The new Office boy.

Nominate your Solution for a 2009 Microsoft Global Award!
The Awards program is designed to recognize your innovative solutions built on Microsoft technologies. Successful partners in the Awards program will benefit from:

• Recognition- be recognised in front of your peers and customers, along with photo opportunities with Microsoft Executives – woohoo – seriously though, this is great for PR and for your desk at work
• Customised Promotions- receive personalised logos, web banners, and custom PR identifying you as an elite Microsoft Partner.
• Exclusive Access- take advantage of an opportunity to meet with Microsoft executives at an award winner’s luncheon.

How do I do submit something?
Take this unique opportunity to showcase your innovative solutions. You can enter for an award using a web-based tool, between February 17th and April 2nd, 2009. The entry tool and detailed information about the 2009 Awards program can be found here. Winners and finalists will be announced on June 15th, and Partner of the Year awards will be presented to winning partners at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

Save the Date: July 13–16, 2009, Worldwide Partner Conference
Microsoft is pleased to announce that the Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 will take place in New Orleans, on July 13–16, 2009. Registration Opens in March (details will be coming soon). 

Find full details of the Worldwide Partner Conference here.

I’m sure Sarah Arnold will be publishing some more info soon and there’s always our local Australia Partner Conference to look forward too.

Where has 2009 gone so far?  I can still remember Christmas lunch looking at the Easter Eggs on the supermarket shelves. Bad news for the waist line as I still haven’t lost the extra weight from having the baby… unlike my wife.

Just before Christmas, I accepted a new job in the Partner Technology Specialist (PTS) team and started mid-January.  I’m focusing on our Information Worker technology, such as SharePoint and Unified Communications. Another new chap to Microsoft, Jason Clarke is responsible for our Core Infrastructure products & solutions.  Together we cover the “North” with our main remit being to help mid-market customers understand our respective technology set as well as helping making Partners more successful.

I really enjoyed my time as an ISV Marketing Manager and in many ways will be really sorry to leave it.  This new role though will allow me to closely with customer and partners though which I’m really excited about.

Top 10 things I’ll miss:

1. Working with our agencies – together we created a new brand for ISV communications, to help make it stand out from the crowd.  We still had to use Partner Program orange though in some of our work. Small steps…
2. Partner-TV – our partner video blog which I’m still going to be dabbling with…
3. ISV Royalty Licensing – we signed up many new partners to the program this year allowing ISVs to integrate our technology into theirs and really saw some success. 
4. Communities, including the .NET Clusters.  Huge thanks to Ellen, Alastair, Eddie, Faith, Ian and Martin for their support :)
5. Innovation Day Tour across Australia – I did two of these and saw most of the country’s capital cities.  Huge thanks to the DPE boys for the comedy… you know who you are. The team used Mesh to pull our presentations together and for backups… Mr Kordahi though used the power of Mesh against me. I didn’t appreciate that with Mesh you give other people the power to make changes and during the last presentation, an ‘extra’ slide was added to my deck.  As I turned to look at Michael & Andrew, I was faced with a camera. A great end to a successful road show.
6. Australia Partner Conference as the ISV track owner… although I’ll still be involved this year from a PTS angle.
7. Web Agencies and Partners – Silverlight is still on my radar though as it integrates with MOSS :)
8. Software + Services – I still get the play with our online services which is great for demonstrations.
9. BizSpark for startups – working with David Sajfar providing tools + software to start up companies.
10. Working with the various virtual teams, including the other Partner Marketeers, DPE, Hosting guys; Partner Account Managers, the Regional teams, Corporate and many, many others.

Prep for the new role:

It’s been fun developing my knowledge which a month ago was about the 100 level for most of our stuff.  I’m going deeper and should be around 250 by the end of the month… our partners are truly the experts though as they make all this stuff work.

1. I attended the electronic version of our technical training event in Seattle
2. The day before I officially started, I delivered a 3 hour presentation on what is SharePoint to the Large Account Resellers… poor guys
3. I have been involved in a number of partner and customer workshops articulating the value of our business productivity stack
4. I’ve been playing with the “Demo show case” which I remember my old colleague, Chris Parkes, was a huge fan of.  Pretty cool resource of virtual PCs for partners, rather having to create your own
5. UC learning paths to learn more about the latest release of our unified communications offering
6. What’s coming in the future: Office 14
7. I’ve learnt so much about customer’s really opinion is of us, which is really refreshing and eye opening

It’s been great fun so far learning about this new side of the business and I look forward to working with you with my new hat on.

