Microsoft Innovation Podcast

FULL SHOW NOTES:  https://podcast.nz365guy.com/454 Ulrikke Akerbæk shares her journey of becoming a successful entrepreneur and the importance of persistence, networking, and taking risks in order to achieve your goals. Learn how to stay motivated even when faced with setbacks and how to use failure as a stepping stone to success. Discusses the importance of finding a niche in the market and how they were able to identify a gap in their industry and fill it with their own unique product. Learn how to spot opportunities in your industry and turn them into successful business ventures. Discover the top tips for building a brand and the power of authenticity, consistency, and storytelling in building a brand that people trust and admire. Ulrikke shares her experience organizing a successful tech competition in Norway and the importance of having a clear vision, selecting the right judges, and creating a community of participants and experts.  Learn how to build a strong team, delegate tasks effectively, and stay focused on your long-term goals in order to take your business to new heights. Ulrikke shares insights into the mechanics of running a tech competition. She talks about how the competition's themes change every year, keeping the competition fresh and exciting for participants.  The importance of having a website and SharePoint sites to showcase images and information about the competition. Discussions about the collaborative nature of hackathons. Learn how these competitions and awards drive innovation and collaboration in the hackathon community. If you want to learn more about this exciting world of hackathons, tune into this podcast episode and discover all that they have to offer. RESOURCES MENTIONED Acdc website: https://www.arcticclouddeveloperchallenge.net/ Blog: https://acdc.blog/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArcticCloudDeveloperChallenge Facebook for old event: https://www.facebook.com/ArcticSharepointChallenge Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arctic-cloud-developer-challenge/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArcticCloudDev Arctic Cloud Developer Challenge - https://www.arcticclouddeveloperchallenge.net/ Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/453 Iona Varga talks about her personal life outside of Power Platform. She shares her love for Dutch food and her current project of rebuilding her house. She also talks about her family and what she likes to do for fun.  This podcast features Iona Varga, who shares her surprising journey to becoming a Power Platform expert. She talks about her background in physics and medical science. Iona’s Experience with Power Platform Description. She talks about how her need to create applications quickly during the pandemic led her to discover Power Platform. She shares her experience working with Dynamics and how it evolved into her passion for PowerApps. Iona’s Journey with Power Platform. Iona talks about how her experience with physics and medical science has influenced her approach to building applications using Power Platform. She shares her tips and tricks for creating useful apps quickly and efficiently. Iona discusses the challenges she faced when learning Power Platform. She talks about how she overcame these challenges and shares her advice with anyone who is new to the platform. Switching Careers – Iona's Journey from Medical Physics to Power Platform Consulting. Iona’s story is a great example of how following your interests and being open to new opportunities can lead you down unexpected paths. Join us as we explore the exciting world of fusion development and the possibilities it holds for the future of energy. Iona also talks about her experience as an MVP and how it has opened up opportunities for speaking engagements. Iona’s advice for people looking to get into the power platform is to start building and experimenting with the free Microsoft 365 plan. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Sessionize - https://sessionize.com/iona-varga GitHub - https://github.com/Ionavoss Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/452 Vlad Sarov shares his background, growing up in Moldova, his love for music, particularly playing the piano and being part of a band, and his love for cooking and trying out different cuisines. Tune in and get to know Vlad, as he shares his experiences and insights in the world of CRM technology. Discussion on the future of AI and the implications it may have for humankind. They explore topics such as the AI arms race, and the potential dangers of AI surpassing human intelligence. Vlad Sarov shares his views on the hype and reality of AI, stating that before ChatGPT, he did not see the point of using AI everywhere. Talk about how Descript allows users to edit recordings without having to re-record sections that weren't perfect. Topic about voice fraud, where criminals can use voice prints to impersonate someone and commit fraud. Talks about the possibility of programming emotions and understanding the brain better. AI 2041 - must-read book focuses on the next 20 years and covers various topics, including the maturity of autonomous cars. A conversation about the increasing use of AI in various industries and how it has become a game-changer in recent times. The importance of staying up-to-date with technological developments and the potential risks that come with using new technologies. The importance and the future of AI and its potential consequences.  OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Sessionize: https://sessionize.com/Vlad-Sarov/ Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/451 Mohammed Alkuhlani shares his experience as a digital transformation leader and catalyst in talent, culture, and governance for enterprise-wide adoption. Mohammed delves into his personal life, discussing his hobbies outside of work and reminiscing about his childhood with his large family. He expresses how growing up with them was a fantastic experience that he cherishes. Mohammed shares his personal journey of being a career switcher and how he discovered the Power Platform and became an early adopter in his organization. Mohammed discusses how his organization was adopting new tools and upgrading its infrastructure and services and explains how Power Apps were enabled in the organization. Mohammed talks about how he connected with the Power Platform community and leadership and shares his excitement and disbelief in being a part of the Power Platform team and how he advocates for the Power Platform within his organization. Mohammed provides an overview of the company's history, from its origins in oil field services to its current position as a leader in energy technology. A conversation about the importance of innovation, sustainability, and collaboration in advancing clean energy initiatives and making energy accessible to all. Discusses the importance of empowering citizen developers and enabling them to build with confidence, as it can help organizations address business challenges quickly and effectively. Mohammed explains why his organization chose to use the Power Platform. The benefits of having a team of citizen developers which includes the ability to share and collaborate on ideas, and the importance of having a code of conduct and terms of use in place to ensure responsible development practices. Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/450Ramit Paul talks about his interests outside of work, which include watching movies, travelling, exploring new places, and spending time with like-minded people. Ramit talks about his career journey, from starting as a finance analyst to becoming a Dynamics 365 consultant. He shares how his background in finance led him to this field and how he developed his skills as a consultant. Ramit talks about his interests in AI and shares insights on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 finance and operations he specializes in. Ramit shares his experience with integrating SAP Success Factor with Dynamics 365, which he describes as one of the most common integrations he has done. Talks about using Logic Apps and Azure for integration and shares insights on how to approach such projects successfully. The importance of having good consultants and methodologies for successful implementation. A conversation about the key elements of building a successful YouTube channel, including identifying your niche, creating high-quality content, and engaging with your audience. They also share tips for growing your channel and monetizing your content. Ramit also shared his insights on how Microsoft Dynamics 365 can compete with other ERP solutions like SAP and Oracle if implemented by good consultants. Ramit’s insights on community involvement and the significance of consulting behaviour and methodology in tech implementation provide a unique perspective on the industry's potential and challenges. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/449Alan Garcia talks about his experience selling PCs to businesses in the 90s, his exposure to the dot-com explosion, and his transition from networking to software development. He also shares how he discovered Microsoft CRM 1.0 and how it changed his career path. Alan talks about his latest passion, the Power Platform. He shares how he discovered the platform and how he was drawn to its capabilities in sales and service.  A discussion about how Alan is currently using the Power Platform and how it helps their customers automate their backup and recovery processes. Alan shares his insights on a career in business applications, particularly in Microsoft's business applications and how important it is to keep up with the latest technology trends and to continuously learn and improve one's skills.  Alan also shares how excited he is about the future of business applications and how he sees them becoming more intelligent and connected in the years to come. A conversation about the various components of the power platform, such as Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI and explains how each of these tools can be used to create efficient workflows and analytics solutions. Alan shares his thoughts on the benefits of the power platform and how it can help startups and small businesses. The episode concludes with some tips and advice for those who are just starting their MVP journey or considering using the power platform. Alan encourages listeners to stay focused on customer needs and feedback and to leverage the power platform to build scalable and efficient solutions. Alan talks about his thoughts about the MVP Program. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/448  Find out about David Rivard’s approach to balancing work and family, his favourite winter activities, and the best food to try in Montreal, including the must-try poutine dish. Learn about David’s journey into tech, his early work as a citizen developer in the biotech industry, and how he transitioned into becoming a full-time Dynamics developer. David shares his experience as a Power Platform architect and developer, providing insights into the platform's evolution and the latest features added to it, including chat, GDP, and GPT integration. How Power Platform can be integrated with other systems, such as Salesforce and SharePoint, to create a unified experience for users. The benefits of integration and provide examples of how it can be done using connectors and APIs. Creating Reports with Power BI. Discussion about Power BI, a tool within Power Platform that allows users to create interactive visualizations and reports. How Power Automate can be used to automate repetitive tasks and streamline business processes. Check out examples of how Power Automate can be used in different scenarios. Talks about Power Apps, a component of Power Platform that allows users to create custom business apps using a drag-and-drop interface and the features of Power Apps and walk through the process of building a simple app. Introduction to Power Platform, a suite of tools from Microsoft that allows users to build custom business applications without writing any code. Find out more about the benefits of Power Platform and how it can be used in different industries. This episode is a must-listen for anyone aspiring to become an MVP and looking for inspiration and tips to help them achieve their goal. Listeners can learn about the MVP program, what it takes to become an MVP and the benefits of being a part of this community. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ PCF Controls: https://pcf.gallery/authors#david_rivard GitHub: https://github.com/drivardxrmSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/447 Christian Segurado talks about his family and background, growing up in Germany, and moving to the US on a soccer scholarship. He shares what he does for fun outside of work, which includes running marathons and playing soccer. He also shares his transition from soccer to tech. Christian explains how he got into consulting and how he found a passion for tech and system integrations. He also talks about the challenges he faced in this transition and how he overcame them. In this podcast episode, Christian shares the importance of collaboration and communication, and how his team at Mazars works with clients to provide customized solutions. Christian talks about the future of mixed-reality devices and their potential to replace traditional screens and laptops. They also discuss Microsoft Mesh, an entry feature that uses Teams infrastructure and avatars, and its potential to revolutionize virtual meetings and collaboration. How Christian feels about the layoffs at Microsoft that have affected the HoloLens team and other areas. Discussions about the benefits and drawbacks of remote work from their unique cultural backgrounds. Christian discusses the future of work and whether remote, hybrid, or in-office work will be the norm. Christian expresses his hopes for HoloLens, saying that he sees the future in the virtual keyboard and multiple screens. Christian stresses the importance of team culture in remote work, explaining how it fosters trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. He offers advice on how to build and maintain team culture in a remote work environment. Christian discusses the impact of remote work on productivity, the environment, and work-life balance, and predicts what the future may hold. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Mazars LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mazarsinus/ Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/446 William  McLendon shares about his family and his love for food, particularly barbecue. They also discuss his reading interests, which currently revolve around technology and customer service. Are you curious about the life of a solution architect? In this episode, William McLendon shares his journey and what he enjoys about his work. Want to learn from a tech expert? Tune in to learn more about William's insights on supporting business objectives and discuss the importance of customer service. William also shares the importance of customer service in the tech industry. William discusses a lead generation scenario where they capture lead information and align bookable resources accordingly.  William discusses the use case of self-selecting scheduling, where a person can log in to the portal and see available appointment slots based on the resource schedule and its significant impact on many companies and their scheduling process. Discussions about licensing on scheduling and whether it can be licensed outside of field service. They discuss the possibilities and limitations surrounding this issue. MVP Program and William’s journey into becoming a Microsoft MVP. OTHER RESOURCES: Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP  90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ Power community events: https://events.powercommunity.com/team/william-mclendon/ Power community: https://www.powercommunity.com/d365-wave-2-universal-resource-scheduling-at-scale-by-william-mclendon/ and https://www.powercommunity.com/universal-resource-scheduling-at-scale-william-mclendon/ Summit Community: https://www.summitna.com/speaker/william-mclendon/ Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES https://podcast.nz365guy.com/445 Sitaram Pemmaraju shares his love for spicy food and how he enjoys trying out new restaurants. He also talks about his family and his passion for playing video games with his children. Sitaram shares how his childhood passion for understanding how video games were built led him to pursue a degree in computer science. He worked in a couple of service industries before landing his dream job at Microsoft. Understanding Power Apps Wrap, a tool that produces mobile apps for the enterprise. The discussion revolves around the advantages and challenges of using this tool for app development in the enterprise. Sitaram Pemmaraju explores the new Power Apps Wrap platform, specifically designed to produce mobile apps for enterprise use. They delve into the features and capabilities of the platform, highlighting how it can benefit businesses looking to develop custom apps quickly and easily. Sitaram discusses how Power Apps Wrap can simplify the development process and make it more accessible to non-developers. He explains how the platform can help companies improve productivity, increase efficiency, and streamline processes by allowing employees to easily access important data and workflows via mobile devices. Sitaram also discusses the steps businesses need to take to get started with Power Apps Wrap. They cover topics such as setting up the platform, creating custom templates, and working with data sources. He also provides tips and advice on how to ensure the successful adoption of the platform within an organization. The podcast looks at the broader implications of Power Apps Wrap for the future of enterprise apps. Sitaram discusses how the platform can help companies stay competitive by enabling them to quickly adapt to changing business needs and technology trends.Sitaram shares some real-world examples of how Power Apps Wrap is being used by businesses today to create custom apps that have improved productivity, reduced costs, and enhanced customer experiences. Sitaram speaks about the evolution of app building and the differences between version one and version two. Sitaram explains how version one had a lot of manual steps that caused confusion for some customers, while version two is completely wizard-based with five easy steps to follow.  The podcast discusses the various distribution channels used by companies to distribute apps. Microsoft has its App Center, while Intune is another popular channel among Microsoft customers.    Sitaram discusses some potential benefits of utilizing the WRAP features in the Power Apps and how they benefit your client's business functions.  Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoptionSupport the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith