Inspired by those in the community that have gone before me, I try to share what I learn by looking at what the services from Microsoft can offer, understanding challenges people have and bringing those two things together. Having learned from 13 years in Financial Services, I moved into the world of consulting and am currently acting as Associate Director, owning Copilot and Agents within the UK at Avanade.

I am lucky enough to have been awarded as a Microsoft MVP in Microsoft 365 for Copilot and Copilot Extensibility and co-host the award winning Copilot Connection podcast as well as blogging and sharing videos.

Inspired by those in the community that have gone before me, I try to share what I learn by looking at what the services from Microsoft can offer, understanding challenges people have and bringing those two things together. Having learned from 13 yea... Show more

Taiob Ali is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with 20+ years of experience with SQL Server and Azure data services. While SQL Server remains his primary focus, he is currently learning, using, and teaching PostgreSQL, often describing himself as an accidental PostgreSQL DBA.
He is also exploring practical applications of AI in data platforms, including GitHub Copilot, Copilot agent development, and built‑in AI capabilities in SQL Server. Taiob is a frequent international speaker and an active community organizer.

Taiob Ali is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with 20+ years of experience with SQL Server and Azure data services. While SQL Server remains his primary focus, he is currently learning, using, and teaching PostgreSQL, often describing himself as an acci... Show more

Vlad Catrinescu is a Microsoft 365 and Power Platform Specialist with over a decade of hands-on experience deploying, securing, and governing Microsoft 365 environments. As a Technology Evangelist at Syskit, he works with organizations on SharePoint governance, Copilot readiness, permissions management, and Power Platform automation.

A Microsoft MVP since 2013 across SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power Automate, and PowerShell, Vlad is a regular speaker at Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Inspire, ESPC, and community events worldwide. Through his Pluralsight courses, books, and conference sessions, he has helped over 1 million IT professionals build practical skills with Microsoft technologies.

He has authored 100+ courses on Pluralsight, three books with Apress, and runs Vlad Talks Tech, a trusted resource for IT professionals at vladtalkstech.com and youtube.com/@VladTalksTech.

Vlad Catrinescu is a Microsoft 365 and Power Platform Specialist with over a decade of hands-on experience deploying, securing, and governing Microsoft 365 environments. As a Technology Evangelist at Syskit, he works with organizations on SharePoint ... Show more

Pavlo is a Staff Software Engineer at Meta. He is also a Google Developer Expert for Android and Kotlin. Previously he worked at Lyft, Turo and Grab on mobile infrastructure. He develops Android apps, focusing on mobile performance, developer productivity, and infrastructure.

Pavlo is a Staff Software Engineer at Meta. He is also a Google Developer Expert for Android and Kotlin. Previously he worked at Lyft, Turo and Grab on mobile infrastructure. He develops Android apps, focusing on mobile performance, developer product... Show more

Annie Talvasto is an award-winning international technology speaker and leader who has spoken at 100+ events worldwide, including KubeCon + CloudNativeCon and Microsoft Build & Ignite. She has been recognized as a CNCF Ambassador and with Azure & AI Platform MVP awards. She co-founded Kubernetes & CNCF Finland in 2017 and has served as a KubeCon + CloudNativeCon track chair, Secure AI Summit Program Chair, and host of CNCF’s Cloud Native Live.

Annie Talvasto is an award-winning international technology speaker and leader who has spoken at 100+ events worldwide, including KubeCon + CloudNativeCon and Microsoft Build & Ignite. She has been recognized as a CNCF Ambassador and with Azure & AI ... Show more

Google Developer Expert for Android and Kotlin, enthusiastic public speaker, senior engineer, Kotlin aficionado, Multiplatform manipulator, prolific facilitator of cute cat photographs, spends more time travelling than working (he/him)

Google Developer Expert for Android and Kotlin, enthusiastic public speaker, senior engineer, Kotlin aficionado, Multiplatform manipulator, prolific facilitator of cute cat photographs, spends more time travelling than working (he/him) Show more

As the founder of both (Analytic Endeavors & Havens Consulting) and a Dual-MVP with Microsoft and Databricks, Reid is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in technology, organizational management, and business analytics. With a Master's Degree in Organizational Development and a background in consulting for Fortune 10, 50, and 500 companies, Reid has the knowledge and expertise to help your organization succeed.

