Michael Johnson, a Microsoft data platform MVP and leader of the Johannesburg SQL User Group, is a business intelligence consultant at SQLSA. Michal regularly presents at many of the local user groups and SQL Saturday events in South Africa.

Michael Johnson, a Microsoft data platform MVP and leader of the Johannesburg SQL User Group, is a business intelligence consultant at SQLSA. Michal regularly presents at many of the local user groups and SQL Saturday events in South Africa. Show more

Anders Norås started out in arts and design, but for the last 25 years he has been creating magic with code instead of paint. Blending creativity with technical skill, he brings a perspective on technology that is as much about people as it is about software.

He has given more than 100 talks at conferences around the world. His presentations are not just lectures, they are experiences. With a sharp delivery and high energy, Anders turns even dry technical material into something lively, memorable and often funny.

Whether you are into computer science, design, media or anything else, Anders offers insights that will make you think and probably make you laugh. He does not just talk about technology. He brings it to life.

Anders Norås started out in arts and design, but for the last 25 years he has been creating magic with code instead of paint. Blending creativity with technical skill, he brings a perspective on technology that is as much about people as it is about ... Show more

20+ Years of experience in data engineering and data reporting space. Have worked with Oracle database, SQL Server, SSIS, Informatica Power Center, Hadoop systems, Qlik and Power BI. Enjoy being in the data space and learning new things.

20+ Years of experience in data engineering and data reporting space. Have worked with Oracle database, SQL Server, SSIS, Informatica Power Center, Hadoop systems, Qlik and Power BI. Enjoy being in the data space and learning new things. Show more

Simi Olabisi is a Director, AI Specialist (Global Black Belt Team) at Microsoft responsible for accelerating market adoption of AI and driving some of the most strategic and innovative customer AI projects leveraging Azure AI/ML products and services. She boasts an impressive career in the technology sector. Her journey commenced with notable stints at Cisco, Google (GCP), and Amazon Web Services where she helped customers enable innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Simi is the Founder of Project Omoverhi (Featured on ABC News), where she invented an innovative, cost-effective solar powered infant incubator for premature infants in developing countries. She also embarked on a two-year venture in the startup arena, where she dedicated her efforts to empowering African software engineers through training and forging connections to international opportunities in Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Her profound insights and career expertise led to her being featured in Glamour Magazine (print, podcast, and YouTube) as a prominent thought leader, particularly in the realm of women's salary negotiation. Simi's educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Santa Clara University. She is currently based in Austin, TX, was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia before moving to the United States.

Simi Olabisi is a Director, AI Specialist (Global Black Belt Team) at Microsoft responsible for accelerating market adoption of AI and driving some of the most strategic and innovative customer AI projects leveraging Azure AI/ML products and services... Show more

Andreas spent most of his professional life and a career of over 25 years integrating "backend" applications. First inside or between Enterprises and Startups directly, then - "in the cloud".
Before that, Andreas dabbled with Virtual Reality in the 90s. In 2013, he integrated an innovation focus into his work - from Kinect for Windows, Microsoft HoloLens, and Mixed Reality, to a strong focus on Applied Artificial Intelligence. Andreas told audiences years before ChatGPT to look at Generative AI.
He cannot stop talking about technology, which apparently some people like so Microsoft gave him the MVP award. Because he has shown leadership can advise C-levels and business, he also got accepted into the ranks of the Microsoft Regional Directors .
Andreas helps customers as a trusted advisor, external CTO and innovation consultant, he also produces exciting applications and solutions with a great team of skilled individuals.
He acts as CTO Applied AI for daenet.

Andreas spent most of his professional life and a career of over 25 years integrating "backend" applications. First inside or between Enterprises and Startups directly, then - "in the cloud". Before that, Andreas dabbled with Virtual Reality in the ... Show more

Martin is a Developer Advocate at Honeycomb, o11y enthusiast, and a delivery-focused Developer from the UK. With over 20 years experience in development in the .NET ecosystem, he’s worked with many companies on scaling up engineering teams and products. The past few years have been spent working on solving complex problems with some of the UK’s big names, including e-commerce retailers and credit lenders.

