The CollabTalk Podcast

Episode 105 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director Kate Carruthers (@kcarruthers), Chief Data & Insights Officer for the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Computer Science & Engineering. Additionally, Kate is a Certified Information Security Manager, and the co-host of the podcast Conversations with Annie & Kate. Recorded in August 2020. In this episode, Kate and I discuss  her path in data science and cybersecurity, and the growing importance of data analysis and insights within the education sector. Specifically, we talk about how her university (the administration, faculty, and students) are increasingly leveraging these data capabilities -- and how they are using data to provide additional services and automation. You can also watch this episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/2lHZ6HeElqQ

Episode 104 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Developer Technologies MVP, Esteban Garcia (@estebanfgarcia),  SVP of Azure and DevOps at Orlando, Florida-based New Signature, and Pluralsight author. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Esteban and I discuss the differences between a Regional Director and an MVP, and since joining the MVP ranks as an ALM MVP in 2012, how Microsoft has evolved in the DevOps space, from TFS to Visual Studio Online to Azure DevOps, and how the migration toward the cloud has pushed this change forward. Esteban also shares his thoughts on what Microsoft got right in their acquisition and integration of GitHub. You can also watch this episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/pSrDNhz9WNY

Episode 103 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Data Platform MVP, Andrew Brust (@andrewbrust),  founder and CEO of Blue Badge Insights, a Big Data and Analytics correspondent and blogger at ZDNet, and the Research Director for Big Data and Analytics for GigaOm, and is based in New York City. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss his path into consulting and analyst roles, and the evolution of "big data" into his current focus on data analysis, artificial intelligence, and data mining. Andrew also shares some insights into the future of machine learning and cognitive services, and how Microsoft is trying to make this technology more accessible for the masses. You can watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/vZhTl3ZsS28

Episode 102 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director, Oscar Garcia Colon (@almlatam), Chief Technology Officer for Allied Global BPO, Professor of Computer Science at Universidad del Istmo, as well as Professor of Strategic Management and lead for the Masters program for Project Management at Universidad Galileo, based in Guatemala. He is an active member of the PMI Chapter Guatemala, a Visual Studio ALM Ranger with Microsoft, and a Scrum Master for open source projects such as Glimpse, connector for Joomla, and Droopal for Applications insights, among others. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Oscar and I talk about his path into technology, including involvement with just about every product in the Microsoft Office family, and his long list of community activities -- including being president of the technology committee in the American Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala. It was great to hear Oscar's perspectives on the opportunities in technology in Central America, and how he is leveraging his role as a Regional director to help further expand these opportunities within the region. You can watch this entire video on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/FbkQvhpnOXI

Episode 101 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Developer Technologies MVP, Gill Cleeren (@gillcleeren), a consultant, Xamarin MVP, Pluralsight author, and the CTO at Xpirit in Belgium. He is also the founder of Techorama, the biggest IT conference in Belgium, and runs Visug, the .NET user group in Belgium. In this episode, Gill and I walk through his path into technology, and discuss recommendations for those graduating or entering the workforce on where to focus -- while also recognizing that many of the "fresh faces" we see in the Microsoft ecosystem are older and/or more focused on the enterprise, albeit more experienced. We then talk about some ways that we in the community can reach out and encourage younger people to get involved with Microsoft technology, and with the community. You can also watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/xf8DQ2w-0t0

Episode 100 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and Data Platform MVP, Reza Rad (@Rad_Reza), an author, trainer, speaker, and founder and consultant at Radacad, based in New Zealand. Recorded in July 2020. Reza is a 10-time business intelligence and data platform MVP, an active blogger, and a community organizer who helps organize the annual Difinity Conference, the largest Microsoft Data, AI, Power BI, Power Platform and Business Applications conference in New Zealand focusing on Data Platform, AI, Business Intelligence, Business Applications, Power Platform, and Analytics. In this episode, Reza and I talk about the evolution of the Data Platform category within the MVP program, and how Microsoft adjusts their focus areas from time to time as the technology evolves. We also have a great discussion on the data preparation and "clean up" that needs to happen before you can build your data visualizations, the learning curve, and the complexities and benefits of understanding your data. We also talk about how data science is one of the fastest growing job categories across almost every industry. You can watch this entire interview on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/0giRbAehA-8

Episode 99 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Microsoft Regional Director and dual-MVP in Azure and Developer Technologies, Rainer Stropek (@rstropek), co-founder and CEO of the company Software Architects, as well as an active coder, presenter, trainer, and author of numerous books and articles on C#, web and database development, and Microsoft Azure, and is based in Austria. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Rainer and I discuss his coding background and the start of his company, and how he was able to turn his passion into a growing business, creating SaaS IP and helping organization make the transition into the cloud. He also shares some of his current technology interests, including Rust (https://www.rust-lang.org/), and his work to build up the community around this new programming language, including https://rust-linz.at/. Rainer is also a very passionate about community and his participation in the .Net Foundation, and is a strong advocate for STEM learning through https://coderdojo.com/. You can also watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/SQ_1QJVIfWE

Episode 98 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Artificial Intelligence MVP and Microsoft Regional Director Dr. Adnan Masood (@adnanmasood), an AI and Machine Learning researcher, software architect, visiting Scholar at Stanford University, and Data Science teacher at Park University based in Tampa, Florida. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Adnan and I discuss Microsoft's expansion of AI capabilities, and some of his favorite projects coming out of Microsoft Research (MSR), including Delve, Cognitive Services, and the Language Models. We also discuss two important AI topics: the management and "curation" of AI-automated solutions such as the forthcoming Project Cortex, and the ethical use and standards around AI. Adnan also shares his thoughts on how far we are from seeing sentient AI (and the inevitable Skynet problem). You can watch this episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/ovob4wJ3zMw

Episode 97 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Mario Trentim (@mariotrentim), a PMP-certified project management consultant and evangelist, CEO of TRENTIM Business Solutions and the PMO Global Alliance, as well as an author and professor, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Recorded in July 2020. In this episode, Mario and I have a great discussion on the evolution of project management technology within the Microsoft ecosystem, and its impact on other enterprise collaboration and information management systems. You can also find this episode on the CollabTalk Podcast on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/collabtalk/ as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Episode 96 of the #MVPbuzzChat series. Conversation between Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Christian Buckley (@buckleyplanet), Founder & CEO of CollabTalk LLC, and Sharon Weaver (@sharoneweaver), a newly-minted Microsoft Regional Director, Microsoft Certified Trainer, Six Sigma Black Belt, and Founder and CEO of Smarter Consulting based in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Recorded in June 2020. In this episode, Sharon and I begin with her appointment to the Microsoft Regional Director (RD) program and talk about the differences between the MVP and RD programs. We discuss path into the program, which includes a fairly extensive technical and community resume. Sharon talks about her passion for the Power Platform and collaboration tools (SharePoint, Microsoft Teams), but we also cover wide-ranging topics such as family, the impacts of no-travel due to COVID on her business, her favorite science fiction authors, and how her management style has adjusted to working from home. You can watch this entire episode on the CollabTalk YouTube page at https://youtu.be/lNHou4aeIu0