Finally, a huge thanks to Julia; Nick; Sarah; Sarah; Sarah; Mike and Kim (save the best to last) for their advice; support; humour and leadership.

What do the experts have to say about the economy? Microsoft Financing has invited industry experts, Robert Gottliebsen, Jean Marc Annonier and Tracey Fellows to speak at this 1.5 hour session delivering valuable insight into current economic environment and what this means for you and the IT Industry.

• When? Tuesday 25 November, 8-9.45am
• Where? Hilton Hotel, 488 George Street, Sydney

Click here to find out more and register today.

Nick also blogged about the below Executive Brief from the IDC summarising the Economic Climate. From a software perspective, projects increasing security and productivity (especially those using virtual environments) are likely to proceed. Click here to download it.

Andy, Dave, Michael, Phil (who needs to start blogging as he has so much knowledge to share) and I are on the road next week for our ISV Innovation Day tour of 6 cities across Australia.  I have some free time during the day to meet some new or current Microsoft ISVs wanting to know how to Partner with us, how to get the best out of our Partner Program, or just need help navigating the Microsoft maze.  We're busy working with companies developing Software + Services and Web solutions and Startups with BizSpark.

Ping me a mail if you want to catch up over a coffee.

Video: Steve Ballmer announcing BizSpark at the Developer Liberation Day, Thursday 6 November, Sydney, Australia (click here for the official video)

Steve Ballmer announced Microsoft BizSpark during his visit to Australia, following the success of DreamSpark, which allows students to download our developer and design tools at no charge. 

What is a startup to Microsoft? Do I qualify?

There are four pre-requisites for a startup to join BizSpark. These are:

1. be building a software based product,
2. have been in existence for less than 3 years,
3. make less than USD 1 million and,
4. be privately held.

BizSpark is ideal for companies building Web applications, or delivering Web based services. A startup can be a part of the program for three years (and will have to renew their membership annually), unless they are disqualified because they have gone public (or have been acquired by a company that does not qualify for BizSpark) or if their revenue is greater than USD$1 million.

What kind of software is BizSpark offering?

• We are offering development tools as well as production licenses of our server products.
• For development, testing and demonstration, startups can download the software included in the Visual Studio Team System Team Suite (VSTS) with MSDN Premium, plus VSTS Team Foundation Server (Standard Edition).
• For production use (that is, to deploy and host an application over the internet), startups can download and use Windows Server, SQL Server, BizTalk Server, and Office SharePoint Server for Internet Sites hosting, as well as Systems Center for managing hosting server operations
  (please refer to the BizSpark Startup Program Guide for full details)

"No up-front cost" - do I pay when I leave the program?

Yes, there is a $100 fee when a startup exits the program.

What happens after three years of participation in BizSpark?

After three years in BizSpark, a startup will exit the program. A startup can continue to use the development tools although if updates are required to the development tools however, the MSDN subscription at usual rates and terms. apply.  Or you can join the Microsoft Partner Program and receive complimentary tools as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV).

To continue using the production licenses, a startup may choose to take advantage of a licensing program like Microsoft’s Services Provider License Agreement program (or other Microsoft licensing programs that may be available at the time) but is in no way obligated to do so.

How do I join BizSpark?

Via a BizSpark Network Partner.  This ecosystem will comprise of academic institutions, entrepreneurial organisations, business accelerators and investors who will help startups enrol. Find a Network Partner near you.

How does this help me, a startup?

• Software - via the program
• Support - via MSDN (two support incidents per startup) and the resources that the Network Partner has to offer for startups
• Visibility - via BizSparkDB. Startups can profile themselves on BizSparkDB.

Is Azure going to be a part of the BizSpark offering?

Windows Azure, announced at PDC last week, is a natural platform choice for early stage companies.

While Azure is appealing to everyone from large enterprises to hobbyists, it is going to be particularly interesting to startups and Web 2.0 companies as well who want to take advantage of a rich, highly versatile web-based platform to build scalable applications for the web.

BizSpark program startups will receive preferential access to the Azure Community Technology Preview. To sign up for the CTP, BizSpark participants should enrol on the Azure site and profile with the same Windows Live ID they used to enrol in BizSpark. During the CTP, access will be assessed and assigned on a company-by-company basis and will be confirmed as capacity becomes available.

Where does Empower or Action Pack for Web Developers fit?

Click here to download this image as a pdf. Some information is specific to Australia only.

Where can I get more information?

http://www.microsoft.com/BizSpark

or http://microsoftstartupzone.com/ and the blogs from that page, like Anand Iyer's.

Back in February, ShaneMo and Kordesy  attended "Artists in Residence" in Redmond and they were so impressed, they’re bringing it Australia!

