuals and teams surface, manage, and grow their skills—right where work happens. From showcasing how skills appear across tools like Outlook, People Companion, Viva, and Copilot, to explaining how AI can infer and highlight strengths without extra effort, they gave us a behind-the-scenes look at building People Skills in M365. Harsha and Yi didn’t just deliver a session—they sparked confidence and curiosity about the future of skills in the flow of work. Brava! 👏 Stop 2: Chicago Power Platform User Group – Sept 24 (Microsoft Chicago, Aon Center) At the CMPPUG meetup, I delivered “The Next Phase: Research, Creation & Smarter Decisions in the Age of Copilot.” Demonstrated how I used Microsoft Copilot, Researcher, and Create to build the very presentation I was delivering. Introduced three AI-centric leadership frameworks: 10% Rule for continuous improvement 10× Thinking for breakthrough innovation 10-10-10 Rule for responsible decision-making Engaged in a lively Q&A moderated by Craig Jahnke, lead for the Chicago Innovation Hub, and Microsoft MVP Ralph Rivas. and a thank you to Bryan Wofford who went to McCormick to do our tech check for our AI Tour while I was at AON Center. Highlights: 69 attendees in a hybrid format Strong interest in Copilot, AI strategy, and responsible adoption A huge thank you to Craig and Ralph for their leadership and continued commitment to growing the Microsoft 365 and Power Platform community in Chicago Met with David Horstein, the new Director, of the Chicago Innovation Hub in the Aon Center Microsoft Office to talk about Community Days events, user groups and promoting more stories via our MCAG Community News Desk. Stop 3: Microsoft AI Tour – Chicago (Sept 25) At Microsoft AI Tour Chicago, Bryan Wofford and I delivered our workshop twice at McCormick Place, both focused on empowering organizations and community leaders to embrace Microsoft AI. Copilot Ready: Strategy, Data, and Security - Session Code: WRK523-US Co-delivered with Bryan Wofford, who created the deck and demo and the lab. This hands-on workshop focused on preparing organizations for Copilot deployment. We had close to 200 people total for the sessions. We covered: Data readiness and tenant hygiene Agent security and governance Scaling with built-in Microsoft tools Participants brought their own laptops and actively engaged in real-time exercises to assess and improve their Copilot readiness. I also shared a lightning talk - Empowering Community Builders: Join MGCI & CommunityDays Session Code: LTG171-US This lightning talk introduced the Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI) and CommunityDays.org, showcasing how these platforms are transforming grassroots tech engagement. We explored: How to list and find events Opportunities for new and experienced speakers Free training and regional leadership connections Highlights: Strong interest and engagement in both sessions Keynotes from Judson Althoff, Karen del Vescovo, Bryan Goode, and Jenny Lay-Flurrie A packed day of learning, strategy, and connection with customers, partners, and Microsoft engineers Was thrilled to see colleague, Anne Krupke, Sr. Product Marketing Manager was on stage to demo with Judson Althoff. Friday afternoon I went to TedxChicago themed “The Future is Human” to see Nisaini Rexach, Lead, Community Engagement @ Microsoft | Copilot Champ give an amazing session on community building along with 8 other wonderful local speakers. Thank you Craig Jahnke for the intro! Final Reflections This trip was a powerful reminder of the strength and momentum within our Microsoft community. From grassroots leadership development in Minnesota to AI transformation in Chicago, I saw firsthand how our tools—and our people—are helping organizations lead with empathy, innovate with confidence, and build for the future. Our CommunityDays events are always looking for speakers and they are a great way to hone your speaking skills, get feedback directly from customers, partners and our Microsoft MVPs. And connect into The Best Community in Tech. Find events to submit for calls for content and speakers at: Community Days | Homepage #CommunityLuv
HeatherCook
Nov 22, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Ignite Connections: Unleashing Community & Networking at Microsoft Ignite 2025
Microsoft Ignite is almost here, and we’re bringing the energy, innovation, and connections you’ve been waiting for! If you’re passionate about innovative and groundbreaking technology, this year’s lineup is packed with insights and inspiration you won’t want to miss. It is always fun for all of us who work on community teams at Microsoft to come together cross-division to collaborate on Community at Microsoft Ignite together. We have Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Azure, Microsoft Fabric, Copilot Studio, GitHub, Security, Windows, Surface, Microsoft MVP team, Microsoft Partner team and Cloud +AI all represented. All sessions are in person and will not be recorded so plan accordingly and be sure to stop by for stickers and the fun interactive areas for when you need a break and place to land during the show. Spotlight Sessions You Can’t Miss We’re excited to showcase the community sessions from all three of our key solution areas: AI Business Solutions, Cloud & AI Platforms, and Security. Each area features sessions designed to help you leverage Copilot, intelligent agents, and cutting-edge technologies to transform your business. Explore the full lineup below and discover every session available to maximize your Ignite experience! Community Theaters: The Agent Readiness Framework AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 11:30am - 12pm Jack Rowbotham Building Digital Trust: Aligning Microsoft Technologies with Global AI and Regulatory Frameworks Security Tuesday, November 18, 1pm – 1:30pm Sourabh Pandey Human-AI collaboration: Advancing the future of software engineering GitHub Tuesday, November 18, 1:30pm – 2pm Andrew Goodman, Kevin Rhatigan Learn Infrastructure-as-Code through Minecraft Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 2pm – 2:30pm Mark Tinderholt 10 Partner Center Hacks Every Microsoft Partner Should Know Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 2:30pm – 3pm Michelle Elston Women in Tech & Allies: Turning Allyship into Action AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:30pm Heather Cook, Karuana Gatimu, Danielle Moon AI MVP Panel – Unblocking Customer Innovation Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 3:30pm – 4pm Prashant G Bhoyar, Marco Casalaina, Martina Grom, Dux Raymond Sy Path to MVP: Windows & Devices and Intune—Tips from the Team Surface & W+D Tuesday, November 18, 4pm – 4:30pm Lior Bela, Chauncey Larsen, Donna Ryan Close More Deals with Copilot: Speed, Depth, and Customer Impact Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 4:30pm – 5pm Jennifer Brown Shaping the Future of Azure AI