Jennifer Ann Mason

I have been talking to quite a few people in the last few weeks about Office 365 and new features that are on the roadmap.  Once we start diving into things it always seems to turn in a conversation about “you know – I wish it did this!” or “I wish I knew what was coming next”.  It never fails that the conversation always leads back to the event that is happening on May 16th– where Microsoft is going to be sharing with us the plans they have for the next year in SharePoint.  This is the second event of its kind and one that you really won’t want to miss!

Here are my top 5 reasons for attending the event –

1 – Microsoft has something to say!

If you attend any of the big Microsoft conferences, you know that the keynotes are full of big moments that are meant to really excite and inspire the audience.  With the merging of the SharePoint Conference into TechEd (now Ignite) it is hard to get big spotlight moments dedicated to one product.  While it is great to see the overall Microsoft picture, it leaves a bit lacking if you want to deep dive into a specific set of products.  With this event being specific to SharePoint, it is a guarantee that you will get very specific content and information that drills deep and explains what the next year might look like.

The event will be led by Corporate Vice President Jeff Teper and he will be joined by James Phillips & Chuck Friedman.  They will be discussing how Office 365, Windows and Azure can reinvent what productivity means for you teams.

2 – Real World Examples & Case Studies

Built into the agenda, Microsoft has dedicated time to for customers to showcase their achievements with SharePoint.  These are typically case studies that show off the impact that the new advancements in SharePoint have had within a business.  They are really meant as an example of creative and innovative ways that you can use SharePoint internally.

3 – All the Cool Kids are Doing it!

With this being the SharePoint event of the year, it is guaranteed that Twitter and Social Media will be full of community folks who are ready to share information about the news that is being released and provide their thoughts and opinions on it.  I am sure there will be a very active #hashtag going on with lots of interesting discussions and commentary.  Besides the activity on twitter there will sure to be many different blog posts and articles released post event that help you drill down deeper in to the new content they discuss at the event.

4 – Technology changes more than my kids can remember to change their socks!

So this one may or may not be true!  If you look at the last several years, the rate at which new features, tools and applications within Office 365 change is quite astounding.  There seems to always be something new to be following and looking into. Part of the reason events like this are great is because they help give you insight into what the next months will look like.  They give you a foundation and roadmap for what we can expect to see.  Specific to SharePoint they tend to make major announcements at events like this and during larger events like Microsoft Ignite.  By attending these events you can at least hear directly from the source what is coming and what new things are on the horizon.

5 – Open Q&A with Microsoft

The agenda has some time specifically dedicated for open Q&A with Microsoft.  Not sure exactly how they will be accepting questions, but I do know that this will be a great time to get candid answers directly from the source.  These are some of the best sessions because they are often very focused on everyday, real world questions.

So these are my top reasons, I would love to hear from you why you are planning on attending the event and what you hope to learn from it!