In addition to his corporate experience, Reid is also a highly sought-after instructor, teaching Business Intelligence, reporting, and data visualization at the University of Washington and other universities. His passion for education extends beyond the classroom, as he has co-authored the DP-500 Enterprise Azure Analyst certification exam for Microsoft and developed numerous training curriculums delivered to companies around the world.

As the founder of both (Analytic Endeavors & Havens Consulting) and a Dual-MVP with Microsoft and Databricks, Reid is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in technology, organizational management, and business analytics. With a Master'... Show more

Often described as a force of nature, Jennifer is a visionary leader with a proven track record in management excellence and leading software teams to successful execution of business goals.

With deep roots in frontend engineering Jennifer is still widely regarded as an expert in the Angular space despite her growing tenure in non-coding management roles. Jennifer combines years of experience in developing JavaScript applications through interfacing with users, stakeholders and business executives with a keen eye on the current development landscape & trends to craft strategic vision and lead teams to sustainable growth that contributes to company success.

Jennifer is passionate about developer communities, and shares her expertise in frontend development, engineering management, maximizing productivity, and community building across the world as a widely sought-after public speaker. She is also the founder of Kansas City Women in Technology, a non-profit that has taught thousands of women and girls in the Kansas City area to code, and helped women enter tech careers.

Often described as a force of nature, Jennifer is a visionary leader with a proven track record in management excellence and leading software teams to successful execution of business goals. With deep roots in frontend engineering Jennifer is sti... Show more

A developer, business owner, consultant, cloud architect, Microsoft Azure MVP and an online instructor, Mike Benkovich is an alumni of Microsoft from 2004 to 2012 where he helped build developer communities across the US, thru work on Microsoft Across America, MSDN Events, MSDN Webcasts, DPE and Channel 9. He's helped to create and grow developer conferences and user groups in various cities across the US. While at Microsoft he helped create the Azure Boot Camp events that were run in cities across the US and at PDC and TechEd before it was transferred to the community. In 2009 he started a Toastmaster club for Geeks called TechMasters in Minneapolis where we still grow speakers for Conferences. He's a LinkedIn Learning Instructor for Azure, have developed many online courses. Mike actively works in Azure Cloud Governance, Infrastructure as Code, DevOps, Application Architecture and Software Delivery consulting.

A developer, business owner, consultant, cloud architect, Microsoft Azure MVP and an online instructor, Mike Benkovich is an alumni of Microsoft from 2004 to 2012 where he helped build developer communities across the US, thru work on Microsoft Acros... Show more

Dennie has experience in accessibility with Microsoft technologies. In daily life Dennie is president and developer at DDSoft, a nonprofit that connects IT to People who are less tech-savvy. Dennie works for more than 10 years in the intersection of the IT industry and the social industry and creates technical solutions and systems to help people with disabilities to participate in their daily life. Thanks to his autism he's the right man at the right spot to contribute as a volunteer in function of people with disabilities.

Dennie has experience in accessibility with Microsoft technologies. In daily life Dennie is president and developer at DDSoft, a nonprofit that connects IT to People who are less tech-savvy. Dennie works for more than 10 years in the intersection of ... Show more

Mario-Leander Reimer is a passionate software developer and architect, a proud father and a #CloudNativeNerd. As Managing Director and CTO of QAware GmbH, he is responsible for innovation, R&D, upskilling, as well as information security, cyber security and IT regulation. His technical focus lies on cloud-native and AI-native environments in the enterprise sector. As a regular speaker at national and international conferences, he is passionate about sharing his knowledge and practical experience.

Mario-Leander Reimer is a passionate software developer and architect, a proud father and a #CloudNativeNerd. As Managing Director and CTO of QAware GmbH, he is responsible for innovation, R&D, upskilling, as well as information security, cyber secur... Show more

Rob was a SQL Server DBA with a passion for PowerShell, Azure, Automation, and SQL (PaaS geddit?). Now he just helps people make things. He is a Data Platform MVP and an Azure MVP, a PowerShell Conference Europe organiser, and maintainer of many open-source projects. He has spoken at and volunteered at many Data and PowerShell events all over the world. He is a proud supporter of the Data and PowerShell communities.

He relishes sharing and learning and can be found doing both via Social Medias and his blog. He spends most of his time looking at a screen and loves to solve problems. He knows that looking at a screen so much is bad for him because his wife tells him so. Thus, he is often out riding his bike as his eyes are not good enough to play cricket any more.

He has a fabulous beard

Rob was a SQL Server DBA with a passion for PowerShell, Azure, Automation, and SQL (PaaS geddit?). Now he just helps people make things. He is a Data Platform MVP and an Azure MVP, a PowerShell Conference Europe organiser, and maintainer of many open... Show more

Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with 30 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL.
His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster Recovery.
Javier is a Microsoft MVP Data Platform since 2016 and MCT
He is a frequent speaker in technical conferences and events such as SQL Saturdays, PASS Virtual Groups, PASS Marathons, 24 Hours SQL PASS , vOpen , GroupBy , Data Saturdays and Azure Global Bootcamps.
He is one of the group leaders of SQL Argentina Community and former Microsoft Azure Data Advisory Board Member

Javier Villegas is IT Director (DBA & BI Services) at Mediterranean Shipping Company with 30 years of experience working with SQL Server, Including Azure SQL. His specialization is Administration, Performance Tuning, High Availability and Disaster ... Show more

Nicole Enders, aka “Die Agentin”, is a software architect, consultant, developer, and Microsoft MVP. Her mission is to make complex technology accessible and share knowledge. She focuses on Agentic AI, Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, Azure, and Microsoft 365, combining technical depth with practical experience, curiosity, and enthusiasm.

Nicole Enders, aka “Die Agentin”, is a software architect, consultant, developer, and Microsoft MVP. Her mission is to make complex technology accessible and share knowledge. She focuses on Agentic AI, Microsoft Foundry, Copilot Studio, Azure, and Mi... Show more

Microsoft MVP Business Applications and Microsoft MVP in Office 365. I had the honor of being the first Spanish-speaking woman in Latin America in the Business Applications category, and the first and to date the only person in Colombia. As a Microsoft consultant and contractor, she designed architectures and implemented productivity solutions in Power Platform and Microsoft 365 (Design Thinking), advising companies in the process of transforming their business processes until the delivery and execution of change management and adoption exercises; I diagnose its degree of adoption and usability, designing the business process transformation strategy using Microsoft 365, Project Online, Dynamics 365 (CRM) and Power Platform to end customers, business partners and accounts assigned by the manufacturer. +12 years Microsoft 365 | +10 years Dynamics 365 CRM | +9000 Consulting Hours | +500 hours Speaker | 22 Countries | +280 Conferences. Copilot Tech Subject Matter Expert. Lean Change Management Certified

Microsoft MVP Business Applications and Microsoft MVP in Office 365. I had the honor of being the first Spanish-speaking woman in Latin America in the Business Applications category, and the first and to date the only person in Colombia. As a Micros... Show more

Microsoft MVP (M365 and AI Platform), MCT

A results oriented consultant with experience in Microsoft Technologies especially with Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Experienced in design, implementation, configuration, and maintenance of several large-scale projects.