Foundry Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 5pm – 5:30pm Roelant Dieben, Shawn Henry, Steve Sweetman, Quirine van Walt Meijer Ask Me Anything with Scott Hanselman Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 9:15am – 9:45am Henk Boelman, Scott Hanselman So you want to become and MVP (Option 1) MVP program Wednesday, November 19, 9:45am – 10:15am Justin Garrett Get Started with Copilot Adoption – Tools, Resources and Best Practices from the Microsoft Adoption Hub AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 10:45am – 11:15am Karuana Gatimu Security Copilot Security Wednesday, November 19, 11:15am – 11:45am Saurabh Jain Getting Started with Agents for Customer Zero Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 1:15pm – 1:45pm Eddie Bader, Juhi Saha Cloud Perspectives: Lessons Learned and Experiences from Azure MVPs Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 1:45pm – 2:15pm Nelly Delgado, Taiji Hagino, Ben Reader, Jared Rhodes Copilot Studio Community AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 2:15pm – 2:45pm David Abu, Wim Coorevits Microsoft Entra for Agents: Ask Microsoft Anything Security Wednesday, November 19, 2:45pm – 3:15pm Leandro Iwase, Ngozi Nwoko, Sharon Sandhu, Nick Wryter Cloud Perspectives: A Q&A with Azure Data Leadership Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 3:30pm – 4pm Arun Ulag Navigating the Tectonic Shifts Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 4pm – 4:30pm Vincent Menzione Building Modern Businesses Through AI and Partnerships Partner-led organization Thursday, November 20, 9am – 9:30am Asher Mathew Career Chat: Advancing from Product Manager to Product Leader in Tech AI Business Solutions Thursday, November 20, 9:30am – 10am Adam Harmetz So you want to become an MVP (Option 2) MVP program Thursday, November 20, 10am – 10:30am Justin Garrett Cloud Perspectives: Azure Migration Community Insights Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 10:30am – 11am Vikram Bansal Unlock Copilot Success with Power CAT programs AI Business Solutions Thursday, November 20, 11:15am – 11:45am Chitra J, Luis Camino Operationalizing Continuous Threat Exposure Management using Microsoft Security Exposure Management Security Thursday, November 20, 1:15pm – 1:45pm Alex Steele Learn About Licensing Discounts, Azure Credits and MAICPP Support Partner-led organization Thursday, November 20, 1:45pm – 2:15pm Tafara Pulse, Omar Khalid Cloud Perspectives: Cloud Management & Ops Platform Team Insights Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 2:15pm – 2:45pm Ruhiyyih Mahalati, Farzana Rahman Adopting GitHub Enterprise: Unlocking Developer Productivity Today and Tomorrow GitHub Thursday, November 20, 2:45pm – 3:15pm Parker Johnston Behind the Scenes: The Making of the Session Recap Agent Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 4pm – 4:30pm Henk Boelman How the Data Community Can Advanced Your Data & AI Career Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 5pm – 5:30pm Rie Merritt Mentorship Matters: Building Meaningful Connections for Growth AI Business Solutions Thursday, November 20, 5pm – 5:30pm Heather Cook, Karuana Gatimua Connection Pods Becoming an MVP in Biz Apps or Copilot Studio AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 1pm – 1:45pm Heidi Jordan, Ahmed Salih Build your schedule with help from a Microsoft MVP MVP program Tuesday, November 18, 1pm – 1:45pm Kimberly Sanchez SQL Server Management Studio: Help Drive What’s Next Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:45pm Makena Watanabe Barickman Unified SecOps in Action: Practical Incident Response & Threat Hunting with Sentinel, Defender XDR & Copilot Security Tuesday, November 18, 1pm – 1:45pm Uros Babic Challenges in Migrating Data to the Cloud for AI and Analytics Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 2pm – 2:45pm Imani Hall, Vybava Ramadoss Identity Strategy Approaches Security Tuesday, November 18, 2pm – 2:45pm David Nudelman Microsoft Global Community Initiative: Connecting People, Powering Impact AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 2pm – 2:45pm Heather Cook, Isidora Katanic The Revenue Multiplier: Marketplace + Campaigns That Grow Profit Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 2pm – 2:45pm Karen Fassio Building Agents with Copilot Studio Lite vs Full AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:45pm David Abu, Mariana Prudencio Engaging with the Data Community: from User Groups to Reddit and Everywhere in Between Cloud & Ai Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:45pm Rie Merritt Maximizing Partner Profitability with Microsoft Commerce Incentives Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:45pm Brittner Saultman Microsoft Sentinel Data Ingestion: Challenges, Solutions and Best Practices Security Tuesday, November 18, 3pm – 3:45pm Sasha Kranjac Identity & Network Access Management for AI Agents Security Tuesday, November 18, 4pm – 4:45pm Nichole Peterson Mentorship That Matters AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 4pm – 4:45pm Karuana Gatimu, Jonathan Jones Navigating Partner Center: Setting Your Partnership Up for Success Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 4pm – 4:45pm Shawna Hronek Welcome to the new Azure Solutions & Ecosystem – Azure MVP Technology Area Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 4pm – 4:45pm Gauri Gorhe, Joe Sarabia Activating the Copilot Community on Agents AI Business Solutions Tuesday, November 18, 5pm – 5:45pm Ahmed Salih AI MVP Community – Meet the Experts & Join the Journey Cloud & AI Platforms Tuesday, November 18, 5pm – 5:45pm Esra Bakkalbasioglu, Promise Uche Nwachukwu B2B Revenue Optimization: Using AI for a More Human Sales Process Partner-led organization Tuesday, November 18, 5pm – 5:45pm Jennifer Brown Unification of Identity & Network Access/Microsoft Entra Suite Security Tuesday, November 18, 5pm – 5:45pm Laura Viarengo Architecting for Identity Resilience: Proactive Strategies with Microsoft Entra Security Wednesday, November 19, 9am – 9:45am Charlie Gough Get Certified: how to prepare for a Microsoft certification exam Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 9am – 9:45am Marisa Mathews Grow Together: P2P + AI Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 9am – 9:45am Danny Brown, Nyasha Tunduwani Supercharge Copilot with SharePoint Embedded: Build, Manage, and Innovate AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 9am – 9:45am Reid Carlberg, Cindy Lay Efficient Log Handling with Microsoft Sentinel and Data Lake Architecture Security Wednesday, November 19, 10am – 10:45am Thomas Kurth Hybrid AI with Surface, Copilot + PCs & Windows AI Foundry Surface & W+D Wednesday, November 19, 10am – 10:45am Frank Buchholz, Chauncey Larsen Meet your Cloud Management & Operations Platform Team Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 10am – 10:45am Rahul Bagaria Power Platform Community AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 10am – 10:45am Stephanie Cronin, Heidi Jordan, Ahmed Salih Custom & On-Prem Data Ingestion into Microsoft Sentinel: Challenges and Best Practices Security Wednesday, November 19, 11am – 11:45am Den Mutlu Maximizing your Microsoft Partnership, Profitably and Effectively Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 11am – 11:45am Eddie Bader, Juhi Saha Empowering Knowledge Discovery with SharePoint Knowledge Agent AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 11am – 11:45am Adam Harmetz, John Mighell Building Community-Led Events with Agents AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 1pm – 1:45pm David Abu, Tiffay Songvilay Insights from Microsoft MVPs on how to ramp up as an AI expert MVP program Wednesday, November 19, 1pm – 1:45pm Kimberly Sanchez New agentic capabilities in Copilot in Azure Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 1pm – 1:45pm Dean Kroker Threat-Informed Data Protection: Aligning Controls to the MITRE ATT&CK Data Lifecycle Security Wednesday, November 19, 1pm – 1:45pm Victor JR Wingsing Becoming an MVP in Azure or the Data Platform Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 2pm – 2:45pm Rie Merritt, Gerald Tiu Reimagining data protection with the new Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management Security Wednesday, November 19, 2pm – 2:45pm Nathalia Borges Women in Tech & Allies: From Awareness to Action AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 2pm – 2:45pm Heather Cook, Femke Cornelissen – de Bruin, Danielle Moon Maximizing your Microsoft Partnership, Profitably and Effectively Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 2pm – 2:45pm Juhi Saha Don’t Start from Scratch – Microsoft Community for the Win AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 3pm – 3:45pm David Abu, Karuana Gatimu Managing Change Through Uncertainty Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 3pm – 3:45pm Christine Bongard Securing the defaults: Building and maintaining your security baseline Security Wednesday, November 19, 3pm – 3:45pm Chris Goosen Troubleshooting AKS networking with Agentic AI Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 3pm – 3:45pm Sandhya Castelino, Alex Mang Building a Strong Foundation in Microsoft Partner Center Partner-led organization Wednesday, November 19, 4pm – 4:45pm Erin Figer Conditional Access: Practical Insights and Innovations Security Wednesday, November 19, 4pm – 4:45pm Christian DerDecker Engage, Connect, Grow: Your Path in the Microsoft Community AI Business Solutions Wednesday, November 19, 4pm – 4:45pm Heather Cook, Jonathan Jones, Shari L. Oswald, Eric Overfield Global AI Community – Connect, Learn & Share Worldwide Cloud & AI Platforms Wednesday, November 19, 4pm – 4:45pm Henk Boelman, Roelant Dieben, Kasam Shaikh, Alexander Wachtel Copilot & SSMS: Feedback Forum Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 9:15am – 10am Makena Watanabe Barickman Mastering Windows Autopatch as a Modern MSP Security Thursday, November 20, 9:15am – 10am Jeroen Burgerhout Windows Cloud Experiences: Unplugged Surface & W+D Thursday, November 20, 9:15am – 10am Jason Parker, Swarnim Srivastava, Sneha Sultania Build Your Network, Claim Your Voice: Women in IT at Ignite Surface & W+D Thursday, November 20, 10:15am – 11am Priyanka Balaji, Cassidy Fein, Valerie Goulds, Elaine You Building best practice ERP agents AI Business Solutions Thursday, November 20, 10:15am – 11am Anne Krupke, Ahmed Salih Enhancing your AI workload resiliency with the Azure Networking stack Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 10:15am – 11am Sergio Figueiredo, Mario Lopez From Hype to Hardening: Designing a Zero-Trust Framework for Copilot Security Thursday, November 20, 10:15am – 11am Victor JR Wingsing From Zero to AI on K8s: Lessons, Patterns, and Pitfalls Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 11:15am – 12pm Eric Cheng, Saurabh Sensharma Learn About Licensing Discounts, Azure Credits and MAICPP Support Partner-led organization Thursday, November 20, 11:15am – 12pm Brooke Daniel, Tafara Pulse Operationalizing Responsible AI Security in the Enterprise Security Thursday, November 20, 11:15am – 12pm Victor Jr Wingsing Becoming an MVP in M365 AI Business Solutions Thursday, November 20, 1pm – 1:45pm Galen Keene, Tiffay Songvilay, Bryan Wofford Preventing Mistakes and Misuse: The Power of MAA in Intune Security Thursday, November 20, 1pm – 1:45pm Thomas Marcussen Best practices and blockers with moving apps to Intune Security Thursday, November 20, 2pm – 2:45pm Dean Ellerby Building Resilient Enterprises: What Customers Expect from Azure Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 2pm – 2:45pm Gargi Banerjee, Surya Sripathi Raju The ROI of Microsoft Ignite: Strategies to share & scale what you learn MVP program Thursday, November 20, 2pm – 2:45pm Kimberly Sanchez Meet your Azure Engineering Team – Azure Migrate Product Group Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 3pm – 3:45pm Ashish Babbar, Raunak Pandya Context is everything: Enriching identity signals for AI-powered soc defense Security Thursday, November 20, 3pm – 3:45pm Daniel Lynch, Anna Qi The Importance of Networking to Scale your Career Partner-led organization Thursday, November 20, 3pm – 3:45pm Christine Bongard Azure AI Insiders – Your Early Access Pass to AI Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 6pm – 6:45pm Esra Bakkalbasioglu, Quirine van Walt Meijer AI Foundry Chats – Talk AI with the Azure Engineers Cloud & AI Platforms Thursday, November 20, 5pm – 5:45pm Quirine van Walt Meijer, Trish Winter-Hunt Be sure to visit the session catalog on the event website to add these sessions to your schedule and plan your experience. Experience Community at Microsoft Ignite Our Community & Networking space within The Hub is where it all happens! Join us here for Community Theater sessions and Connection Pods, where you’ll dive into roundtable discussions with experts and peers. You can also explore interactive activations designed to spark curiosity—discover new communities, take on exciting challenges, experience cutting-edge tech, and win prizes along the way! Visit the Community page on the event website to learn more about these experiences at Microsoft Ignite. Don’t Just Attend, Ignite Your Experience Microsoft Ignite is where ideas ignite and connections thrive. Register now, share this with your network, and start planning your attendee experience today. The sooner you build your schedule, the more you’ll maximize every moment. Special shout-out to Almina Khorakiwala, Cassandra Steiber, and Peter Harrington for leading the charge and bringing community feedback into this year’s Community Hub planning. Way to go, team! Join us and be part of the conversations shaping the future—because you don’t want to hear about it later, you want to experience it first.