Martin is a Developer Advocate at Honeycomb, o11y enthusiast, and a delivery-focused Developer from the UK. With over 20 years experience in development in the .NET ecosystem, he’s worked with many companies on scaling up engineering teams and produc... Show more

Dylan Beattie is an independent consultant who has been building data-driven web applications since the 1990s. He’s managed teams, taught workshops, and worked on everything from tiny standalone websites to complex distributed systems. He’s a Microsoft MVP, and he regularly speaks at conferences and user groups all over the world.

Dylan is the creator of the Rockstar programming language, and the founder, vocalist and lead guitarist with The Linebreakers, the world's greatest nerd comedy classic rock disco alt punk covers band.

Dylan Beattie is an independent consultant who has been building data-driven web applications since the 1990s. He’s managed teams, taught workshops, and worked on everything from tiny standalone websites to complex distributed systems. He’s a Microso... Show more

Henning loves programming in high quality. He lives this passion as coder, coach, and consultant at WPS – Workplace Solutions. There he helps teams to structure their monoliths or to build new systems from the beginning with a sustainable architecture. Microservices or self-contained systems are often the result. Henning is author of “Domain Storytelling” (Addison-Wesley 2022), “Domain-Driven Transformation” (Addison-Wesley 2024) and the www.LeasingNinja.io.

Henning loves programming in high quality. He lives this passion as coder, coach, and consultant at WPS – Workplace Solutions. There he helps teams to structure their monoliths or to build new systems from the beginning with a sustainable architectur... Show more

Nadia Jiang is an entrepreneur, open-source enthusiastic, and DevRel expert. She currently serves as the Head of Open Source Growth at Ant Group, where she leads initiatives to drive innovation and collaboration within the open-source ecosystem. Previously, she was the COO of SegmentFault, China's largest developer Q&A community, and co-founder of Apache Answer.

Beyond her professional roles, Nadia is a passionate contributor to the global open-source community. She actively participates in organizations such as the China Open-Source Alliance (KAIYUANSHE), the Apache Software Foundation, OpenInfra Foundation, Linux Foundation, FOSSAsia, OpenUK, Chance Open-Source Foundation, China Computer Federation (CCF), and the China Institute of Communications (CIC). Her influence extends across borders, having spoken at major global open-source conferences, including CommunityOverCode Asia/EU/NA, Open Source Summit, State of Open Con, and FOSSAsia Summit.

Her dedication extends to organizing and volunteering for prominent open-source events. She serves as a core organizer and conference chair for events such as CommunityOverCode Asia, Dev.Together Summit China, and OSPO Summit China, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange within the developer community.

Nadia Jiang is an entrepreneur, open-source enthusiastic, and DevRel expert. She currently serves as the Head of Open Source Growth at Ant Group, where she leads initiatives to drive innovation and collaboration within the open-source ecosystem. Prev... Show more

💫📊 Freelance: data visualization and AI training
🧑‍🏫🤖 IA/ML Instructor @ LinkedIn Learning
🎨🚀 #PBICoreVisuals Community Representative
🙆🏻‍♀️💡 Top LinkedIn Data Visualization Voice
🏅💻 Microsoft MVP Data Platform & AI Platform

I trust the power of data and persuasive communication.

💫📊 Freelance: data visualization and AI training 🧑‍🏫🤖 IA/ML Instructor @ LinkedIn Learning 🎨🚀 #PBICoreVisuals Community Representative 🙆🏻‍♀️💡 Top LinkedIn Data Visualization Voice 🏅💻 Microsoft MVP Data Platform & AI Platform I trus... Show more

I am the Application Modernization Practice Lead at Protiviti, with over 22 years of experience helping organizations enhance productivity, improve efficiency, and optimize CRM systems. My extensive background in delivering programs and architecture has allowed me to work successfully with multiple clients.

