M
Mark Kashman
800 tech enthusiasts descended upon Seattle, WA between June 3-7, 2024, to attend the combined TechCon365 & PWRCON events. We, too, were pleased to join in this community gathering – to participate and gain input from everyone. It was a packed week filled with feedback, stories, and fun. Below is a recap of various aspects of the event - across keynotes, breakout sessions, D&I lunch, AMA/SharePint, and the bustling Expo Hall.
Collage: Several photos taken throughout the week in Seattle, WA – from breakout sessions, the D&I lunch, and some of the activity in the Expo Hall.
Beyond reading below, review updates and photos from the TechCon365 event team; we sprinkled our own throughout this article.
TechCon365 & PWRCON - Seattle in a nutshell:
Keynotes & general sessions
The event kicked off with a TechCon365 keynote, “Thriving in the Era of AI” with Adam Harmetz (VP), Russell Dicker (CVP), Karuana Gatimu (Principal PM Manager), Melissa Torres (Principal PM Manager), Miceile Barrett (Principal PM), and Michael Holste (Senior PMM). The team brought unique insights about Copilot and AI innovation, advances in employee experiences, content services that help automate the flow of work, and perspectives across roles: Business, IT Pros, and Developers. The keynote packed in product updates and demos across Copilot, Teams, Viva, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more. Our goal was to provide a solid understanding of our strategy and vision, with clarity on where Microsoft is taking content, communication, and collaboration into the future.
Collage: Several images from the opening TechCon365 keynote delivered in Seattle, WA | June 5, 2024.
On day two, Nirav Shah (CVP) presented the PWRCON keynote: “Empowering transformation: Power Platform and Dataverse in the age of AI.” Nirav showcased powerful business applications across Power Platform that help our customers leap ahead when using AI, taking advantage of Copilot in the various Power Platform apps and services. Our goal is to highlight how you can take existing enterprise data and business processes to unlock the benefits of Microsoft Copilot. The changing AI workspace is real, and it is humbling to hear and showcase how real Power Platform customers use the latest technologies.
Collage: Several images from the day-2 PWRCON keynote delivered by Nirav Shah in Seattle, WA | June 6, 2024.
General sessions
As the week progressed, each event held high-value general sessions to frame a deeper discussion around the core areas of each product area, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. With M365 sessions like, “Getting ready for Copilot for Microsoft 365” - with Karuana Gatimu, Ben Summers, and Cynthia Johnson, “SharePoint Premium - Intelligent content for everyone” with Sesha Mani and Wayne Ewington, and “What's new and next for Microsoft Viva” with Michael Holste and Kristi Kelly. Plus, Power Platform sessions like “Power Automate and automation in the Age of AI: strategy & roadmap” with Ashvini Sharma, “Power Platform Architecture” with Ilya Grebnov, “What’s new in Dataverse & AI Builder: How to easily build generative AI business applications” with Yogi Naik, and “Building the apps of the future today with Power Platform and Copilot” with Leon Welicki.
Breakout sessions & AMA
Breakouts are where learning breaks out. We know it’s crucial to ensure your organization is technically ready for the full potential of Copilot for Microsoft 365. Throughout the 130 sessions, attendees were presented with technical readiness and the latest guidance. All presenter experts shared best practices on how to leverage AI and to maximize the benefits of Copilot within your organization – along with a ton of core learning across all the major Microsoft apps and services. The goal was to discover both 'how-to' and increase awareness of the 'what-if' – focusing on the impact of cloud adoption and gravitating towards Responsible AI.
Collage: Several photos throughout the event from the breakout sessions.
The Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) was a rapid fire of questions from the audience – with our panel of experts taking the hot seat to address questions on improvements to SharePoint Events web part, Copilot & SharePoint Premium licensing, Search + collapsible section headers, adoption guidance/materials, and more. It proved a wonderful balance of time, with answers flowing and feedback taken. Plus, there was much SWAG to be given to each person who asked a question.
TechCon365-Seattle AMA panelists (left-to-right): Ashvini Sharma, Naomi Moneypenny, Adam Harmetz, Heather Cook, Karuana Gatimu, Sesha Mani, Alex Powers, and Shannon Lindsay.
Expo Hall + D&I + workshops
The *Expo Hall* was hopping with discussions, interviews, smaller-stage talks, SWAG, prizes, and community. Busy vendor booths meant lots of demos, solutions given, and a better understanding of what customers need above and beyond the core apps and platforms.
