The CollabTalk Podcast

Episode 108 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Azure MVP Martyn Coupland (@mrcoups), a UK-based Senior Azure Consultant with Ensono, where he focuses on Microsoft Azure deployments and the adoption of DevOps. In this episode, Martyn and I discuss his path to becoming an MVP (he was awarded for the first time this week!) and his career within the IT and engineering operations world. Martyn credits much of his growth and success on his participation in the community, providing a great perspective for those who want to grow in their careers, and possibly strive to become a Microsoft MVP. He shares how his passion for problem-solving and solution-building was the key to his success within the DevOps space. You can also watch this entire interview on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/aTZoHXlx0sE

Episode 8 of this Microsoft employee-focused interview series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Chris Slemp (@cslemp), a former Microsoft MVP who is currently a Customer Success Manager on the Modern Workplace team for Microsoft UK, based in Scotland. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Chris and I talk about his history with social collaboration and community management within Microsoft, and how he fell into his dream job as a CSM, moving from Washington State to Scotland. You can watch the entire interview on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/89j5kVqpk_s

Episode 107 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Cloud and Datacenter Management MVP Ahmed Nabil Mahmoud (@ITCalls_ANabil), a regional senior information security and risk manager for Standard Chartered Bank, MBA and PMP, and C|CISO advisory board member for EC-Council who is based out of UAE. Recorded in September 2020. In this episode, Ahmed and I discuss his "origin story" for the MVP and RD programs, beginning with his efforts to catalog all of his ideas and thoughts on technology through his blog, and how that expanded and opened up opportunities within information security and digital transformation. On the latter, Ahmed talks about how previously underserved communities are being transformed by technology, and how our collective community efforts play a large part in this growth and prosperity. You can find this entire episode and other MVP and RD interviews on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/3gnQ6hZF6mo

Episode 106 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Office Apps & Services MVP Jennifer Mason (@jennifermason), an author and popular speaker, and the VP of Workforce Learning and Transformation at Planet Technologies. Recorded in August 2020. In this episode, Jennifer and I discuss some of the nuances between the MVP and RD programs, as well as the many different technical paths and certifications within the Microsoft ecosystem. Jennifer shares that she is "allergic to anything with syntax and semicolons" and instead focuses on out-of-the-box features that improve personal and organizational productivity and adoption, showing how they can impact and transform a business. We also talk about the shift in the expert community over the years from the heavily dev and IT Pro-focused content 7-10 years ago to more end user and power user-focused scenarios, showing the broader adoption and maturity of Microsoft's collaboration technology, especially in this era of remote working. You can also watch this episode and others on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/CUD_mOBYLW8

Episode 105 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director Kate Carruthers (@kcarruthers), Chief Data & Insights Officer for the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science & Engineering. Additionally, Kate is a Certified Information Security Manager, and the co-host of the podcast Conversations with Annie & Kate. Recorded in August 2020. In this episode, Kate and I discuss  her path in data science and cybersecurity, and the growing importance of data analysis and insights within the education sector. Specifically, we talk about how her university (the administration, faculty, and students) are increasingly leveraging these data capabilities -- and how they are using data to provide additional services and automation. You can also watch this episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/2lHZ6HeElqQ

Episode 104 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Developer Technologies MVP, Esteban Garcia (@estebanfgarcia),  SVP of Azure and DevOps at Orlando, Florida-based New Signature, and Pluralsight author. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Esteban and I discuss the differences between a Regional Director and an MVP, and since joining the MVP ranks as an ALM MVP in 2012, how Microsoft has evolved in the DevOps space, from TFS to Visual Studio Online to Azure DevOps, and how the migration toward the cloud has pushed this change forward. Esteban also shares his thoughts on what Microsoft got right in their acquisition and integration of GitHub. You can also watch this episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/pSrDNhz9WNY

Episode 103 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Data Platform MVP, Andrew Brust (@andrewbrust),  founder and CEO of Blue Badge Insights, a Big Data and Analytics correspondent and blogger at ZDNet, and the Research Director for Big Data and Analytics for GigaOm, and is based in New York City. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss his path into consulting and analyst roles, and the evolution of "big data" into his current focus on data analysis, artificial intelligence, and data mining. Andrew also shares some insights into the future of machine learning and cognitive services, and how Microsoft is trying to make this technology more accessible for the masses. You can watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/vZhTl3ZsS28

Episode 102 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director, Oscar Garcia Colon (@almlatam), Chief Technology Officer for Allied Global BPO, Professor of Computer Science at Universidad del Istmo, as well as Professor of Strategic Management and lead for the Masters program for Project Management at Universidad Galileo, based in Guatemala. He is an active member of the PMI Chapter Guatemala, a Visual Studio ALM Ranger with Microsoft, and a Scrum Master for open source projects such as Glimpse, connector for Joomla, and Droopal for Applications insights, among others. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Oscar and I talk about his path into technology, including involvement with just about every product in the Microsoft Office family, and his long list of community activities -- including being president of the technology committee in the American Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala. It was great to hear Oscar's perspectives on the opportunities in technology in Central America, and how he is leveraging his role as a Regional director to help further expand these opportunities within the region. You can watch this entire video on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/FbkQvhpnOXI

Episode 101 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Developer Technologies MVP, Gill Cleeren (@gillcleeren), a consultant, Xamarin MVP, Pluralsight author, and the CTO at Xpirit in Belgium. He is also the founder of Techorama, the biggest IT conference in Belgium, and runs Visug, the .NET user group in Belgium. In this episode, Gill and I walk through his path into technology, and discuss recommendations for those graduating or entering the workforce on where to focus -- while also recognizing that many of the "fresh faces" we see in the Microsoft ecosystem are older and/or more focused on the enterprise, albeit more experienced. We then talk about some ways that we in the community can reach out and encourage younger people to get involved with Microsoft technology, and with the community. You can also watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/xf8DQ2w-0t0

Episode 100 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Data Platform MVP, Reza Rad (@Rad_Reza), an author, trainer, speaker, and founder and consultant at Radacad, based in New Zealand. Recorded in July 2020. Reza is a 10-time business intelligence and data platform MVP, an active blogger, and a community organizer who helps organize the annual Difinity Conference, the largest Microsoft Data, AI, Power BI, Power Platform and Business Applications conference in New Zealand focusing on Data Platform, AI, Business Intelligence, Business Applications, Power Platform, and Analytics. In this episode, Reza and I talk about the evolution of the Data Platform category within the MVP program, and how Microsoft adjusts their focus areas from time to time as the technology evolves. We also have a great discussion on the data preparation and "clean up" that needs to happen before you can build your data visualizations, the learning curve, and the complexities and benefits of understanding your data. We also talk about how data science is one of the fastest growing job categories across almost every industry. You can watch this entire interview on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/0giRbAehA-8