Author of books:
➟ Mastering SharePoint Framework (BPB Publications), Amazon bestseller
➟ Understanding Hybrid Environments in SharePoint 2019 (Apress)
➟ Up and Running on Microsoft Viva Connections (Apress)

Organizer of Pune Tech Community (https://www.meetup.com/pune-tech-community/)

Microsoft MVP (M365 and AI Platform), MCT A results oriented consultant with experience in Microsoft Technologies especially with Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and Microsoft Azure. Experienced in design, implementation, configuration, and mainten... Show more

Christian Alexander Schreiber is the CEO & Founder and Lead Architect of nVibes, a next-generation European social platform based in Dresden, Germany, built around one central idea: Real Vibe. Real People.

With nVibes, Christian is building a social infrastructure for real human connection — a platform designed not for endless scrolling, but to help people feel less alone, find belonging, build trusted communities and create meaningful moments beyond the screen.

https://nvibes.de brings together social interaction, communities, events, real-world activities and intelligent digital experiences while placing privacy, trust, responsible AI and European digital sovereignty at the foundation of the platform.

With more than 30 years of experience in IT consulting, software architecture, Microsoft technologies and digital transformation, Christian combines deep technical expertise with the perspective of a technology founder building a new digital platform from Europe.

His work focuses on the intersection of human-centered technology, responsible and agentic AI, privacy-by-design, digital identity, platform trust, cloud architecture and European technological sovereignty. He explores how AI and modern platforms can strengthen human interaction instead of replacing it — and how technology can create genuine value when it is designed around people rather than attention.

Christian also speaks about AI-ready Azure architectures, responsible AI adoption, secure digital platforms, agentic systems and the practical realities of turning an ambitious technology vision into a real product.

As an international speaker, he brings together strategic leadership, hands-on architecture and real-world startup experience. His sessions are practical, technically grounded and driven by a clear conviction:

The future of social technology should not be about keeping people on a screen. It should help bring people together.

nVibes — Real Vibe. Real People.
A Social Infrastructure for Real Human Connection.

Christian Alexander Schreiber is the CEO & Founder and Lead Architect of nVibes, a next-generation European social platform based in Dresden, Germany, built around one central idea: Real Vibe. Real People. With nVibes, Christian is building a soci... Show more

With over 20 years of software development experience, Marit is passionate about building great software with great people, and making developers’ lives easier.
She regularly presents at international conferences and shares her expertise through webinars, podcasts, blog posts, videos, and tutorials. She's also contributed to the book “97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know” (O’Reilly Media).

With over 20 years of software development experience, Marit is passionate about building great software with great people, and making developers’ lives easier. She regularly presents at international conferences and shares her expertise through web... Show more

Niels Tanis has got a background in .NET development, pentesting and security consultancy. He is Microsoft MVP and has been involved in breaking, defending and building secure applications.
Right now he is a software security engineer at Tidalis and before that he was a security researcher at Veracode where he focussed on static analysis of a variant of languages.
He is married, father of two and lives in a small village just outside Amersfoort, The Netherlands.

Niels Tanis has got a background in .NET development, pentesting and security consultancy. He is Microsoft MVP and has been involved in breaking, defending and building secure applications. Right now he is a software security engineer at Tidalis an... Show more

David is the Director of Architecture for NewDay, and the founder of Electric Head Software. Focusing on iterative software delivery, developer mentoring and cultural change - mostly working with London-based organisations.

He speaks about software design, culture, and ethics in technology - rounded out by an assortment of talks about software that probably doesn't need to exist but makes the world a little more fun. David has previously served as the chief coding technical architect for JustGiving and helped market-leading organisations including JUST-EAT, Trainline and Vodafone improve their technical capabilities.

David is a Microsoft MVP, has been part of the OpenUK Honours list for open-source advocacy, and is a twice bestselling author of children's books about programming.

You can find his open-source projects on NuGet, npm and GitHub, follow him on Twitter @david_whitney, or check out his technical blog at http://www.davidwhitney.co.uk/Blog.

http://www.electricheadsoftware.com
http://www.davidwhitney.co.uk

David is the Director of Architecture for NewDay, and the founder of Electric Head Software. Focusing on iterative software delivery, developer mentoring and cultural change - mostly working with London-based organisations. He speaks about softwar... Show more

Shawn Wildermuth has been tinkering with computers and software since he got a Vic-20 back in the early ‘80s. As a Microsoft MVP since 2003. He’s the author of over twenty Pluralsight courses, written eight books, has a popular YouTube channel, and is one of the Wilder Minds. You can reach him at his blog at http://wildermuth.com.

As a filmmaker, he creates documentaries including a feature-length, documentary about software developers today called “Hello World: The Film”. You can see more about it at http://twainfilms.com.

Shawn Wildermuth has been tinkering with computers and software since he got a Vic-20 back in the early ‘80s. As a Microsoft MVP since 2003. He’s the author of over twenty Pluralsight courses, written eight books, has a popular YouTube channel, and i... Show more

Steve co-owns Analytic Endeavors, a boutique data consultancy helping organizations build Master Data - centralized data that is trusted, validated, and AI-ready. We design and deliver well-architected data platforms with strong data foundations, embedded data quality, and master data management, supported by our proprietary Nexus platform.

I’m also the founder of Sunny BI, where we run Build Camps, a delivery-led model with a unique blend of training and consulting, where your team learns by doing. They build a real solution to a real business problems, using your own data and platforms, and leave with a working POC and the skills to take it forward.

Outside of this, I’m a Microsoft MVP and an active community contributor. I speak globally at major data and Microsoft conferences and share practical Power BI guidance through my website and social channels

Steve co-owns Analytic Endeavors, a boutique data consultancy helping organizations build Master Data - centralized data that is trusted, validated, and AI-ready. We design and deliver well-architected data platforms with strong data foundations, emb... Show more

Christian is a Microsoft MVP, Oracle ACE in Java and Fullstack engineer with over 15 years of experience as an engineer. He started with Java and since 9 years works also in the frontend with Angular, TypeScript and JavaScript. Besides his daily work he enjoys giving talks, creating YouTube videos for his over 8000 subscribers, works on his open source projects. If there is time left he gives workshops giving trainings regarding the successful usage of AI in software engineering and writes articles.

Christian is a Microsoft MVP, Oracle ACE in Java and Fullstack engineer with over 15 years of experience as an engineer. He started with Java and since 9 years works also in the frontend with Angular, TypeScript and JavaScript. Besides his daily work... Show more

Ronni is working as a Cloud Architect in Denmark. He has been working as a consultant since 1997 with a primary focus on Enterprise Client Management solutions, based on technologies like Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), Microsoft 365, Windows 11 and Windows 365.
Ronni is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Mobility and an appreciated speaker at events like Microsoft Campus Days, Microsoft Management Summit (MMS), Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Techdays, Nordic Infrastructure Conference, Techorama, Workplace Njina Summit and at local User Group events.

Ronni is working as a Cloud Architect in Denmark. He has been working as a consultant since 1997 with a primary focus on Enterprise Client Management solutions, based on technologies like Microsoft Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager, Enterprise ... Show more

Alberto Acerbis is a hands-on software architect with a strong background in distributed systems. Recognized as a Microsoft MVP in .NET technologies, he actively contributes to the tech community.
In his role, Alberto helps customers transform their ideas into robust and scalable solutions. Beyond his professional work, he is a passionate technical speaker, having delivered numerous sessions at conferences over the years.
His dedication to knowledge-sharing extends to the communities he has founded and actively participates in, fostering collaboration and continuous learning in the tech ecosystem.
He is the co-author of Domain-Driven Refactoring (Packt), Cronache di Domain-Driven Design (Avanscoperta), and author of Architetture evolutive, DDD, microservizi (Mokabyte).
Outside of technology, Alberto enjoys mountain activities in all seasons and has a keen interest in philosophy and other disciplines beyond the tech world.

Alberto Acerbis is a hands-on software architect with a strong background in distributed systems. Recognized as a Microsoft MVP in .NET technologies, he actively contributes to the tech community. In his role, Alberto helps customers transform their... Show more

Kay Sauter has been working with SQL Server since 2013. His expertise covers SQL Server, Azure, Data Visualization, and Power BI. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP.

Kay blogs on kayondata.com and is actively involved in various community projects like Data TGIF, databash.live, data-conference.ch, and Data Platform Data Platform DEI Virtual Group. Being deaf himself, he is an advocate for people with handicaps and accessibility for any conference.

He is based in Zurich, Switzerland and in his free time, together with his wife, he loves to travel to learn from other cultures and perspectives.

Kay Sauter has been working with SQL Server since 2013. His expertise covers SQL Server, Azure, Data Visualization, and Power BI. He is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP. Kay blogs on kayondata.com and is actively involved in various community project... Show more

Gregor Reimling is a Microsoft MVP in Azure and Security, and Chief Azure Technologist at adesso SE. He leads technical strategy and implementation for Azure, focusing on enterprise-scale architectures, cloud security, governance, hybrid environments, and migration.
Gregor is a passionate community advocate, regularly speaking at international Microsoft and community conferences. He runs a popular Azure blog and co-hosts the Cloud Inspires podcast. He is the founder of the Azure Bonn Meetup, a thriving user group with over 1,000 members, and co-founder of the Cloud Identity Summit, an annual event focused on identity and security.
As a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Gregor empowers professionals through hands-on training and mentorship, helping organisations maximise their cloud potential.

Gregor Reimling is a Microsoft MVP in Azure and Security, and Chief Azure Technologist at adesso SE. He leads technical strategy and implementation for Azure, focusing on enterprise-scale architectures, cloud security, governance, hybrid environments... Show more

Geert van der Cruijsen is the CEO of Zure Netherlands, helping companies improve how they build software by combining strong engineering culture with modern technology. He focuses on DevOps, cloud-native development, architecture and AI, enabling teams to work more autonomously and deliver faster through smart platforms and better ways of working. Geert is a long-time Microsoft MVP and an active member of the tech community, frequently sharing knowledge through talks, content and mentorship.

Geert van der Cruijsen is the CEO of Zure Netherlands, helping companies improve how they build software by combining strong engineering culture with modern technology. He focuses on DevOps, cloud-native development, architecture and AI, enabling tea... Show more

Koen Verbeeck is a data professional working at AE. He helps organizations to get insight in their data and to improve their analytics solutions. Koen has over a decade and a half of experience in developing data warehouses, models and reports using the Microsoft data platform. Koen was a Microsoft Data Platform MVP for 8 consecutive years, and 1 year Microsoft Fabric MVP. He has a blog at http://www.sqlkover.com, writes articles for MSSQLTips.com and is a frequent speaker at Microsoft Data Platform events.

Koen Verbeeck is a data professional working at AE. He helps organizations to get insight in their data and to improve their analytics solutions. Koen has over a decade and a half of experience in developing data warehouses, models and reports using ... Show more

Meet Gerald Versluis, software engineer at Microsoft, who wields the power of .NET to conquer any project that comes his way. With a career spanning over a decade, he's tackled it all, from frontend to backend and everything in between, using .NET MAUI, Azure, ASP.NET, and all the other .NET goodies. And these days of course; AI and Copilot.

But it wasn't until he discovered the magic of Xamarin that he truly fell in love with mobile and cross-platform development, becoming an active community member and sharing his knowledge through writing, tweeting, and presentations. When he's not saving the world of software, you can find him on Twitter @jfversluis, blogging at https://blog.verslu.is, or making videos on his YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/GeraldVersluis.

Meet Gerald Versluis, software engineer at Microsoft, who wields the power of .NET to conquer any project that comes his way. With a career spanning over a decade, he's tackled it all, from frontend to backend and everything in between, using .NET MA... Show more