FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/471 

Lend us your ears for an enlightening chat with our guest, Michael, Avernart's manager of experience design. He's here to spill the beans on his philosophy of integrating the 3Fs - food, family, and fun into his life, his wanderlust fueled by his love for food, and how his superpower of kindness has shaped his personal and professional journey. Curious to find out how Michael garners maximum enjoyment from his travel destinations based on their culinary offerings? Eager to learn how the act of kindness plays an integral role in everyday success? Tune in to get your answers!

Michael also documents his invaluable insights on the Power Platform's center of excellence, a treasure trove for enterprise growth. We unearth the intricate aspects of its implementation, governance, and scalability. Michael provides first-hand accounts of guiding his clients from a chaotic platform to a scalable one that aligns with their business goals. The conversation takes a turn towards the significance of an environment strategy and a tenant-wide DLP policy. Wondering about the possible pitfalls of using Power Platform without a comprehensive plan? Get ready to be enlightened as Michael relives his experiences and offers advice on how to tap into the full potential of the Power Platform. Don't miss out on this captivating conversation!

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/470 

Picture this: A Ukrainian woman in Australia, a mother of two, who is not only a Bicram Yoga enthusiast but also an MVP in Microsoft Dynamics BC at Valrata. Intrigued? That's Alexandra, who shares her inspiring journey with us in this episode. From her home country to her new abode down under, her career in tech, her gastronomic adventures across cultures, and of course, her passion for Bicram Yoga, Alexandra doesn't hold back. She also candidly talks about the current state of affairs in Ukraine and her journey into the world of software and ERP, crediting her inspiring leader, Manon, for her success.

Imagine the fusion of finance and AI, sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Alexandra explains how she uses Power BI and Business Central to simplify everyday tasks and how AI is transforming finance operations within organizations. She then guides us through the reporting features of Business Central and Power BI which aid in making well-informed business decisions. Alexandra also underscores the significance of training for developing analytics skills and touches upon the role of Power Virtual Agents in querying data from Teams. Furthermore, she shares the crucial role of community engagement in becoming an MVP and how the title, while a feather in the cap, doesn't necessarily alter personal growth.

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/469

Ever thought about the power of diversity and how it can revolutionize the world of technology? Join us for a stimulating conversation with Ioana Tanase, an accessibility PM at Microsoft, a shoemaker by passion, a budding farmer and a published author. This episode takes you through her alluring life journey from Romania to France, where she's revamping an old farmhouse and venturing into sustainable farming. We dig deep into the centrality of accessibility in software development and how Microsoft's groundbreaking Accessibility Toolkit is altering the landscape of tech-product creation by keeping disability in mind.

The conversation takes a closer look at the importance of building diverse teams, the potential of avatars, adaptive technology, and customizability in offering more flexibility to users. We also shed light on the untapped potential of hiring people with disabilities. Iona offers an enlightening perspective on how inclusivity plays a vital role in creating an environment where individuals of all abilities can flourish. This episode seeks to redefine the way you perceive technology, accessibility, and diversity. Secure your headphones and prepare yourselves for an insightful exploration into the world of accessible tech.

OTHER RESOURCES:
Published Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ioana-Tanase/author/B08B2GL66B?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
AI for Accessibility: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/ai-for-accessibility 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/468 

• Mohammad Yasar discusses his role as a family man and how he spends quality time with his daughter.  
• Discover Mohammad’s secret to finding a healthy work-life balance while enjoying activities and bonding with loved ones.  
• Mohammad shares his passion for technology and how his hobby of building computers in his teenage years paved the way for a successful career. 
• Mohammad shares his career journey and how he gained expertise in various applications like JD Edwards, Oracle, and SAP. 
• Mohammad delves into the world of low-code development and its benefits for organizations.  
• Discover how platforms like Power Apps and Power Automate enable business users to build custom applications and automate processes without extensive coding knowledge. 
• He explains the value of leveraging Power Apps, Power Automate, and Dataverse in their project deliveries to enhance customer experiences and meet industry-specific requirements. 
• Mohammad also emphasizes the significance of sharing knowledge and believes in the power of collaboration to foster personal and professional development. 
• Mohammad's journey to becoming a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and learn about the community contributions that earned him this prestigious title. 
• Gain insights into how Mohammad continues to support and mentor others in the tech community. 