JonJones_MSFT
Nov 05, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Join the M365 Community Team at Power Platform Conference
We’re heading to Las Vegas for the Power Platform Community Conference—and you can still join us! If you’re part of the Microsoft 365 community, this is your chance to see how Copilot Studio and AI Agents are transforming productivity and workflows—shaping the future of M365 with automation, integration, and intelligent solutions across Teams, SharePoint, and more. 👉 Register today and come find us in the Community Lounge! 📍 Location: MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV 📅 Dates: October 28–30, 2025 🔗 Register now: https://powerplatformconf.com/#!/register Come explore the Community Lounge on the 3rd floor! Join us for interactive sessions, networking, demos & Ask a Pro stations. Don’t miss “Building Your Career” & “Don’t Start from Scratch” sessions—bookmark them in the Whova event app! 💬 How are you using Copilot today, or what’s your dream use case? Drop your thoughts below! Karuana Gatimu, Jonathan Jones, Bryan Wofford Microsoft Power Platform Community hashtag#PowerPlatform hashtag#MicrosoftCommunity hashtag#PPCC hashtag#LasVegas hashtag#CommunityEvents hashtag#CommunityLuv hashtag#M365 hashtag#CopilotStudio hashtag#AI cc: Heather Cook
JonJones_MSFT
Oct 16, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Event Recap - TechCon Seattle - June 2025
We’ve just wrapped up an incredible week at TechCon365 in the vibrant city of Seattle, WA, held at the Seattle Convention Center from June 23-27, 2025. TechCon365 Seattle brought together three specialized conferences — TechCon, PWRCON, and DATACON — delivering a powerhouse of learning, inspiration, and innovation. With a focus on Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and data solutions, the event catered to all levels, from enthusiasts to seasoned experts. Attendees explored the latest advancements in Microsoft 365 and AI, gained insights into Power Platform innovations, and discovered transformative data practices to elevate their careers and businesses. Event Highlights 1,000+ Attendees, 130 Speakers, including 44 from Microsoft. 245 Sessions and 48 Workshops. 3 Conferences under one roof: TechCon365, PWRCON, and DATACON. Networking Opportunities: Hundreds of professionals, community members, and leaders from diverse industries. A big thank you to David Wilhelm and Sharon Toler, along with your wonderful production team, for putting on such great community-focused technical skilling events for over a decade. Your dedication and hard work always make a significant impact, and we truly appreciate all that you do. Pre-Event Workshops The workshops at TechCon Seattle 2025 delivered two days of immersive, hands-on learning that set the tone for a dynamic week of innovation and collaboration. With 48 expertly led sessions spanning Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Microsoft Data, attendees dove deep into real-world scenarios and cutting-edge tools—from Copilot and AI to Power BI, Power Apps, and Azure SQL. Led by Microsoft MVPs and seasoned practitioners, the workshops offered practical insights and interactive demos that empowered participants to return to their roles with actionable strategies and renewed confidence. Whether building low-code solutions, enhancing data protection, or mastering collaboration tools, the workshops proved to be a cornerstone of the event experience. Keynotes & General Sessions Day 1: The day kicked off with the Microsoft 365 keynote, “Being a Productivity Changemaker in the Era of AI,” delivered by Karuana Gatimu, Melissa Torres, Stephanie Horn, and Kendra Springer. To round out the day, Bob Ward and Shireesh Thota took the stage with “Transform Your Data into a Competitive Edge with Azure.” Their dynamic session sparked new excitement, showing how Azure’s powerful tools can turn everyday data into valuable business breakthroughs. Attendees left energized by the possibilities and ready to harness data as a true driver of innovation. Day 2: The Power Platform keynote, "The Future of the Power Platform: Intelligent Apps,” a session led by the fantastic Evan Lew and Srihari Srinivasa at TechCon365 Seattle. They explored how artificial intelligence and Copilot are bringing new energy and possibilities to the Power Platform, making it easier than ever to build smart, adaptable apps. The session was filled with inspiring ideas and real-world examples, demonstrating how these tools can spark innovation and transform the way people work. For anyone excited about creating apps that truly make an impact, this was definitely a session to catch! Day 3: Sessions and Women in Tech and Allies Meetup, was one of the true highlights of the week was the Women in Tech and Allies Meetup. It was energizing to witness so many passionate voices coming together for meaningful networking and candid mentorship. Breakout Sessions Across all three conferences, Microsoft-led breakout sessions addressed a wide array of topics, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power Platform, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and more. These sessions provided actionable strategies and real-world applications to help attendees prepare their organizations for the AI transformation. TechCon 365 (Microsoft 365) | Microsoft-led breakout sessions "Keynote: Being a Productivity Changemaker in the Era of AI" will be presented by Karuana Gatimu, Melissa Torres, Kendra Springer, Dan Parish on June 25, 2025 "Getting Started with M365 