From September 11-14, thousands of IT professionals and developers will descend upon Gold Coast, Australia for Microsoft TechEd Australia 2012. For the third consecutive year, AvePoint is the proud Major Sponsor of the event, and we have lots of exciting activities planned as always.
Throughout the event, AvePoint will host the 60-seat “AvePoint Interactive Theatre,” where attendees can hear professionals, developers, partners, MVPs, and Microsoft team members speak about the latest technologies, trends, and best practices related to Microsoft SharePoint. Attendees can also visit AvePoint at booth #1 to learn more about our latest SharePoint innovations and enter to win a Honda CRF230F dirtbike.
Based on experience helping more than 10,000 customers worldwide, AvePoint will also present two sessions with SharePoint experts during the Office 365, Office and SharePoint track on Thursday, September 13:
· 11:30am: “Presenting SharePoint as a Service to Your Organization” by Chief Architect and SharePoint MVP Jeremy Thake and Australia General Manager Garth Luke
· 3:30pm: “Real World: SharePoint Customization – Developer vs. IT Pro” by Jeremy Thake and OBS Senior Consultant and SharePoint MVP Mark Rhodes
In advance of the event, we asked Jeremy Thake a few questions about what he’s looking forward to most at TechEd Australia and what attendees can expect from his sessions.
What are your presentations about and why did you choose them for TechEd Australia 2012?
Jeremy Thake: I’m presenting two sessions, one on “Presentating SharePoint as a service” with Garth Luke, and “Real World: SharePoint Customization – Developer vs. IT Pro” with Mark Rhodes, SharePoint MVP and all around great guy from AvePoint partner OBS.
I’m finding, globally, that as organizations mature their usage of SharePoint, they want to bubble up the control to the business users rather than hold on to all the keys. IT will always manage the infrastructure, but I’m seeing the keys being left in the hands of the business users at the site collection level. So the first session with Garth really explains what we’re seeing out there in “the wild.”
The second thing I’ve seen for years now, which I’ll discuss with Mark, is the huge divide between Developers and IT pros in the SharePoint deployment world. I figured it was about time we tell the horror stories that will hopefully make both parties more aware of where this can lead organizations.
What is one key takeaway you want attendees to walk away with after your presentations?
JT: Well, if I told you that, no one would come to my sessions, right? …OK, one little takeaway…Mark and I will talk about having a successful deployment strategy for SharePoint. The key really is for developers to get IT pros involved in the “customization” of SharePoint as early as possible as well as keep them in the loop and treat them as part of the team throughout the lifecycle. Don’t treat them as the enemy or someone who will only cause pain for you.
How do you feel an event like TechEd Australia benefits the Australian SharePoint community?
JT: I lived in Western Australia for just under eight years, and for me it was all about networking with my peers. The city of Perth is the most isolated city in the world, and in the IT industry it sure does feel like it sometimes! TechEd draws a big crowd of around 4,000 people, largely because there are no other major Microsoft conferences on the continent like there are in the United States, with Build and plenty of events run by other companies like DevConnections.
The quality of the speakers at the event is very high, and the pull on international speakers for a holiday/junket is a great draw. This gives attendees a huge wealth of knowledge to pull from at the event.
Outside of your presentation, what is one thing you look forward to most at TechEd Australia?
JT: Getting to fly five hours over to the Gold Coast on the East coast of Australia is great, I mean, once you get over the humidity over there rather than the dry heat in Perth. Microsoft always throws a great party during the event, and the nightlife in the Gold Coast is fun for a week. It reminds me a lot of Ibiza. So, for me, it’s really about having a good time with fellow peers and finding out what they’ve all been up to in their “normal lives.”
What are some of your favorite aspects of the Gold Coast? What do you recommend conference attendees see and do when they’re not at the event?
JT: Short of the nightlife, there are some great restaurants there. I highly recommend taking a look at Moo Moo, where you can get an enormous lump of steak cooked to your liking.
Dreamworld, the theme park where the TechEd Australia party held one year was pretty good fun, too…if you have kids. The rides are pretty tame otherwise.
I must admit, after last year’s event, I actually wheeled my suitcase from the hotel down to the beach before catching a taxi to the airport. The beaches down there are amazing and it’s nice to just sit and watch the world go by.
