Microsoft recognises its Most Valuable Professionals.
The beginning of July was eagerly anticipated by the global Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) community, as the names of those awarded with MVP status for 2019-2020 was announced. Here at ActionPoint, we were delighted to learn that our Senior Cloud Consultant, Sakaldeep Yadav, has been revealed as a Microsoft MVP in the Azure category for the year ahead. MVPs make up a global community of over 4,000 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions. We caught up with Sakaldeep this week to learn more about the award, and what it means to be a Microsoft MVP.
Can you give us some background on the Microsoft MVP award, and your own journey on the program?
“The Microsoft MVP award is given by Microsoft to technology experts who share their knowledge within the community. The program is designed to help both Microsoft and MVPs learn and grow together and is awarded based on technical activity and contributions to the community. There are various award categories (which can be found here), with my own award in the Microsoft Azure category.
The program is all about sharing the knowledge you have and learning from others in the community. There are many ways to contribute to the community, such as blogging, teaching, mentoring, and organising and hosting local technical sessions like meetup groups. It essentially focuses on making the community aware of new Microsoft technologies and their features.
I started my own journey within the MVP community a few years ago when I was based in Nepal. Azure was in its infancy at the time, so I started to learn more about the platform and began teaching my colleagues about the new technology. I found that there were many local groups doing the same thing within the Microsoft community and I decided to get involved. I started writing blogs and hosting sessions in various user groups and after a year, we found that Azure was continuing to grow within the Nepal market. I then got more involved in the Microsoft ecosystem and received my first MVP award in October 2017.”
How have you contributed to the Microsoft community within the past year and what have you planned for the year ahead?
“Since relocating to Ireland, I have continued to be active within the community. I have continued writing blogs (you can find more of my posts here.) and speaking at events such as the Azure Global Bootcamp Dublin, the Azure Dublin Meetup and the Limerick Dot Net – Azure User Group.
For the year ahead, I plan to keep the community up-to-date by regularly updating my blog and taking part in more speaking slots at local meetups. I’m also looking forward to attending more conferences, such as Microsoft Ignite and the MVP summit, and sharing from insights from these.”
What are the benefits of being named a Microsoft MVP?
“Being part of the MVP program provides great opportunities to connect with experts within the tech community and fellow MVPs throughout the world. As I have mentioned, there is a real passion for learning and sharing knowledge within the community through blogging, local groups and conferences. As MVPs, we also gain access to various software and subscriptions for testing and have the ability to interact with the product team. This type of communication is invaluable, as it allows us to give feedback and be involved in roadmapping activities.
This is my second Microsoft MVP award, and I am honoured to be part of a highly select group of technology experts around the world. I look forward to playing an active role in the community in the year ahead.”