Copilot" will be presented by Michelle Gilbert on June 25, 2025 "Driving Successful Adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot for SMBs" will be presented by Jessie Hwang on June 25, 2025 "What’s New in Microsoft Education: Powering the Future of Learning with AI" will be presented by Jethro Seghers on June 25, 2025 "Build Your Own Copilot (Jarvis) 🤖 with Copilot Studio" will be presented by Manpreet Singh on June 26, 2025 “Inside the Agent DB: Powering Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales with Unified Data” with Sigita Cepaitiene and Reza Assadi | June 26th 1 "Getting the most out of Copilot Pages and Notebooks: Introduction and Management Discussion" will be presented by Cora Chen, Sammy Chiu on June 26, 2025 "AI-Powered Productivity with Surface + Copilot" will be presented by Frank Buchholz on June 26, 2025 "The Intranet of Tomorrow: Beautiful, Flexible, and AI Ready" will be presented by Melissa Torres, Wende Copfer, Judith Yaaqoubi on June 26, 2025 "Top 10 Best Practices Every Admin Should Be Doing in M365!" will be presented by Michelle Gilbert on June 26, 2025 "Your Magical Microsoft Map of Community, Learning and Training" will be presented by Heather Cook, Jessie Hwang on June 25, 2025 "Build Your Custom Agent for 320M+ Users in Microsoft Teams" will be presented by Carter Gilliam on June 27, 2025 "Cultivating Trust and Leadership Excellence: Strategies for Respect and Empathy in the Workplace" will be presented by Heather Cook, Joel Frauenheim on June 26, 2025 "Understanding Where AI Is at and Where It Is Going" will be presented by Aria Hanson on June 27, 2025 "Revolutionizing Content Management Using the Power of AI with Copilot and SharePoint Premium" will be presented by Marco Rocca on June 27, 2025 PWRCON (Power Platform) | Microsoft-led sessions "Build Your Own Copilot (Jarvis) 🤖 with Copilot Studio" will be presented by Manpreet Singh on June 26th "Accelerate your data and app development using Copilot in Dataverse and Power Apps" will be presented by Travis Shu and Prithvi Khosla on June 26th "Collections with Finance Agents – Extensibility to any ERP" will be presented by Akshay Bhatnagar on June 27th "Enhancing Employee Experience with Microsoft Viva: A Comprehensive Overview" will be presented by Manpreet Singh on June 27th "Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales with Copilot Studio and Power Platform" will be presented by Gaurav Sisodia and Muhammad Arrabi on June 27th "Secure, Compliant, and Connected: How Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales Manages Your Data and Insights" will be presented by Gaurav Babbar and Manpreet Singh on June 27th DATACON (Fabric)| Microsoft-led sessions “A Comprehensive Guide to Direct Lake for the Pro Data Modeler ” with Philip Seamark, Patrick LeBlanc | June 23, 2025 “ETL, KQL, and RTI: Harnessing Data in Motion with Microsoft Fabric” with Matt Gordon, Christopher Schmidt | June 24, 2025 “Query Store and Azure SQL Copilot, who is the fairest in the land?” with Jose Manuel Jurado Diaz, Juan Moreno Romo | June 24, 2025 “Maximize efficiency in your data-driven projects by leveraging AI and Copilot technologies.” with Prashant Atri, Tammiraju Prasanth, Prabhjot Kaur | June 24, 2025 “Real-Time Intelligence: Turning Streaming Data into Smart Decisions” with Ajeta Singhal, Mou Rakshit | June 25, 2025 “Microsoft Fabric: Ultimate Data Security for Robust Data Warehousing” with Jean Joseph | June 25, 2025 “Fabric Data Factory: What's New and Roadmap” with Miguel Llopis, Mark Kromer | June 25, 2025 “Deep dive into Direct Lake” with Philip Seamark, Patrick LeBlanc | June 25, 2025 “Getting started with SQL database in Fabric” with Bob Ward | June 25, 2025 “Introduction to SQL Server Essential Concepts” with Bradley Ball | June 25, 2025 “Generate self-service governance dashboard using Microsoft Fabric and Purview” with Tammiraju Prasanth, Prashant Atri | June 25, 2025 “Innovate without limits with Azure Data” with Bob Ward, Shireesh Thota | June 25, 2025 “PowerBI, DirectQuery and SQL Server. It is a good choice?” with Jose Manuel Jurado Diaz, Juan Moreno Romo | June 25, 2025 02:00 PM “Learn how to troubleshoot SQL Server like a Microsoft engineer would” with Arvind Shyamsundar | June 25, 2025 “Deployments aren’t enough – databases deserve a development process” with Drew Skwiers-Koballa | June 25, 2025 “Transform your business with integrated solutions using SQL database in Microsoft Fabric” with Pam Lahoud | June 25, 2025 “Build an end-to-end data solution with Microsoft Fabric” with Patrick LeBlanc | June 25, 2025 “Everything you need to know about Data Virtualization in Azure SQL Database” with Hugo Queiroz | June 25, 2025 “SQL Server 2025: The Enterprise AI ready database” with Bob Ward | June 25, 2025 “SSMS 21 Spotlight: What's new and why it matters” with Makena Barickman | June 25, 2025 “Harness the Power of Microsoft Fabric and Notebooks” with Bradley Ball | June 26, 2025 “Real Time Monitoring with Real-life Use Cases using Database Watcher” with Matt Gordon, Daniel Taylor | June 26, 2025 “Oracle/SQL to Fabric Migration accelerator” with Tammiraju Prasanth, Prashant Atri | June 26, 2025 “10 Free SQL Databases: Your Playground for AI, Advanced Analytics, and Next-Gen Applications!” with Amar Digamber Patil, Muazma Zahid | June 26, 2025 "Getting the most out of Copilot Pages and Notebooks: Introduction and Management Discussion" will be presented by Cora Chen, Sammy Chiu on June 26, 2025 Build Your Own Copilot (Jarvis) �� with Copilot Studio" will be presented by Manpreet Singh on June 26th “Azure SQL DB Hyperscale: The Definitive Modern Database Choice ” with Aditya Badramraju, Arvind Shyamsundar | June 26, 2025 “Unleash the Power of SQL Database in Fabric: Innovate Without Limits Using the Free Trial” with Amar Digamber Patil, Muazma Zahid, Madhuri Yethirajam | June 26, 2025 “Power BI Storage Modes: The Ultimate Showdown” with Philip Seamark | June 26, 2025 "AI-Powered Productivity with Surface + Copilot" will be presented by Frank Buchholz on June 26, 2025 "The Intranet of Tomorrow: Beautiful, Flexible, and AI Ready" will be presented by Melissa Torres, Wende Copfer, Judith Yaaqoubi on June 26, 2025 “Migration Mystery Solved: Moving SSRS and SSAS to Power BI” with Daniel Taylor, Raju Kumar | June 26, 2025 "Top 10 Best Practices Every Admin Should Be Doing in M365!" will be presented by Michelle Gilbert on June 26, 2025 “Unified DevOps for Microsoft Fabric, Azure SQL, and SQL Server with next-gen SQL projects” with Drew Skwiers-Koballa | June 26, 2025 “Data Processing Architecture: Key Design Principles & Considerations” with Jean Joseph | June 26, 2025 “Handling Big Data with Power BI” with Patrick LeBlanc | June 26, 2025 "Build Your Custom Agent for 320M+ Users in Microsoft Teams" will be presented by Carter Gilliam on June 27, 2025 "Cultivating Trust and Leadership Excellence: Strategies for Respect and Empathy in the Workplace" will be presented by Heather Cook, Joel Frauenheim on June 27, 2025 "Understanding Where AI Is At and Where It Is Going" will be presented by Aria Hanson on June 27, 2025 “Azure SQL Database Hyperscale elastic pools - a deep-dive” with Arvind Shyamsundar, Aditya Badramraju | June 27, 2025 “Supercharge your analytics with Microsoft Fabric Real Time Intelligence” with Christopher Schmidt | June 27, 2025 “AI and SQL ground to cloud to fabric” with Bob Ward, Muazma Zahid | June 27, 2025 “Harnessing the Power of Data Mesh: A Deep Dive into the Four Pillars of Modern Data Architecture” with Jean Joseph | June 27, 2025 “Microsoft Database Docs - Learn about Contributing for your Career” with William Assaf | June 27, 2025 “Collections with Finance Agents – Extensibility to any ERP" will be presented by Akshay Bhatnagar on June 27th "Enhancing Employee Experience with Microsoft Viva: A Comprehensive Overview" will be presented by Manpreet Singh on June 27th "Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales with Copilot Studio and Power Platform" will be presented by Gaurav Sisodia and Muhammad Arrabi on June 27th “Build AI Apps Smarter: Optimize SQL Database Costs & Performance in Fabric” with Amar Digamber Patil, Pam Lahoud, Madhuri Yethirajam | June 27, 2025 “Unleashing Modern Data Warehousing: Architecture, Insights & Future Innovations in Fabric Warehouse” with Twinkle Cyril | June 27, 2025 “Mastering Elastic Database Pools: Best Practices and Troubleshooting from Microsoft Support” with Jose Manuel Jurado Diaz, Juan Moreno Romo | June 27, 2025 “Secure, Compliant, and Connected: How Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales Manages Your Data and Insights" will be presented by Gaurav Babbar and Manpreet Singh on June 27th “Build a Robust App with Fabric SQL Database, GraphQL API, and User Data Functions” with Sunitha Muthukrishna, Ed Lima | June 27, 2025 “Mirroring in Microsoft Fabric - Overview and Roadmap” with Wilson Lee, Maraki Ketema | June 27, 2025 “Indexing Internals for Developers & DBAs” with Bradley Ball | June 27, 2025 “Realtime product review data analysis for Retail using Fabric RTI, Purview and Azure Open AI” with Tammiraju Prasanth, Prashant Atri | June 27, 2025 Expo Hall and Community Ask the Experts Located at a prime spot on the expo floor, the Ask the Experts station served as a hub for attendees to seek solutions to their toughest questions. Industry experts engaged with participants, providing valuable insights and sparking inspiration along the way. Microsoft Zone At the Microsoft Zone, located within the Expo Hall we connected with hundreds of attendees, gaining insights into how Microsoft technologies impact their personal and professional lives. Community members shared their stories, joined Microsoft platforms for ongoing engagement, and, of course, collected plenty of stickers! Microsoft Global Community Initiative (MGCI) Meetup Thank you to everyone who joined the MGCI Meetup at TechCon Seattle—it was energizing to connect with so many community leaders and advocates in person. We left inspired and aligned around new ways to collaborate and support Microsoft adoption efforts together. Microsoft Surface Hub The Microsoft Surface hardware bar at the event featured hands-on demos of the latest Surface devices, giving attendees a chance to explore their design and performance up close and to meet the Surface product team. Ask Microsoft Anything Panel The Ask Microsoft Anything Panel was a standout session—packed with honest insights, expert perspectives, and meaningful engagement between the community and Microsoft leaders. In the End... TechCon Seattle was an extraordinary event that showcased the power of community, innovation, and collaboration. With its diverse range of sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, the event empowered attendees to unlock new possibilities with Microsoft technologies. For those who joined in Seattle thank you. And thank you to the sponsors. to the speakers for your terrific sessions and to all of the attendees for being a part of the Best Community in Tech. Let’s keep the momentum going at TechCon Atlanta August 11-15!
HeatherCook
Jul 15, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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Mondays at Microsoft | Episode 45
Connect Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook to discover the latest in AI, broader Microsoft product updates, community activities and events, and more. This upcoming show will celebrate Microsoft's 50th anniversary, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. use of Copilot for their 'ConsumerIQ' agent, insights about the Ability Summit, putting Humans First during tax season, and more. 🗓️ Join in, Monday, March 24th, 8:00 AM PT. Visit our main show page: https://lnkd.in/ghJ2mVGD Resource links mentioned during the episode: Watch the SharePoint event "From Concept, to Creation, to Impact" + live AMA: https://aka.ms/SharePointEvent. Windows 365 AMA on March 26, 2025, at 8am Pacific: https://aka.ms/Community/W365AMA with Christian Montoya. One Future, One Sound initiative: https://aka.ms/OneSound. #Microsoft50. Share your stories on LinkedIn #CommunityLuv: https://aka.ms/Celebrating50Years. Join us today (3/24/2025) at 9:00 am Pacific learn about Microsoft’s latest security news and innovations: https://aka.ms/Secure2025. Ability Summit: Fifteen years of #accessibility http://aka.ms/AbilitySummit2025 - with speakers Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Jeff Teper, and many other leaders in this space. Xbox joined its partners to unveil the Accessible Games Initiative: https://aka.ms/Xbox/AccessibleGamesInitiative. “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” - Mats Steen in the role-playing universe of World of Warcraft https://aka.ms/Ibelin. Grant Thornton’s Sandie Boswell on supporting employee wellbeing using Copilot in the C-suite: https://aka.ms/Copilot/EmployeeWellbeing. Visit the Copilot adoption hub to discover more: https://adoption.microsoft.com/Copilot. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to reimagine trend forecasting and consumer marketing: https://aka.ms/Copilot/EsteeLauder. ConsumerIQ, an agent built in Copilot Studio, will place consumer data – one of its greatest competitive advantages – at the fingertips of employees. Inspired by art: Aimee Kelly’s AI-driven fashion: https://aka.ms/Copilot/AimeeKelly. New *live chat* in Microsoft Teams: Connecting customers and businesses effortlessly: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/03/17/new-live-chat-in-microsoft-teams-connecting-customers-and-businesses-effortlessly/ by Brenna Robinson. Arapahoe Libraries creates the ‘library of the future’ for communities in Colorado: https://aka.ms/LibraryOfTheFuture. "Elevate your Microsoft Power Platform development experience with Power CAT Tools" by Denise Moran: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatform/PowerCATTools. Plus, Power CAT on YouTube, led by Phil Topness: https://aka.ms/PowerCATLive. The Microsoft Fabric Community Conference returns to Las Vegas from March 31–April 2, 2025. Sign up using code MCUST to save $150: https://aka.ms/FabConf25. Follow Microsoft Community LinkedIn: https://aka.ms/MSCommunityLIMM. To learn more about the Microsoft Global Community Initiative - a meeting place for all who are part of the Microsoft Community ecosystem, all are welcome: https://aka.ms/MGCI. Join us for our upcoming Microsoft Global Community Initiative General Session on Tuesday March 18th at 8:10am and 5:10pm. So many great events coming up and all available to check out on https://www.communitydays.org. We also just launched a community calls page here so you can find community related called host by Microsoft and the community. Thank you, Thomas Daly and crew for keeping the site up-to-date and running smoothly. Level up your Microsoft 365 and #AI skills, chat with product makers, and network with your tech peers. #M365Con is May 6–8 in Las Vegas (MGM Grand Hotel) - The ultimate community event filled with keynotes from Jeff Teper, Vasu Jakkal, Jared Spataro, solution-oriented sessions from Microsoft, MVPs and community leaders, workshops to deepen core skills, a vibrant expo hall, and more. DistasterAssistance.gov for those impacted by the Los Angeles county wildfires: https://disasterassistance.gov. Check out the Mondays at Microsoft show page to add upcoming shows to your calendar or catch up on past shows at https://aka.ms/MondaysAtMicrosoft. Our next show is on Monday, April 7 at 8:00 am Pacific.
Mark-Kashman
Mar 24, 2025 Place Community News Desk Events
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Mondays at Microsoft | Episode 43
Closing out February 2025 strong! Join Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook for the next Mondays at Microsoft as they dig into recent product updates, AI innovation, and activities around the globe. Join live, Monday, February 24th, 8:00 AM PT. Links to all resources shared during the live broadcast: Community resources: Download the show reminder on your calendar: https://aka.ms/MondaysAtMicrosoft Mark it! Microsoft Community page on LinkedIn: https://aka.ms/MicrosoftCommunityLinkedIn . Read it! Community News Desk: https://aka.ms/CommunityNewsDesk NOW ON DEMAND | Watch the SharePoint event "From Concept, to Creation, to Impact" + live AMA: https://aka.ms/SharePointEvent with Jeff Teper + the new 5-part learning series + 3 new customer case studies. Majorana 1 - A new quantum chip that is powered by a Topological Core architecture | Listen to Microsoft's recent quantum computing advancements on the Ideas podcast: https://aka.ms/Ideas/QuantumComputing | Qubits FTW! Plus, a great related news: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/podcast/ideas-quantum-computing-redefined-with-chetan-nayak/ "Introducing Muse: Our first generative AI model designed for gameplay ideation" by Katja Hofmann: https://aka.ms/IntroducingMuse. Monthly "byte-sized" updates on Microsoft innovations and global tech advancements: https://aka.ms/MicrosoftMonthlyTech-In "Inclusive Innovation: The role of AI in accessibility and neurodiversity": https://news.microsoft.com/source/asia/features/inclusive-innovation-the-role-of-ai-in-accessibility-and-neurodiversity/ by Anthony Moufarrege "Microsoft at Legalweek: Help safeguard your AI future with Microsoft Purview" by Katerina Athanasiou: https://aka.ms/LegalWeek. "3 ways to improve access to justice through court modernization " by David Williams: https://aka.ms/AccessToJustice. Announcing the 2025 Imagine Cup Semifinalists: https://aka.ms/2025ImagineCup/Semifinalists. Follow Beatris A. Mendez