In 2022, I was promoted to Associate Director after serving as a Senior Manager, marking two promotions within the last six years.

I effectively engage with all organizational levels to drive success. Early in my career, I contributed to the growth of an emerging company's IT department, leading a team of developers and designing innovative solutions. This unique professional experience continues to inform my work today.

RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
* Led the development of industry-focused solutions as the program manager.
* Hired, developed, and mentored eight technical engineering resources, successfully placing them on various projects.
* As an engagement manager, contributed to securing large enterprise sales deals and agreement renewals, resulting in multi-million-dollar contracts with several prominent industry accounts.

SPECIALITIES:
Engagement Manager, Solution Delivery, Program Management, Architect in Dynamics 365 CE, Azure Cloud, DevOps, Power Platform, and Domain Expertise.

I am the Application Modernization Practice Lead at Protiviti, with over 22 years of experience helping organizations enhance productivity, improve efficiency, and optimize CRM systems. My extensive background in delivering programs and architecture ... Show more

Nicky van Vroenhoven is a BI professional focused at the Microsoft stack and a Data Platform MVP. He mainly works with Power BI, Power Platform and T-SQL. Nicky started working with SQL Server and SSIS in 2005 in the DWH space, and later moved from Power Pivot to Power BI. After working 10 years in BI-consultancy jobs in several industries and companies, he worked for 5 years as a Power BI Administrator at a wealth management bank, and he is currently working as Unit Lead Fabric/Power BI at Powerdobs in The Netherlands.
Nicky has spoken at several User Groups and conferences including SQL Saturday Events, the Power BI World Tour, SQLBits and the Fabric Community Conference. In addition he enjoys tweeting and blogging about topics like Power BI and Power Platform at https://nickyvv.com.
In his spare time Nicky likes to go running, play chess or try to improve his Rubik's cube record. He is also a husband, father of 3 and a (former) ballroom dancer.

Nicky van Vroenhoven is a BI professional focused at the Microsoft stack and a Data Platform MVP. He mainly works with Power BI, Power Platform and T-SQL. Nicky started working with SQL Server and SSIS in 2005 in the DWH space, and later moved from P... Show more

Martin Förtsch is an IT-consultant of TNG Technology Consulting GmbH based in Unterföhring near Munich who studied computer sciences. Work wise his focus areas are Agile Development (mainly) in Java, Search Engine Technologies, Information Retrieval and Databases.

As an Intel Software Innovator and Intel Black Belt Software Developer he is strongly involved in the development of open-source software for gesture control with 3D-cameras like e.g. Intel RealSense and has built an Augmented Reality wearable prototype device with his team based on this technology.

Furthermore, he gives many talks at national and international conferences about Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, 3D-camera technologies, Augmented Reality and Test Driven Development as well. He was awarded with the Oracle JavaOne Rockstar.

Martin Förtsch is an IT-consultant of TNG Technology Consulting GmbH based in Unterföhring near Munich who studied computer sciences. Work wise his focus areas are Agile Development (mainly) in Java, Search Engine Technologies, Information Retrieval ... Show more

Vjekoslav Babić, or just Vjeko as he prefers to go by in the community in a vain attempt to simplify his absurd Slavic name, is a Business Central architect, developer, trainer, author and blogger. With more than two decades of experience in the IT, he worked with vast range of technologies, but his passion has always been anything that had to do with the web and mobile worlds.

Deep down, Vjeko is an incurable hacker who took quite a long time to realize that the one thing he really loves is writing code, plain and simple. He immensely enjoys breaking things apart to see how they work, not necessarily always putting them back together. As a frequent speaker at conferences, in his demos, and on his blog, he is always pushing the boundaries of what's possible, connecting the world of Business Central with just about anything that can be plugged into it through some obscure loophole or undocumented interface, especially if they are not meant to be used that way. In Vjeko's view, nothing is really meant to be used in any particular way and figuring out how to make things useful beyond their intended purpose is the meaning of life, in a way.

