SharePoint Conference

I am an engineering technologist at Microsoft, for those who didn't already know. My job entails creating designs and testing those designs for Microsoft's customers who choose to have Microsoft run their SharePoint infrastructures. Two of our customers, Nokia and Coca-Cola Enterprises have pretty high expectations and have required us to do some incredible things to make their designs work. Think of my job as being Scotty on the Starship Enterprise. He integrates Romulan or Klingon technology into Federation technology and gets Warp Factor 10 or Cloaking ability. That's us. Sometimes we get "Scotty, I need warp factor 11 in 10 minutes or we're all dead!" And occasionally we shout back, "We canna change da laws of Physics Cap'n!!!" Welcome to life as a Microsoft Architect/Engineer.

This coming week I will be participating in the Microsoft SharePoint Conference. This is the first time I have ever known a Microsoft product conference to be SOLD OUT and to even reject requests from Microsoft employees on attending. That underscores the impact that this product has had over its 7 year lifespan. 

Currently this product is closing in on 1 BILLION (that is a THOUSAND MILLION) dollars in revenue. It is the fastest growing product in Microsoft history! Even Microsoft Exchange (the email server) isn't a billion dollar business yet. Fiscal Year 2009 will be the finish line between the two. I'm betting SharePoint wins.

I will be participating in an Ask the Experts (ATE) panel at the SharePoint Conference. I like speaking at conferences as it gives me a chance to share my knowledge with peers. I have been very fortunate that I have been asked to speak on numerous occasions. Sometimes that causes some...'angst' among my peers as it is generally desired to be "seen". I do it because I like to present. I don't have the need to thump my chest and pontificate as some have. I'd rather play music in the background, put on my shades and sit down and have a roundtable discussion. Maybe its the perception of the title "Speaker" that is so coveted....I don't know.

I'll take pics at the conference and post them here; probably will be plenty with people. These guys/gals wear that title like Hugo Chavez does military medals on his uniform. Don't mean anything negative about it--it's just an observation. It's a cool club to belong to; knowledgeable, friendly, and look out for each other. They've invited me to the SharePoint by Day, SharePoint by Night party. I don't drink, so it would be pointless to go--except I do enjoy their company. Bob Fox is a hoot and Andrew Connell Blog loves his drink. If Lawrence Liu weren't sick with a cold, he'd probably be there too!