Cigdem Aygun - Developer and Platform Advisor - Microsoft Canada

It's been quite a while since I have posted here. There have been lots of things going around. Upcoming Innovation Briefing Webcast is one of them. We have scheduled a one-hour web cast on October 3^rd for all those ISV’s that are unable to attend the live Innovation Briefings.

Please join Microsoft for a productive 1-hour Innovation Briefing session on Microsoft’s next generation application platform technologies. As the launch of several exciting new product versions approaches, don’t miss out on how you can get a head start on leveraging these products to enhance your software solutions.

This Innovation Briefing session will provide a developer focused overview and descriptions of new features for:

· Microsoft Visual Studio® 2008 development system (codenamed Orcas) including the .Net Framework 3.5

· Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 operating system (codenamed Longhorn) including Internet Information Services 7 (IIS)

· Microsoft Windows SQL Server™ 2008 (codenamed Katmai)

Click Here to Register

Would you like to be one of three winners in the ultimate competition to find the latest, greatest Canadian Windows Vista gadget?

cigdemc — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:35:00 GMT

As many of you have already discovered, Windows Sidebar gadgets are mini applications that give you information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools.

Would you like to be one of three winners in the ultimate competition to find the latest, greatest Canadian Windows Vista gadget?

Prove your mettle and steely resolve by building the next coolest gadget. Show your fellow developers what you’ve got. Score serious bragging rights—not to mention wicked prizes (a widescreen LCD HD TV, Xbox 360 Pro and a Dell LCD Monitor). And set the standard for future gadgets to come. Competition closes August 15, 2007 5:00 pm EST.

For Details:

http://www.microsoft.com/canada/msdn/gadgetvsgadget/default.aspx

ISV Architect Forum

cigdemc — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:16:00 GMT

I would like to invite ISV Solution Architects to the ISV Architect Forum which will be held on May 30^th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 pm at the Microsoft office located at 1950 Meadowvale Boulevard, Mississauga, ON.

This unique forum is designed to provide an opportunity to the top solution architects to meet, network and discuss industry-wide issues in order to share ideas and experiences, hear details of Microsoft's architectural positioning and promote the development of a wider more engaged Canadian ISV Architect community. The event offers in-depth sessions covering real world topics relevant to solutions architects.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

We have assembled a very distinguished set of speakers from the industry and Microsoft including Javed Sikander, Director of Microsoft’s Industry Architecture team in Redmond. We will discuss a variety of topics at the forum including Office Business Applications, SOA, Web 2.0 and others. We also plan to distribute books and journals relevant to Architects.

There is no cost for attending the forum but seating is limited, please register at your earliest convenience to reserve your spot.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at cigdemc@microsoft.com if you have any question about the event, I look forward to meeting you at the forum.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Best regards,

Cigdem Aygun

MSDN Code Awards

cigdemc — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:11:00 GMT

Voting phase has now started, visit the website to review the top five individual and team submissions.

Encourage your user groups to review the website and cast their vote to help chose who the best individual and team developers are in Canada.

Find full details on the website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/canada/codeawards/default.aspx

SaaS - ISV Innovation Briefing

cigdemc — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:48:00 GMT

Join us for an inspiring and productive day event which will provide you with an overview of Microsoft’s thought leadership around SaaS as well as the details around creating a multi-tenant architecture for SaaS business applications.

This Innovation Briefing Session Will Cover:

· An Overview of SaaS

· The Business Value of SaaS

· Architecture Principles for SaaS

· Data Integrity in SaaS solutions

· Scalability in SaaS solutions

· SaaS Infrastructure Considerations

This is event is designed for ISV’s and Web Developers and is suitable for Technical Decision Makers.

Coming to a city near you...

Mississauga Wednesday, February 28, 2007

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern Time

Vancouver Tuesday, March 06, 2007

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Calgary Thursday, March 08, 2007

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Mountain Time

Montreal Tuesday, March 13, 2007

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern Time

SQL 2005 SP2 Released

cigdemc — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:35:00 GMT

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) enables SQL Server 2005 customers to take advantage of the enhancements within Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system. Specific enhancements include, but are not limited to:

•	Enhanced BI Capabilities
•	Interoperability Enhancements
•	Performance and Manageability Enhancements

Review what's new in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 for information on new or improved features in Analysis Services, Database Engine, Integration Services, Reporting Services, and Shared Tools.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) - Webcast

cigdemc — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:27:00 GMT

Attend this partner exclusive webcast designed to help you prepare both you and your customers for the US Government-mandated change to Daylight Saving Time (DST). This webcast will provide an overview of the Microsoft products affected, updates to apply prior to the DST change, and resources available to assist with your questions.

Duration: 90 minutes
Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Time: 12:00 PST (3:00 EST)

Please Register today!

Windows Server “Longhorn” Innovation Briefing Webcast

cigdemc — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:00:00 GMT

We are hosting a Windows Server “Longhorn” Innovation Briefing Webcast. I encourage you to attend this webcast in case you will not be able to attend the Innovation Briefing in Mississauga.

This hour and a half session will be held on January 30th at 1:30 Eastern Time. Registration link: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032324049&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

patterns & practices - Web Client Software Factory

cigdemc — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:44:00 GMT

Web Client Software Factory has been released! You can get the bits from http://msdn.microsoft.com/webclientfactory .

With the Web Client Software Factory – January 2007 release, architects and developers can quickly incorporate many of the proven practices and patterns found while building enterprise, custom developed line of business web applications using ASP.NET 2.0.

These applications have one or more of the following characteristics:

· They have complex page flows and workflows

· They are developed by multiple collaborating development teams

· They are composite applications which present information from multiple sources through an integrated user interface.

· They can benefit from simpler deployment techniques (XCopy deployment)

· They are composed of loosely coupled modules that can be independently deployed

· They support online business transaction processing web sites

The factory contains a collection of reusable components and libraries, Visual Studio 2005 solution templates, wizards and extensions, How-to topics, automated tests, extensive architecture documentation, patterns, and a reference implementation. The factory makes use of the ASP.NET platform, Workflow Foundation, and Enterprise Library January 2006.

Windows Server "Longhorn" Innovation Briefings

cigdemc — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:17:00 GMT

Windows Server “Longhorn” Innovation Briefings will be held in Montreal, January 16th and in Mississauga, January 23rd.

Please join us for an inspiring and productive half day of technology previews, resources, and business benefits that will help keep them competitive and energized to maximize their technology.

The sessions will cover:

Roadmap to Windows Server code name ‘Longhorn’
Developing with Windows Workflow Foundation
Developing with Windows Communication Foundation
Developing with Windows CardSpace™
Internet Information Services 7.0

Jan 16^th : Windows Server “Longhorn” Innovation Briefing in Montreal: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322910&Culture=en-CA

Jan 23^rd : Windows Server “Longhorn” Innovation Briefing in Toronto : http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032322912&Culture=en-CA

A Brief Introduction

cigdemc — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 19:45:00 GMT

My name is Cigdem Aygun, and I'm a Developer and Platform Advisor at Microsoft Canada in the Developer & Platform Evangelism group. I help ISVs review their existing architecture and provide guidance on emerging technologies to help them strategically align with Microsoft and plan for the future. I hope that sharing my experiences in design and implementation of large-scale Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Business Process Automation (BPA) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions will be helpful to ISVs facing the same challenges.

On a technical level, my areas of interest include emerging application platform technologies, workflow technologies, EAI, BPA, ECM and Services Oriented Architecture (SOA).

Before joining Microsoft, I have worked as a developer and an architect specializing in alternative delivery channel projects for banking industry and I was a researcher at METU SRDC where I had the opportunity to gain an in-depth expertise on design and implementation of intelligent software agents for open marketplaces on heterogeneous platforms.

Thanks for reading, and hope you'll find this blog helpful.