What is it?

The idea of Artists in Residence is to quickly get designers and developers productive with Microsoft Silverlight. Basically it works like this:

Artists in Residence runs for 5 days. You send along 2 people – a desinger and a developer. The developer needs basic .NET programming skills, the designer doesn’t need any particular MS skills, but needs to be ready to get the hang of Expression.

The first day and a half is training aimed at both designers and developers, getting them productive doing basic tasks in Silverlight using Expression Studio and Visual Studio. For the remainder of the week, the pairs work on a small project of their choosing, with the help of ‘mentors’ who are there to answer questions and generally help out. We encourage the teams to choose something manageable, but relevant to their work. At the end of the week they present their Silverlight projects back to the group, and then take their projects back to their workplaces.

We found Artists in Residence to be a really valuable and fun way to build practical Silverlight skills, with particular emphasis on the ‘designer/developer’ workflow part. Being able to work on our own project made the training much more enjoyable. The format also allows for teams with different levels of experience to set their own pace. There is growing demand for Silverlight training, particularly for designers, and we think this is a really effective approach.

What does it cost? No charge.

Where? Microsoft Melbourne offices in Southbank.

What else? Five days from 1-5 of December. Participants will need their own Windows laptops.

Interested?

If you want to send 2 people along get in touch. Places are very limited, so first-in, first-served. Don't forget you need to send a developer and designer pair, and they need to be able to be on-site for 5 days, 1-5 December.

The TRM blog can be found here http://blogs.technet.com/trm/

Downloads

SQL Server Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Technologies

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Technologies is a Web download that provides features for running a report server within a larger deployment of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=1&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d1e53f882-0c16-4847-b331-132274ae8c84%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2008 Privacy Statement

Read the Privacy Statement document for Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=2&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3de7f89bf5-d80c-46b5-a12f-fade6d41330d%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, October 2008

Download the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, a collection of stand-alone install packages that provide additional value for SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=3&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d228de03f-3b5a-428a-923f-58a033d316e1%26displaylang%3den

Web Platform Installer Beta

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer (beta) is a free tool that makes it simple to download and install the latest components of the Microsoft Web Platform, including the IIS7, SQL Server Express, .NET Framework and Visual Web Developer.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=4&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d3a41fac1-ed06-4944-a24d-76c8da31cf7d%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2008 Report Builder 2.0

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Report Builder 2.0 provides an intuitive report authoring environment for business and power users. It supports the full capabilities of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services. The download provides a stand-alone installer for Report Builder 2.0

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=5&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d9f783224-9871-4eea-b1d5-f3140a253db6%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2005 Driver for PHP Cumulative Update - October 2008

Download the SQL Server 2005 Driver for PHP Cumulative Update - October 2008. This update contains bug fixes reported by the community.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=6&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d61bf87e0-d031-466b-b09a-6597c21a2e2a%26displaylang%3den

Direct Marketing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Case Study

One of this agency’s clients has 14 subsidiary organizations whose independently developed collateral needed greater brand creative man¬agement and consistency. Using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 and technologies from Adobe and Equilibrium, the agency developed a template-based collateral development and brand management solution.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=7&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d34f2e52d-6cde-40ad-b253-fee924662df7%26displaylang%3den

System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1 Documentation

This download contains documentation for System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=8&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dd826b836-59e5-4628-939e-2b852ed79859%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2005 Privacy Statement

Read the Privacy Statement document for Microsoft SQL Server 2005.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=9&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d0623907e-6939-4251-a6e7-90142590ed43%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft SQL Server Protocol Documentation

The Microsoft SQL Server protocol documentation provides technical specifications for Microsoft proprietary protocols that are implemented and used in Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=10&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d91ef5106-944a-41e1-b3a0-5bd3f2356f32%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR September CTP

Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR implements support for SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=11&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dbb3ad767-5f69-4db9-b1c9-8f55759846ed%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft Connectors for Oracle and Teradata

Download the SSIS Connectors for Oracle and Teradata that provide additional value for SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=12&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dd9cb21fe-32e9-4d34-a381-6f9231d84f1e%26displaylang%3den

Western Extrusions CS

According to Mojica, the aging Windows Server 2003 platform had worn thin. The new operating system would need to work smoothly with Western’s SQL Server® 2000 and Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0 solutions.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=13&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dc4abd726-71cd-4f9b-b10a-f2189c79cd46%26displaylang%3den

SLM Datasheet

This is Microsoft Services SQL: Service Level Management (SLM) datasheet.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=14&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3de37c709d-48c3-4ba0-afa2-aab2b93cda2b%26displaylang%3den

