Re-awarded as Microsoft Azure MVP

This past Thursday I received the notice that I was re-awarded as Microsoft MVP. This will be my year #6 has a Microsoft Azure MVP. I still remember the exact place I was when 6 years ago on an April 1st I got my first email saying I got awarded! I was working at a customer site in Cyprus. I just had finished to the day and had packed my laptop in the backpack. Then I got an email notification on my phone and then the phone died on me. No more battery… I was like, I must be dreaming, I turn the computer on and stay blocked looking at the computer screen for more than 10 minutes! I was speechless! This is still the feeling I get every single time I got re-awarded. Still surprised and still with imposter syndrome.

I would say it because it’s what, I fell: It’s and huge honor to be among such great minds of the industry!

To all my fellow MVP – You All ROCK! You are amazing and do loads for the #Community! I will not tag or mention anyone, I will for sure forget someone important for me and then I will be feeling bad! You all know who you are!

It has been a crazy year and I hope everything will start becoming normal very soon and that we can start do some in-person events! I’m ready for that!!! I reviewed what I wrote 1 year ago, about some plans for this past year. I felt pretty good… From 8 objectives I got 7 done and one more kid in between. Sounds pretty good for me. I didn’t publish “loads of videos” on my YouTube channel. This is the year!

A special thanks to Cristina Gonzalez Herrero and Irene Pires. They do an amazing work managing the program at my region. Sometimes it’s not easy to manage these strong opinion MVPs, but they do it amazingly well!

I would just like to end with a big thanks to the community and all the other MVP and non-MVP that do the Microsoft Communities a great place to be, learn and network!

Speaking at Global Azure 2021

 

Global Azure is here, and we have an overload of amazing sessions!!!

Has previous years and toghether with 3 other Azure MVPs (Pedro Sousa, Virgilio Esteves and Sandro Pereira) I’m organizing the local Global Azure 2021 – Portugal.

This year I also decide to take advantage the virtual approach of most events and deliver sessions at 6 different events. Here is a small list:

  • 9:00AM to 9:15AM – Welcome at Global Azure Portugal
  • 9:15AM to 10:00 AM: I find your lack of Azure Governance disturbing! – Global Azure Portugal
  • 10:30AM – 11:00AM – India
  • 11:00 – 11:45 – I find your lack of Azure Governance disturbing! – Global Azure Greece (SLOT 2)
  • 11:45 to 12:00 – Supercharge you App Service to a Global Scale – Global Azure Nigeria (infra Track)
  • 11:45 to 12:45 – I find your lack of Azure Governance disturbing! – Global Azure Bulgaria (TRACK 3)

It’s going to be a crazy morning and then I will be monitoring the afternoon sessions at Global Azure Portugal. Will you join me at some of the events?

 

Getting back at publishing or not!

It’s been a while since I have published on this blog. That happened for a series of reasons.

First of all, most of my articles got copied and pasted in other blogs where the owners of those blogs had the great idea of putting their names has the authors… Honestly got super bummed about it when someone in the community sent me the links… The other reason is a happy reason, we have a new family member, and I took some time to focus on the family. After reflecting if I would stop this project or keep it alive, I decided to re-start publishing articles here and even start to publish videos on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/tiagocostamct. If those “authors” want to copy-paste my articles be my guest, I write mainly for the pleasure of sharing my knowledge about Microsoft Azure with other members of the community. You can start and copy this one

Watch out this space and my YouTube channel, new content is getting ready!!! Microsoft Azure / Certifications / Tech gear / Training tips will be the topics.

Hope to see you on this space,
Tiago Costa

Get a FREE exam during Microsoft Ignite 2020

Microsoft Ignite 2020 week it’s just around the corner! Are you excited to join? I’d like to share a great news about this year Microsoft Ignite: Microsoft Ignite Cloud Skills Challenge 2020: Free Certification Exam. You can read full details on the following Docs content: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/microsoft-ignite-cloud-skills-challenge-2020-free-certification-exam?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5001832

The article says “All participants of Microsoft Ignite who complete at least one collection in the Microsoft Ignite Cloud Skills Challenge are eligible for a free certification exam,…”

If you’re looking to get certified, this is an awesome opportunity to get your cert for free! Check out my Study guides and get ready!

List of eligible exams: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/certifications/microsoft-ignite-cloud-skills-challenge-2020-free-certification-exam?WT.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5001832#eligible-exams

Also don’t forget to register for one of my four sessions. Looking forward to have you in the audience. You can check then out here.

MVP Award 2020-2021

Just got the message!

I got renewed as a Microsoft Azure MVP. That’s 5 years in a row! It’s indescribable the felling and honor to be among the elite of Microsoft Azure Professionals. My imposter syndrome comes to life when I get these emails. Still can’t believe that Microsoft recognizes me toghether with so many great professional out there.

I would like to thank for all the support that I got from several community members and specialy from my family that puts up with my absences when I choose to speak at events across the world, all the late conference calls with other events organizers, etc… Without this support all this wasn’t possible. My wife Sofia and my daughter are amazing and I’m very lucky to share my life with then!

A lot of people ask me what the Microsoft MVP program is, so here it goes: Microsoft MVP it’s a recognition from Microsoft for all the non-paid activity I do for the community. I share my knowledge on Microsoft Azure in conferences, online forums, videos, blog posts, … I also help organizing events for the Azure User Group Portugal – https://www.meetup.com/Azure-User-Group-Portugal/ and the local conference Global Azure – https://www.globalazure.pt/ – and SPS Lisbon, now Collabdays Lisbon – https://www.collabdays.org/2020-lisbon/. You can find more information about the MVP program at https://mvp.microsoft.com/ and a list of all the MVPs at https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/MvpSearch.

 

Plans for next year?

Oh yes!!! I have great plans lineup for this MVP year: Continuing to speak in amazing events across the world. In the next few months online-only, but Covid-19 will not stop me from sharing my knowledge and helping the cloud community, so in a nutshell:

  • Keep speaking at conferences and user groups.
  • Growing the Azure User Group Portugal – https://www.meetup.com/Azure-User-Group-Portugal/
  • Keep teaching Azure to IT professionals, Developers and Architects
  • Helping amazing customer in moving to the cloud by building and designing state of the art solutions
  • Writing and producing amazing content, both in this site and on other platforms like YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, …
  • Publishing tons of videos on my YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/tiagocostamct
  • and some more to TBA activities. Keep your eyes on this space.

A final thank you, to all the professionals that I have shared my space with. It’s been an honor and I hope to share more amazing conversations with all of you! Come and join me on my next engagements.