For MVPs, attending the annual MVP Summit rivals the glee of a kid opening their gifts at Christmas. As the first in-person MVP Microsoft summit in three years, it was one for the memory books. Some of our MVPs were able to attend the short-notice event and we caught up with Maarten Eekels, Robert Schouten and Loryan Strant to hear about their experience.

For those who are not familiar, MVPs (Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals) are passionate experts about Microsoft’s products and services and are recognised by Microsoft with an award for their technical expertise, contributions, and community engagement. The MVP Summit is an annual event exclusively for MVPs where they get to interact with Microsoft’s product teams and share their feedback, ideas, and suggestions for improving Microsoft’s products and services.

RAPID CIRCLE IS THE PROUD EMPLOYER OF 10 CURRENT AND PREVIOUS MVPS, USING THEIR TALENT AND EXPERTISE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR PROJECTS

Maarten Eekels, CTO of Rapid Circle Netherlands, who last visited the Microsoft campus in Redmond in January 2020, was excited to be back for the Summit. Maarten enjoyed the many sessions by Microsoft product groups and was impressed with their vision for the future of technology. He also had a great time catching up with old friends and making new connections, despite the typical Seattle weather.

“This was the first time since Covid that we had the opportunity to get together again in person with all Microsoft MVPs worldwide and connect with Microsoft product groups. Each day was filled with many sessions from the various product groups at Microsoft, presenting their vision, road maps and technology deep dives. I was impressed with all the new announcements and Microsoft’s vision on the future of technology.” – Maarten Eekels

For Robert Schouten, Principal Consultant in Amsterdam Netherlands, this was his second in-person summit, and he attended many sessions, including those on AI. Finding the whole summit inspiring and energising, he felt privileged to be invited and appreciated the new knowledge, connections, and memories he gained.

“These summits and the big conferences always inspire me and give me a lot of new energy and ideas. I really feel privileged to be invited and able to go to the MVP Summit. It was a great week with new knowledge, connections and great memories made. “- Robert Schouten

“THE “PROBLEM” WITH THE SUMMIT IS THAT THERE ARE SIMPLY TOO MANY AMAZING SESSIONS TO ATTEND. THANKFULLY BECAUSE IT WAS A HYBRID EVENT, ALMOST EVERY SESSION WAS RECORDED – WHICH MEANS I NOW HAVE MANY SESSIONS TO WATCH AFTERWARDS”.

– LORYAN STRANT

For Loryan Strant, Product and Innovation Lead in Melbourne Australia, he has attended almost every MVP Summit from 2011 to 2019. He appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with many existing and new MVPs at the Summit. Loryan found the summit’s biggest value in providing feedback directly to Microsoft product managers to improve future products for customers and end-users.

”I’m an ‘Office 365’ MVP, which is now called ‘Microsoft 365 Apps and Services’. Before the platform was released back in 2011, at previous summits there was only a handful of us sitting in a single room, so it’s been quite a change to grow to hundreds of MVPs spread across multiple streams, rooms, and even buildings! While this year’s Summit was put on almost at the last minute, the value of attending in-person and reconnecting with many existing and new MVPs was invaluable.” – Loryan Strant

The MVP Summit is a valuable event for MVPs to connect with Microsoft product groups and provide feedback. The 2023 Summit marked a special return after a long hiatus due to the pandemic, and many MVPs enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with old friends, meet new connections, and gain new knowledge and life-long memories.