Gandica on LinkedIn — https://linkedin.com/in/beagandica. Beatris started a nonprofit organization, Nuevo Foundation, where she works to prepare underrepresented students to become tomorrow’s leaders. Apply for the Women at Microsoft Scholarship, deadline March 13, 2025: https://aka.ms/WomenAtMicrosoftScholarship. Make a plan to celebrate International Women's Day #IWD2025 #Accelerate Action: https://internationalwomensday.com. FYI... Microsoft 365 Blog: https://aka.ms/M365BlogMM Azure Blog: https://aka.ms/AzureBlogMM Dev Blog: https://aka.ms/DevBlogsMM Power Platform Blog: https://aka.ms/PowerPlatformBlogMM Power Apps Blog: https://aka.ms/powerappsblogMM Microsoft Fabric Blog: https://aka.ms/fabricblogMM Dynamics 365 Blog: https://aka.ms/Dynamics365blogMM SharePoint Hackathon | Design, create, share! We are excited to invite you to a hackathon dedicated to crafting exceptional employee experiences using AI and the latest SharePoint features! Join in: https://aka.ms/SharePoint/Hackathon | Hack submissions open from March 3-17, 2025 "Introducing Azure AI Foundry Labs: A hub for the latest AI research and experiments at Microsoft" by Asha Sharma and Ashley Llorens: https://aka.ms/AIFoundryLabs. "Introducing the SharePoint Pages Authoring Accessibility Assistant " by Tina Chen: https://aka.ms/SharePoint/AccessibilityAssistant. Register now for Power Platform and AI workshops in a city near you: https://aka.ms/KickstarterWorkshops. New training course for digital accessibility skills: https://aka.ms/AccessibilitySkills. Ref. Jenny Lay-Flurrie Announcing the GitHub Copilot Chat, now available for free on GitHub mobile: https://aka.ms/GitHub/Mobile. Follow Microsoft Community LinkedIn: https://aka.ms/MSCommunityLIMM. Community News Desk: https://aka.ms/CommunityNewsDesk. To learn more about the Microsoft Global Community Initiative - a meeting place for all who are part of the Microsoft Community ecosystem, all are welcome: https://aka.ms/MGCI. Level up your Microsoft 365 and #AI skills, chat with product makers, and network with your tech peers. hashtag#M365Con is May 6–8 in Las Vegas (MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas) - The ultimate community event filled with keynotes from Jeff Teper, Vasu Jakkal, Jared Spataro, solution-oriented sessions from Microsoft, MVPs and community leaders, workshops to deepen core skills, a vibrant expo hall, and more. Register now, save $150 with code SAVE150 🎟️ https://aka.ms/M365Con25 Heather Cook invites you to M365Con25 #promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtPq-1YAZjY Karuana Gatimu invites you to M365Con25 #promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGwK47ekYAo Next episode of Mondays at Microsoft: Monday, March 10th at 8am Pacific. Join in! Check out our page for our show and Community Studio efforts at https://aka.ms/MondaysAtMicrosoft.
Mark-Kashman
Feb 24, 2025 Place Community News Desk Events
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The Role of Storytelling in Community Building
On building community. "Stories are the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal." – Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University Storytelling has played a crucial role in human connection since the inception of civilization. It shapes identities, preserves historical records, and fosters a sense of belonging within communities. Whether conveyed through spoken word, literature, or digital media, storytelling possesses the ability to unify individuals, create shared experiences, and enhance communal bonds. The Power of Storytelling in Community Building Fostering Shared Identity Stories help communities define who they are and what they stand for. They preserve cultural traditions and values, passing them on to future generations. Encouraging Empathy and Connection Personal narratives allow people to understand each other’s experiences and struggles. Stories create emotional connections that transcend differences, building unity. Inspiring Action and Change A compelling story can mobilize people around a cause or mission. Communities often use storytelling to advocate for social change and inspire collective action. Strengthening Engagement and Participation Shared narratives encourage individuals to take active roles within their communities. Engaging stories help retain interest and commitment to communal efforts. Preserving History and Legacy Oral and written storytelling ensures that a community’s history remains alive. Stories highlight past challenges and triumphs, shaping future aspirations. I love a bookstore and find that they are great places to gather. I have many in cities around the world that I love to dip into over and over and that have wonderful schedules of events. Libraries as well, and most have programs where they sell books at a big discount. Librarians are also some of the smartest people you will meet and who know everything about the cities they serve. It has been interesting learning that "Barnes & Noble is planning to open at least 60 new stores in 2025 — a stunning turnaround for a bookseller that just a few years ago closed hundreds of locations and appeared doomed to follow in the footsteps of its shuttered competitors. Barnes & Noble opened 57 new locations in 2024 and operates around 600 stores in total, making it the largest bookseller in the US. In recent years, the bookseller has also leaned into the popularity of book content on TikTok and using #BookTok as the hashtag - and the post-pandemic thirst for "third spaces" to meet and socialize." - Business Insider To that end - our stories matter. Another favorite quote from Doctor Who, "We are all stories in the end, just make is a good one." Stories have the power to inspire, connect, and bring people together. Start by sharing your personal experiences, whether through conversations, writing, or digital platforms. Encourage others to do the same and contribute to a culture of storytelling that strengthens your local community, this community - the best community in tech. What story will you share today? And where and how will you share it? #ThePowerofCommunity #Storytelling #CommunityBuilding #BelongingMatters #CuppaCommuniTea #MicrosoftCommunity 🍵 Today I am drinking a cuppa Throat Coat by Traditional Medicines - Organic Throat Coa tea supports throat health with renowned slippery elm, used in Native American herbal medicine for hundreds of years.
HeatherCook
Feb 23, 2025 Place Community News Desk Blog
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