Attendee interaction within the Expo Hall at TechCon365 – Seattle, WA.
Diversity & Inclusion Lunch – Women and Allies – Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook shared stories and took questions from the crowd. This was an engaging and informal lunchtime gathering where everyone worked together on topics that matter to help shape careers and address common challenges and how to address them and overcome them. It was amazing to have a dedicated, purposeful space for sharing ideas, perspectives, and experiences + lunch.
The “Discussion Bytes: Diversity & Inclusion Lunch – Women and Allies” gathering with co-hosts and attendees.
Workshops
Workshop days were attended by about 1/3 of the attendees across 25 workshops. At TechCon365, attendees chose from a diverse set of topics. These include Copilot and AI, SharePoint from introductory to advanced levels, Power BI for professionals, Power Apps and Power Automate for M365/SharePoint, Microsoft 365 essentials, and more. Each catered to different skill levels, from beginners to intermediate users, to enhance productivity, master digital tools, and develop technical skills.
Collage: Several photos throughout the workshop days – covering topics like getting ready for Copilot, the SharePoint-powered intranet, Power BI, and Microsoft 365 extensibility.
In the end...
We were so pleased to see this Seattle event sell out! And to see and hear the sold-out crowd mingle and share. We are grateful for this year's active and engaging #TechCon365 & #PWRCON in Seattle — so much goodness, caring, learning, and having fun! Great questions, stories, and a deeper understanding of your concerns. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
TechCon365 & PWRCON – Seattle 2024 “SOLD OUT!”
We look forward to seeing you at the next TechCon365 in DC and/or Dallas.
Cheers, Mark “in his hometown” Kashman & Heather “up from LA” Cook
And if you made it this far, a last collage from Mark Kashman summarizing his overall experience – to share his excitement for engaging with the best community in tech – meeting new people (and taking selfies), being an “expert” and presenting the Lists breakout session with Miceile Barrett, to moderating the AMA (note the SWAG giveaways in the lower-left), and getting to again work with the great TechCon365 event team:
Collage: Several photos throughout the week of activities Mark Kashman participated in: Being an “expert” at the Ask the Experts booth, delivering the “Mastering Microsoft Lists” session with Miceile Barrett, meeting with partner – Titan Workspace – in the Expo Hall, and whooping it up in general – with a special shoutout to the TechCon365 event team – such good work granting us all a wonderful space and time.
Continue reading...
Collage: Several photos taken throughout the week in Seattle, WA – from breakout sessions, the D&I lunch, and some of the activity in the Expo Hall.Beyond reading below, review updates and photos from the TechCon365 event team; we sprinkled our own throughout this article.
TechCon365 & PWRCON - Seattle in a nutshell:
- 800+ attendees
- 100+ speakers overall – 45 from Microsoft
- 130 sessions | 25 tutorials (workshops) [review all in our pre-show event guide]
- 20+ sponsors | One big Expo Hall
Keynotes & general sessions
The event kicked off with a TechCon365 keynote, “Thriving in the Era of AI” with Adam Harmetz (VP), Russell Dicker (CVP), Karuana Gatimu (Principal PM Manager), Melissa Torres (Principal PM Manager), Miceile Barrett (Principal PM), and Michael Holste (Senior PMM). The team brought unique insights about Copilot and AI innovation, advances in employee experiences, content services that help automate the flow of work, and perspectives across roles: Business, IT Pros, and Developers. The keynote packed in product updates and demos across Copilot, Teams, Viva, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more. Our goal was to provide a solid understanding of our strategy and vision, with clarity on where Microsoft is taking content, communication, and collaboration into the future.
Collage: Several images from the opening TechCon365 keynote delivered in Seattle, WA | June 5, 2024.On day two, Nirav Shah (CVP) presented the PWRCON keynote: “Empowering transformation: Power Platform and Dataverse in the age of AI.” Nirav showcased powerful business applications across Power Platform that help our customers leap ahead when using AI, taking advantage of Copilot in the various Power Platform apps and services. Our goal is to highlight how you can take existing enterprise data and business processes to unlock the benefits of Microsoft Copilot. The changing AI workspace is real, and it is humbling to hear and showcase how real Power Platform customers use the latest technologies.
Collage: Several images from the day-2 PWRCON keynote delivered by Nirav Shah in Seattle, WA | June 6, 2024.General sessions
As the week progressed, each event held high-value general sessions to frame a deeper discussion around the core areas of each product area, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. With M365 sessions like, “Getting ready for Copilot for Microsoft 365” - with Karuana Gatimu, Ben Summers, and Cynthia Johnson, “SharePoint Premium - Intelligent content for everyone” with Sesha Mani and Wayne Ewington, and “What's new and next for Microsoft Viva” with Michael Holste and Kristi Kelly. Plus, Power Platform sessions like “Power Automate and automation in the Age of AI: strategy & roadmap” with Ashvini Sharma, “Power Platform Architecture” with Ilya Grebnov, “What’s new in Dataverse & AI Builder: How to easily build generative AI business applications” with Yogi Naik, and “Building the apps of the future today with Power Platform and Copilot” with Leon Welicki.
Breakout sessions & AMA
Breakouts are where learning breaks out. We know it’s crucial to ensure your organization is technically ready for the full potential of Copilot for Microsoft 365. Throughout the 130 sessions, attendees were presented with technical readiness and the latest guidance. All presenter experts shared best practices on how to leverage AI and to maximize the benefits of Copilot within your organization – along with a ton of core learning across all the major Microsoft apps and services. The goal was to discover both 'how-to' and increase awareness of the 'what-if' – focusing on the impact of cloud adoption and gravitating towards Responsible AI.
Collage: Several photos throughout the event from the breakout sessions.The Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) was a rapid fire of questions from the audience – with our panel of experts taking the hot seat to address questions on improvements to SharePoint Events web part, Copilot & SharePoint Premium licensing, Search + collapsible section headers, adoption guidance/materials, and more. It proved a wonderful balance of time, with answers flowing and feedback taken. Plus, there was much SWAG to be given to each person who asked a question.
TechCon365-Seattle AMA panelists (left-to-right): Ashvini Sharma, Naomi Moneypenny, Adam Harmetz, Heather Cook, Karuana Gatimu, Sesha Mani, Alex Powers, and Shannon Lindsay.Expo Hall + D&I + workshops
The *Expo Hall* was hopping with discussions, interviews, smaller-stage talks, SWAG, prizes, and community. Busy vendor booths meant lots of demos, solutions given, and a better understanding of what customers need above and beyond the core apps and platforms.
Attendee interaction within the Expo Hall at TechCon365 – Seattle, WA.Diversity & Inclusion Lunch – Women and Allies – Karuana Gatimu and Heather Cook shared stories and took questions from the crowd. This was an engaging and informal lunchtime gathering where everyone worked together on topics that matter to help shape careers and address common challenges and how to address them and overcome them. It was amazing to have a dedicated, purposeful space for sharing ideas, perspectives, and experiences + lunch.
The “Discussion Bytes: Diversity & Inclusion Lunch – Women and Allies” gathering with co-hosts and attendees.Workshops
Workshop days were attended by about 1/3 of the attendees across 25 workshops. At TechCon365, attendees chose from a diverse set of topics. These include Copilot and AI, SharePoint from introductory to advanced levels, Power BI for professionals, Power Apps and Power Automate for M365/SharePoint, Microsoft 365 essentials, and more. Each catered to different skill levels, from beginners to intermediate users, to enhance productivity, master digital tools, and develop technical skills.
Collage: Several photos throughout the workshop days – covering topics like getting ready for Copilot, the SharePoint-powered intranet, Power BI, and Microsoft 365 extensibility.In the end...
We were so pleased to see this Seattle event sell out! And to see and hear the sold-out crowd mingle and share. We are grateful for this year's active and engaging #TechCon365 & #PWRCON in Seattle — so much goodness, caring, learning, and having fun! Great questions, stories, and a deeper understanding of your concerns. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
TechCon365 & PWRCON – Seattle 2024 “SOLD OUT!”We look forward to seeing you at the next TechCon365 in DC and/or Dallas.
Cheers, Mark “in his hometown” Kashman & Heather “up from LA” Cook
And if you made it this far, a last collage from Mark Kashman summarizing his overall experience – to share his excitement for engaging with the best community in tech – meeting new people (and taking selfies), being an “expert” and presenting the Lists breakout session with Miceile Barrett, to moderating the AMA (note the SWAG giveaways in the lower-left), and getting to again work with the great TechCon365 event team:
Collage: Several photos throughout the week of activities Mark Kashman participated in: Being an “expert” at the Ask the Experts booth, delivering the “Mastering Microsoft Lists” session with Miceile Barrett, meeting with partner – Titan Workspace – in the Expo Hall, and whooping it up in general – with a special shoutout to the TechCon365 event team – such good work granting us all a wonderful space and time.Continue reading...