DCM for SQL Datasheet

This is Microsoft Services for SQL: Desired Configuration Monitoring (DCM) datasheet.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=15&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dfcda8b1c-6634-47a5-8601-e21773fe2a7b%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2005: for Administrators Datasheet

This four-day WorkshopPLUS course is available exclusively for Microsoft Premier Support customers and contains Level 300+ content.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=16&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d1cfb760c-a3fa-4e50-9fc3-0e7c9819d51f%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Books Online (August 2008)

Download the documentation and tutorials for Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=17&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d765433f7-0983-4d7a-b628-0a98145bcb97%26displaylang%3den

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack, August 2008

Download the 2008 Feature Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, a collection of stand-alone install packages that provide additional value for SQL Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=18&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3dc6c3e9ef-ba29-4a43-8d69-a2bed18fe73c%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and MSDE 2000 (KB948111)

Security Update for SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and MSDE 2000 (KB948111)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=19&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d8316bc5e-8c2d-4710-8acc-b815ccc81cd4%26displaylang%3den

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and MSDE 2000 (KB948110)

Security Update for SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 and MSDE 2000 (KB948110)

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=22&p=20&srcdisplaylang=en&srccategoryid=&srcfamilyid=&u=%2fdownloads%2fdetails.aspx%3ffamilyid%3d4fd1f86a-94a2-43d8-9b0a-774c81426d9e%26displaylang%3den

Documents

Running SQL Server 2008 in a Hyper-V Environment - Best Practices and Performance Recommendations

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/9/4/d948f981-926e-40fa-a026-5bfcf076d9b9/SQL2008inHyperV2008.docx

SQL Server Replication: Providing High Availability using Database Mirroring

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/9/4/d948f981-926e-40fa-a026-5bfcf076d9b9/ReplicationAndDBM.docx

Running SQL Server 2008 on Windows Server 2008

The combination of SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 offers enterprise IT administrators and professional developers a superlative platform for mission-critical applications together with enhanced end-to-end security, management, and development capabilities.

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/wp-run-sql-2008-on-windows-server-2008.aspx

SQL Server 2008 Licensing Overview

This document explains key licensing considerations for SQL Server 2008 customers.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/e/6/1e68f92c-f334-4517-b610-e4dee946ef91/2008%20SQL%20Licensing%20Overview%20final.docx

Best Practices for Integration Services Configurations

This article explains what SQL Server Integration Services configurations are used for, why you should use Integration Services configurations, and what options you have for leveraging configurations. It will also make some simple recommendations that are based on my experiences of building Integration Services packages in a real-world environment. An understanding of the terms “package”, “Business Intelligence Development Studio”, and “dtexec.exe” in the context of Integration Services is assumed.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc671628.aspx

FILESTREAM Storage in SQL Server 2008

In today’s society, data is generated at incredible rates and often needs to be stored and accessed in a controlled and efficient way. There are various technologies to do this and the choice of technology often depends on the nature of the data being stored – structured, semistructured, or unstructured

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc949109.aspx

Events/Webcasts

Creating an Analysis Services Project (SQL Server Video)

This video demonstrates how to create an Analysis Services project, define a data source, and define a data source view. You will also learn how to change the value of the FriendlyName property for objects in the data source view to increase the user-friendliness of their names.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc952925.aspx

Defining and Deploying a Cube (SQL Server Video)

This video demonstrates how to define and deploy an OLAP cube using Analysis Services.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc952924.aspx

Modifying Measures, Attributes and Hierarchies (SQL Server Video)

This video demonstrates how to modify the measures, attributes and hierarchies in a cube.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc952926.aspx

Creating a Basic Package (SQL Server Video)

This video demonstrates how to create a basic package by using the SSIS Designer in Business Intelligence Development Studio.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc952921.aspx

Exporting SQL Server Data to Excel (SQL Server Video)

This video demonstrates how to use the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard to create a package that exports data from a SQL Server database to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc952922.aspx

The winners for DevSta 2008 have been decided! Congratulations to Michael Minutillo and Jarred Sargent!  
You can view their entry and find out more about the top 5 winning entries on the DevSta website now!

Our CEO, Steve Ballmer, is in town on 6 November.  If you would like to join us, please email me for details on how to register.

Mic showed me these great videos from Keith Loutit.  I thought it was some uber detailed model but it’s a time lapsed video without CGI which is just amazing.  It reminds me of micro machines…

Do you have any developers who need the latest information on creating mobile applications?