OTHER RESOURCES:
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 
90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ 

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/467 

• Em D’Arcy updates us on her recent promotion to the position of Director of Low Code at Hitachi Solutions.  
• Em reflects on her career growth within the Power Platform and highlights the importance of organizations embracing low code to empower business users and free up IT resources. 
• How the Power Platform has transitioned from being seen as a platform for simple apps and games to gaining acceptance and respect as an enterprise solution.  
• Highlights the role of citizen developers in creating business solutions and the platform's increasing prominence in events like Microsoft's builds, ignites, and inspires. 
• The challenge of perceptions surrounding low code platforms in enterprise settings and the need to educate customers about the capabilities and maturity of the Power Platform and its ability to deliver robust enterprise solutions.  
• The conversation explores strategies for bridging the gap between traditional development approaches and embracing low code for faster innovation. 
• Learn the critical role of governance and security in successful Power Platform adoption and the significance of digital guardrails, encompassing environment strategies, data policies, and connector management. 
• Em shares insights on fostering a viral maker community within organizations and highlights the importance of providing a platform for makers to share ideas, consult with others, and ask questions. 
• Em also emphasizes the need to invest in makers, including sending them to conferences and recognizing their achievements, to drive adoption and create a sense of pride within the community. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/466 

• Introducing Ben den Blanken. He shares his personal life, highlighting the importance and challenges of balancing work and family, which he considers the most significant part of his life. 
• As a Power Platform Lead, Ben excels in connecting the dots and leveraging the Power Platform, Azure, and modern work. Join us as we dive into his journey and discover the key factors that contribute to his success. 
• Ben sheds light on his role at Dynamic People, where he leads teams, engages with customers, and combines specialized knowledge to deliver successful projects. 
• The challenges of keeping up and staying up to date with the constant changes in the Power Platform and Ben's approach and strategies for achieving remarkable results. 
• Delve into Ben's experiences with Power Virtual Agents and his special interest in the technology.  
• Discusses the value of utilizing Power Virtual Agents to connect different areas of the platform, create quick wins, and alleviate pressure from departments such as HR. 
• Discover how this technology contributes to enhancing the flow of work within organizations. 
• Join the conversation as Ben discusses the exciting advancements in AI, including OpenAI's language models and Microsoft's acquisition of Nuance.  
• Explore the potential of voice technology, AI chatbots, and the challenges surrounding privacy and gain valuable insights into the evolving landscape and the future possibilities that lie ahead. 
• The evolution of chat GPT and AI voice assistants - the changes in AI voice assistants and the impact of chat GPT since November and the limitations of current voice assistants. 

OTHER RESOURCES:
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 
90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/465 

• Malcolm McAuley shares the importance of family in his life and how he cherishes the time spent with his wife and two boys.  
• Discover Malcolm’s family fun revolves around their regular trips and enjoying the water and creating lasting memories. 
• Malcolm delves into his current focus on AI and its potential for leveraging within his organization. 
• Malcolm discusses the evolving landscape of AI and the opportunities it presents for businesses and customers.  
• Discover how Malcolm’s teenage boys are also intrigued by AI and its applications, exploring the possibilities it offers in the online realm. 
• Malcolm dived into the world of the Power Platform, discussing its dynamic side and its integration with Microsoft 365.  
• Explore the latest developments, including Copilot and VivaSales, and highlight how these tools are bridging different applications and helping organizations craft adoption and modification plans. 
• Emphasizes the importance of collaboration tools to facilitate remote work and foster better interactions within organizations, moving away from the limitations and inefficiencies of email. 
• Highlight the advantages of inline threads and the ability to see others' comments, allowing employees to form relationships and collaborate more effectively, especially in large organizations with distributed teams. 
• The conversation delves into the various components of Microsoft Viva, focusing on its employee insights features.  

 OTHER RESOURCES:
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 
90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ 