Since spring 2010, Vjeko has been awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. You can meet him at his blog "Vjeko.com - ideas in the cloud".

Vjekoslav Babić, or just Vjeko as he prefers to go by in the community in a vain attempt to simplify his absurd Slavic name, is a Business Central architect, developer, trainer, author and blogger. With more than two decades of experience in the IT, ... Show more

Richard Campbell wrote his first line of code in 1977. His career has spanned the computing industry both on the hardware and software sides, development, and operations. He was a co-founder of Strangeloop Networks, acquired by Radware in 2013, and was on the board of directors of Telerik, which was acquired by Progress Software in 2014. Today, he is a consultant and advisor to a number of successful technology firms and is the founder and chairman of Humanitarian Toolbox (www.htbox.org), a public charity that builds open-source software for disaster relief. Richard also hosts three podcasts: .NET Rocks! (www.dotnetrocks.com) for .NET developers, RunAs Radio (www.runasradio.com) for IT Professionals, and Windows Weekly (https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly).

Richard Campbell wrote his first line of code in 1977. His career has spanned the computing industry both on the hardware and software sides, development, and operations. He was a co-founder of Strangeloop Networks, acquired by Radware in 2013, and w... Show more

16+ Years Of Experience In Microsoft Technologies.​
Industry Experience: Manufacturing; Import & Export; Supply Chain; Construction, Workforce Management ​
6+ Years Of Experience In Power BI​
My YouTube Channel: TAIK18 = 500+ (70+ hours) Videos mainly for Power BI; Power Apps, Power Automate​, PVA, Microsoft Business Application.
Microsoft Valuable Professional
Microsoft Certified Trainer​

16+ Years Of Experience In Microsoft Technologies.​ Industry Experience: Manufacturing; Import & Export; Supply Chain; Construction, Workforce Management ​ 6+ Years Of Experience In Power BI​ My YouTube Channel: TAIK18 = 500+ (70+ hours) Videos m... Show more

AJ is a business leader and a recognized veteran of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central community, bringing nearly two decades of experience as a trusted advisor to businesses seeking to maximize their ERP investments. As a seven-year Microsoft MVP, AJ is passionate about sharing his knowledge with the community and has spoken at over 40 global industry events. Through his workshops, conference sessions and many online contributions, AJ has built a reputation for translating complex technical concepts into practical solutions for the Microsoft community.

AJ’s expertise extends to Copilot and Power Automate, where he helps businesses harness the power of AI and process automation to streamline operations and improve decision-making. A dedicated mentor and advocate for continuous learning, AJ is also an active community organizer, serving on the boards, planning committees and content committees of various Microsoft partner associations and user groups.

AJ is a business leader and a recognized veteran of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central community, bringing nearly two decades of experience as a trusted advisor to businesses seeking to maximize their ERP investments. As a seven-year Microso... Show more

Like Beyonce but in tech.
Marthe Moengen is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a knack for making complex topics like Microsoft Purview and Microsoft Fabric feel clear and practical. Named one of Norway’s Top 50 Women in Tech, she’s passionate about all things data governance and loves helping teams turn messy data into trusted insights.

Like Beyonce but in tech. Marthe Moengen is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP with a knack for making complex topics like Microsoft Purview and Microsoft Fabric feel clear and practical. Named one of Norway’s Top 50 Women in Tech, she’s passionate abou... Show more

Ben Miller, aka @dbaduck, is a seasoned database professional with over 25 years of experience in SQL Server, PowerShell, and automation. As a passionate advocate for efficiency and innovation, Ben specializes in empowering IT professionals and DBAs to harness the power of PowerShell for database and server management.

A Microsoft Data Platform and PowerShell MVP, speaker, and community contributor, Ben has a knack for breaking down complex topics into practical, actionable insights. When he’s not automating workflows or sharing his knowledge, you’ll find him engaging with the #SQLFamily or exploring new tech to help others work smarter.

Follow Ben on all Social Media (@dbaduck) and dive into the world of automation and database magic with him!

Ben Miller, aka @dbaduck, is a seasoned database professional with over 25 years of experience in SQL Server, PowerShell, and automation. As a passionate advocate for efficiency and innovation, Ben specializes in empowering IT professionals and DBAs ... Show more

Prashant G Bhoyar is a Microsoft AI & Business Applications MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). Currently, he works as an AI architect in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Applied Information Sciences (www.ais.com). Prashant is a leading AI Architect and trusted advisor specializing in Azure OpenAI, Conversational AI, Applied AI, AI Agents, Intelligent Business Process Automation, Azure AI, Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft 365. He co-authored "PowerShell for Office 365" and was the technical reviewer for "Pro SharePoint 2013 Administration." Prashant is on the leadership committee for AI Fest, AI & ML User Group, Northern Virginia Data Platform User Group, and DC Metro Microsoft 365 User Group. As a renowned international speaker, he frequently presents at technical conferences. Additionally, Prashant was awarded the "Antarctic Service Medal of the United States of America" for his outstanding service in Antarctica.

Microsoft MVP Profile Link : https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/5002595?fullName=Prashant%20G%20Bhoyar

Prashant G Bhoyar is a Microsoft AI & Business Applications MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). Currently, he works as an AI architect in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Applied Information Sciences (www.ais.com). Prashant is a l... Show more

I have been working on databases for 20 years and for over 10 years on business intelligence projects.
I'm a speaker for SQL Saturday and the Power Platform world Tour.
I am a teacher at DIAD and one of the administrators of Power BI User Group Italy

I have been working on databases for 20 years and for over 10 years on business intelligence projects. I'm a speaker for SQL Saturday and the Power Platform world Tour. I am a teacher at DIAD and one of the administrators of Power BI User Group Ita... Show more

Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP and AWS Community Builder with over 30 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. Grant works with multiple data platforms including SQL Server and PostgreSQL as well as multiple cloud platforms. He has also developed in VB, VB.NET, C#, and Java. Grant writes books for Apress and Simple-Talk. Grant presents at conferences and user groups, large and small, all over the world. He joined Redgate Software as a product advocate in January 2011.

Grant Fritchey is a Data Platform MVP and AWS Community Builder with over 30 years’ experience in IT, including time spent in support and development. Grant works with multiple data platforms including SQL Server and PostgreSQL as well as multiple cl... Show more

Phil is a developer relations engineer for DataStax and Google Developer Expert living in Melbourne, Australia. He loves working with JavaScript, TypeScript or Ruby to build web applications and tools to help developers. He once helped build a website that captured the world's favourite sandwich fillings. He has too many GitHub repositories.

Away from the keyboard, Phil listens to ska punk, hangs out with his miniature dachshund (also called Ruby), and is on a mission to discover the world's best beers.

Phil tweets at @philnash and you can find him elsewhere online at https://philna.sh.

Phil is a developer relations engineer for DataStax and Google Developer Expert living in Melbourne, Australia. He loves working with JavaScript, TypeScript or Ruby to build web applications and tools to help developers. He once helped build a websit... Show more

Henk is a Cloud Advocate specializing in Artificial intelligence and Azure with a background in application development. He is currently part of the AI cloud advocate team and based in the Netherlands. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Microsoft AI MVP and worked as a software developer and architect building lots of AI powered platforms on Azure.

Henk is a Cloud Advocate specializing in Artificial intelligence and Azure with a background in application development. He is currently part of the AI cloud advocate team and based in the Netherlands. Before joining Microsoft, he was a Microsoft AI ... Show more

Paul (AKA @mrpaulandrew) is the Co-Founder & CTO of Cloud Formations, a specialist data consultancy based in the UK. With nearly 20 years’ experience designing and delivering Microsoft data architectures, Paul leads a passionate team of engineers, supporting businesses small and large with scalable cloud platforms. Business value delivered through data insights. Over the years, Paul has covered the breadth and depth of design patterns and industry leading concepts, including Lambda, Kappa, Delta Lake, Data Mesh and Data Fabric.

Paul is also a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, director for the Data Relay community conference, East Midlands user group leader, book author and mentor. In addition to the day job(s), Paul is a father of three, husband, foodie, runner, blood donor, geek, Lego, and Star Wars fan! Lastly, Paul confesses to enjoying a Ramstein playlist when given half a chance to do some coding for a customer project.

Paul (AKA @mrpaulandrew) is the Co-Founder & CTO of Cloud Formations, a specialist data consultancy based in the UK. With nearly 20 years’ experience designing and delivering Microsoft data architectures, Paul leads a passionate team of engineers, su... Show more

Alan Smith is a Cloud & AI Trainer, Mentor & Coach at Active Solution in Stockholm, Sweden. He has a strong hands-on philosophy and focusses on embracing the power and flexibility of cloud computing to deliver engaging and exciting demos and training courses.

Alan has held the MVP title since 2005, and is currently an AI MVP. He is in the organization team for the CloudBurst and AI Burst Conferences.

Alan Smith is a Cloud & AI Trainer, Mentor & Coach at Active Solution in Stockholm, Sweden. He has a strong hands-on philosophy and focusses on embracing the power and flexibility of cloud computing to deliver engaging and exciting demos and training... Show more

Mauricio works as an Open Source Software Engineer at @Diagrid, contributing to and driving initiatives for the Dapr OSS project. Mauricio also serves as a Steering Committee member for the Knative Project and Co-Leading the Knative Functions initiative. He published a book titled Platform Engineering on Kubernetes for Manning Publishing and previously worked at VMware and Red Hat, building tools to help developers be more productive.

Mauricio works as an Open Source Software Engineer at @Diagrid, contributing to and driving initiatives for the Dapr OSS project. Mauricio also serves as a Steering Committee member for the Knative Project and Co-Leading the Knative Functions initiat... Show more

With a background in ops, Björn got stuck in the DevOps movement a long time ago. Working alongside both dev and ops gave him a good view in to all sides of the company, and today he spends his days helping with everything from communication, through infra as code, to CI/CD pipelines.
By night he Maintains a number of PowerShell modules at https://GitHub.com/bjompen, Writes blog posts at https://bjompen.com, Builds pipelines in Azure DevOps and GitHub, Tries to figure out how Azure works, solders and repairs old tech, and dreams of playing in a Norwegian black metal band.

With a background in ops, Björn got stuck in the DevOps movement a long time ago. Working alongside both dev and ops gave him a good view in to all sides of the company, and today he spends his days helping with everything from communication, through... Show more

John Kilmister is an Azure MVP, software engineer, and architect that enjoys exploring new technologies to solve real-world problems. With a background in e-commerce companies, he currently works as a software architect at a multinational company, working with teams on a range of Azure-based applications.

John Kilmister is an Azure MVP, software engineer, and architect that enjoys exploring new technologies to solve real-world problems. With a background in e-commerce companies, he currently works as a software architect at a multinational company, wo... Show more

Seyfallah Tagrerout, 12 years of Experience – CEO at STC Consulting SARL Switzerland | Team Lead | Cloud and Security Architect, Microsoft Regional Director | Microsoft MVP Security since 2015, Speaker and book Author.

He is extremely highly and well skilled on all news features from Microsoft Azure / M365 technologies and security (Zero Trust, Azure Data Center , Identity , SecOps and Modern Workplace). He loves using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Entra and many other solutions of the Microsoft Security stack.

Microsoft MVP since 9 years, I am a Book author, international speaker and Microsoft technologies trainer. As a speaker, I deliver over 30 technical sessions annually, in both online and in-person formats, in both French and English.

Seyfallah Tagrerout, 12 years of Experience – CEO at STC Consulting SARL Switzerland | Team Lead | Cloud and Security Architect, Microsoft Regional Director | Microsoft MVP Security since 2015, Speaker and book Author. He is extremely highly and... Show more