Attended this conference to receive:

1. Virtual machine software for use in the conference labs
2. Access to all presentations and codes for 30 days after the event
3. Conference gifts - including registration gift, a gift for completing our survey and will be eligible for donated gifts from our sponsor partners.

When? 11-12 November 2008

Where? Stamford Plaza, 111 Little Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

What? Lots of mobile developer content including

• Top 20 Developer Questions
• Developing Camera Applications
• Thinking Green: Programming for Long-life Power
• Building a Smart Mobile Web Application
• Fixed and Mobile Printer Application Development Tools
• RFID: Optimizing for Performance, the Basics and Beyond

Registration free is $699 (early bird discount is $499 before 30 October).

Register here >>

This must be event season, with the rush to get in before Christmas. Readify have published their latest RDN road show all about .NET; TFS; Silverlight etc.  David Burela is also being interviewed for the keynote, who is the Imagine Cup 2008 Winner.

What? RDN Dev Days typically have three of Readify’s best developer consultants presenting on various topics and you will have a choice varying tracks to choose from.

•   8:30am: Event Registration
•   9.00am: Welcome and Key Note
• 10.00am: Morning Tea
• 10:15am: Breakout Sessions
• 5.15pm: Close

Full agenda here.

Where and When?

• SYDNEY: Thursday 30 October 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 190 George Street, Sydney
• MELBOURNE: Friday 31 October 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 440 Collins Street, Melbourne
• BRISBANE: Friday 7 November 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 288 Edward Street, Brisbane
• PERTH: Tuesday 11 November 2008, 8:30am – 5:30pm | Cliftons, 191 St George’s Terrace, Perth

Investment: $315 + GST

Click here to register; here for more information and here for the full agenda.

Spotted this on Angus Logan’s blog about deep technical training on our Live services.  Get in quick as I reckon this will fill up fast.  Although level 300 and beyond tends to be too deep for me, the agenda looks good.  Look forward to seeing some of the results from the session.  If you have something cool to show, tell us.

Where: Four Points by Sheraton Darling Harbour, 161 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000

When: Dec 8-9 2008, 8:30AM-6:30PM

What? Live Services Jumpstart provides in-depth technical training sessions (level 300-400) on Microsoft’s cutting edge consumer web platform technologies that help developers / partner organizations build rich web applications, sync and share them across devices and more importantly, build audience for the web applications.

Why attend? You should attend Jumpstart to learn all there is to know about the consumer components of Microsoft’s ‘Software + Services’ platform.

Visit http://www.lpjumpstart.com/ for more info

The dates for our ISV road show have now been published and we’re coming to a city near you.

• What? “Get your feet on the ground, head in the clouds”
• The day will concentrate on important announcements released at October’s Professional Developer's Conference, and will focus on our Software plus Services paradigm. This is Microsoft's vision for the next generation of computing that brings together the best of cloud-based services and traditional client computing software to deliver a richer experience to your customers.
• When? 8.30am breakfast until 4pm
• Canberra: 18 Nov
• Sydney: 19 Nov
• Brisbane: 21 Nov
• Melbourne: 24 Nov
• Perth: 27 Nov
• Adelaide: 28 Nov
• Who? Business/Technical Decision Makers in the morning… to become a little more detailed in the afternoon.
• Click here to Register

We are about to announce our next ISV Innovation Day road show across Australia scheduled for the end of November 2008.  The main theme this year is Software plus Services, which I’m sure won’t surprise many of you.  We’ll be using content from the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) which is in LA at the end of October and whilst we’re waiting for the slide decks Craig Bailey from Elcom has been window shopping at the agenda tags:

“…Six sessions on Oslo (ie BizTalk) and seven on Parallelism should tell you something about the focus Microsoft is giving them. But 27 on Cloud services is the real give away. The buzz around Cloud, Identity, SQL Data Services and the Live/Mesh platforms is very high.”

Our Delicate Genius and Dave Glover are both attending PDC and will hopefully redeliver all the juicy content from the conference. 

I’m really interested in what you want though, so in what is slowly becoming a tradition, please use this poll or leave a comment to help us create the agenda.

If you can’t make it to PDC, then try and attend another one of the Microsoft technical conferences in the diary as it’s going to be the year of big announcements.  Just as the PDC is focused on the future of the Platform and technical strategy, there’s the world wide annual Tech-Ed Developers Conference (3-6 June in Orlando) which offers in-depth technical training on our current products.  Then there’s the annual MIX Conference (18-20 March 2009 in Las Vegas) which is aimed at developers, designers and business decision makers who build next generation consumer web sites.

Credit to Steve for the graphic and for the great definition of what Software plus Services is…