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/464 

• Simon Owen shares his journey from accidentally starting his Power Platform journey to becoming a group manager of the Global Power team.  
• Simon’s experience in leading adoption, establishing governance, and growing a user community across multiple countries and levels within an organization. 
• The conversation revolves around the evolution of the Center of Enablement and the importance of scaling the Power Platform within organizations.  
• The significance of not only implementing governance and guardrails but also empowering individuals to leverage the technology to its fullest potential. 
• The positive impact of digital literacy within an organization and how a digitally literate workforce benefits careers improves productivity, and paves the way for innovative business solutions. 
• Insights into the changing perspectives on scaling the Power Platform and enabling individuals within organizations. 
• They explore scenarios where organizations either limit citizen developers' involvement due to security concerns or embrace a team-based approach with a software factory mindset to build numerous solutions.  
• The conversation offers valuable insights into the decision-making process and its impact on governance and enablement. 
• Discusses the timeline for establishing a stable and effective system within the Power Platform. Explore the varying durations required based on the number of apps and flows involved, shedding light on the potential months or even years it may take to achieve a fully stabilized system. 
• Simon highlights the licensing complexities faced by large organizations when considering the widespread adoption of the Power Platform and the importance of demonstrating value and gradually expanding usage to gain organizational buy-in. 
• Simon discusses the benefits of starting with low-risk, low-cost experimental projects and gradually expanding the capabilities and expertise of citizen developers to solve increasingly complex problems. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/463 

• Lindsay Shelton talks about her love for taking care of her cat and how she spends her time with family and friends. 
• Transitioning from Teaching to Tech - Lindsay shares her journey from being a middle school English teacher to transitioning into the tech industry. 
• Being Open to Opportunity – Lindsay emphasizes the importance of being open to opportunities, even if they are unexpected or not necessarily in your field. 
• Learning from Experience – Lindsay shares how teaching and using Google Apps for Education led to her interest in technology and eventually pursuing a career in the industry. 
• Non-traditional Backgrounds – Lindsay's story highlights how having a non-traditional background can be an asset in the tech industry, and how companies can benefit from taking chances on people with different experiences. 
• Lindsay shares how a chance encounter at a party led to meeting someone who helped her transition into the tech industry, highlighting the role of networking and being open to new connections. 
• Lindsay talks about governance in Power Automate. She discusses the considerations that are similar to governance around Power Apps and other Power tools.  
• Lindsay talks about connectors and shares her experience of going through Microsoft's recommended list of connectors and separating out the business connectors for their personal productivity environment.  
• Talks about implementing governance in Power Automate and how Lindsay set up a system where users can get access to connectors and how she turned on connectors in the makerspace specifically if they were blocked by DLP policies. 
• Discussions about personal productivity environment in Power Automate. Lindsay shares her experience of changing the default environment into a personal productivity environment and the challenges she faced in keeping everything in that environment. 
• Talks about the importance of understanding the different types of Power Automate flows. 

 
OTHER RESOURCES:
Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP 
90-Day Mentoring Challenge - https://ako.nz365guy.com/ 

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

FULL SHOW NOTES
https://podcast.nz365guy.com/462

• Jon Gilman shares his experience working at Microsoft for over 18 months since the acquisition and how they have incorporated their products into the Power Platform. 
• Talks about Jon’s focus on creating exciting content for enterprises to quickly adopt and implement the Power Platform, as opposed to the traditional DIY approach. 
• Jon shares his background as an industrial engineering major and his journey from General Motors to Accenture, where he worked on implementing SAP and building custom software. 
• Explains the challenges faced by organizations when implementing ERP systems, where operational efficiency increases on the back end but creates complexities and inefficiencies for front-end users. 
• Jon reflects on his journey from founding Clear Software to joining Microsoft. He discusses his dissatisfaction with ERP systems and the need to improve the user experience for front-end users. 
• Shares Jon's journey of building productivity tools and transitioning to web applications using technologies like Silverlight, Adobe Flex, and HTML5. 
• Jon talks about the acquisition of Clear Software by Microsoft and the process of integrating its capabilities into the Power Platform. He highlights the technical integration and the migration of pre-built app templates as power apps. 
• The Concept of Clean Core in SAP Systems Migration - The concept is driven by SAP itself and involves extracting different workloads through APIs and the relevance of the Microsoft perspective and the SAP Power Platform Azure story. 
• Emphasizes the importance of avoiding writing business logic in custom code within ERP systems and the challenges faced by organizations with extensive custom ABAP code in the SAP world. 
• Jon explains how the Power Platform, including connectors and pre-built templates, streamlines and automates business processes, reducing the time and effort required for tasks such as vendor setup and purchase order entry. 
• The discussion revolves around allowing organization members to update applications in different systems and the need for a balance between security and flexibility is emphasized. 

Microsoft 365 Copilot Adoption is a Microsoft Press book for leaders and consultants. It shows how to identify high-value use cases, set guardrails, enable champions, and measure impact, so Copilot sticks. Practical frameworks, checklists, and metrics you can use this month. Get the book: https://bit.ly/CopilotAdoption

Support the show

If you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.

Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith