Welcome to the latest episode of Polaris! I'm excited to introduce our guests, Jeff Teper, President of Collaborative Apps and Platforms at Microsoft, and Karuana Gatimu, Director of M365 Customer Advocacy at Microsoft. Jeff and Karuana (and guests) are delivering the keynote for this year’s Microsoft 365 Community Conference, May 6-8, 2025 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As we gear up for the conference, it was great to sit down with Jeff and Karuana to review the transformative journey that has led us here. We delved into what they'll be bringing to this year's keynote and provided a sneak peek into what you can expect.
Jeff Teper and Karuana Gatimu
The M365 Community Conference highlights the latest innovations from Microsoft and offers over 200 sessions, workshops, lightning talks, roundtables, panels, and keynotes. Topics covered include Copilot, agents, Teams, Viva, SharePoint, OneDrive, Power Platform, and more.
Jeff shared his insights into the evolution of Microsoft 365, emphasizing the importance of community and collaboration in driving technological advancements. Karuana, with her expertise in user adoption and change management, offered a unique perspective on how individuals and organizations can leverage these innovations to transform their futures.
Key Points:
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference is an annual event that brings together thousands of Microsoft business and technology professionals.
You can register now and save $150 with the registration code SAVE150
Conference History…and your story
Jeff also reflected on the evolution of the conference, emphasizing its significance for enthusiasts of M365 and Copilot. The first SharePoint Conference was held in 2008, with Bill Gates announcing the upcoming releases of SharePoint Online and Exchange Online. This conference has a rich history, growing to become a significant event across all Microsoft 365, Power Platform and more, for business and technology professionals.
And this community is more than just tech. We want to add your story to that history. Today, Microsoft and Synozur are launching a program to capture your conference story from the M365 Conference or SPC. We’re building an oral history of the event, and we want to get your story.
Learn more about it in this week’s post on the Insights blog or the Microsoft Tech Community. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Polaris
Polaris, the Synozur podcast, charts the course for business and technology transformation.
Additionally, Synozur is proud to sponsor and deliver sessions at the conference and our booth at this year's Expo.
Polaris is available on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, YouTube or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. It’s produced with the help of our friends at Riverside.fm. Our theme song, “Alternative Dream” is provided courtesy of Adobe. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley.
Show Notes
References
Any time we speak with Jeff and Karuana, you can expect a fairly extensive reference and reading list.
News and Data
Live events are back. According to Allied Market Research, after most events disappeared in 2020 and 2021, the events industry is expected to reach $1,552.9 billion by 2028, growing at more than 11% annually.
Learning how to apply AI correctly is crucial. McKinsey is projecting generative AI can add over $4.4 trillion in corporate profits, with significant boosts to productivity form AI and automations Source: McKinsey
Microsoft 365 Community Conference 2025
Visit the official website to learn more and get $150 off registration with the code SAVE150
Microsoft’s quick guide to the M365 Conference from Mark Kashman
History of the M365 Conference and SharePoint Conference
It’s Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, so we’re also looking back at key moments in the history of this conference and its predecessor. We’re building an oral history from its origins in 2008 as the SharePoint Conference through 2025. You can share your story and we’ll compile the best for future podcasts on Polaris and from Microsoft.
Here are some highlights over the years.
Bill Gates kicked off the very first SharePoint Conference (SPC) in March 2008 by announcing availability for SharePoint Online and Exchange Online
Huey Lewis and the news were the entertainment highlights at SPC in October 2009
SPC 2011 was held at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, and people literally danced to get in.
Did we mention Gangnam Style in 2012?
It wasn’t “SPC” but Microsoft set the stage for a decade of cloud innovation at the “Future of SharePoint” event in San Francisco, May 4, 2016.
Jeff also reflected on the return of SPC in 2018, and getting s to share the B-52s with everyone.
Microsoft Resources & Updates
Microsoft Tech Community – home for discussions, resources and blogs across all Microsoft technologies.
CommunityDays.org – Odds are good there’s ’a Microsoft community event happening near you soon – and this site can tell you where and when,
SharePoint Hackathon Spring 2025 Details on GitHub, and award winners will be recognized in May 2025 at M365CC.
January 2025 SharePoint Event – the latest updates on AI, agents and page designs for your intranet.
Most recently, Microsoft released their new Researcher and Analyst agent to develop deep, rich answers to complex questions, as Jeff discussed on the show.
Culture References
Some of the games and TV shows covered include:
The Pitt on HBO Max features Noah Wyle from ER in his return to medical television. Recommended by Jeff.
Hacks is also on HBO Max, and recommended by Karuana.
Severance on Apple TV has been a brain teaser for many of us this year. What exactly is “Macro Data Refinement”? And if you want to try moving numbers around on a screen for fun, Sudoku may be as close as you get. Until you try the Lumon MDR web site.
Events
M365 Philly | April 26, 2025 (Microsoft Innovation Hub in Malvern PA)
Microsoft 365 Community Conference | May 5-8, 2025 (Vegas)
Microsoft Build | May 19-22, 2025 (Seattle Convention Center)
TechCon 365 Seattle | June 23-27, 2025 (Seattle Convention Center)
Takeaways
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference is the best place to connect with the best community in technology today.
Community engagement is crucial for personal and professional growth.
Understanding the 'why' behind technology enhances its value.
Networking at conferences can significantly impact careers.
Microsoft fosters a culture of support and opportunity.
The conference will showcase new features and innovations.
Sound Bites
“We can't wait to see everyone there."
Jeff Teper
One thing that's great about this place is we can reflect and celebrate and be nostalgic, but don't feel like you need any of that shared history. Let's go invent the future together. And this will be the best place to do that too. Not just celebrate.
It is just unbelievable to work in a team on a product that has that kind of impact on people. I mean, you're supposed to leave the planet better than you found it. And it's not just about winning some technology race. It's about helping people have a sense of fulfillment and purpose that really, at the end of the day, gets me most motivated.
Sometimes I'm up there thinking, if there's one person, just one person in the room who has no idea why they showed up to this conference, their boss made them and they're sitting like, what is this thing? If we can inspire that one person to use technology, to have an impact on others so they can have an impact on themselves, that's kind of what we're trying to do.
Karuana Gatimu
We have a community lounge…and there we have a tremendous amount of meetups, a facilitated way that you can meet other IT professionals. We'll have community reporters throughout the event, doing interviews and recaps. We'll have some fantastic interviews with the product group folks.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Background on the Microsoft 365 Community Conference
01:12 Terms and Data Points
02:31 Welcoming Jeff Teper and Karuana Gatimu
04:54 The Evolution of Microsoft Collaboration Tools
06:50 Understanding the M365 Community Conference
09:41 AI and Innovation in Microsoft Products
12:33 Connecting with the Community
15:11 Maximizing Conference Experience
17:29 The Importance of Community Engagement
19:43 Inspiring Impact Through Technology
21:00 Leadership and Community at Microsoft
21:50 Empowerment and Opportunities in Tech
22:37 Building Partnerships and Community Engagement
24:11 The Future of AI and Its Applications
28:00 Memorable Moments from SharePoint Conferences and M365
30:43 The World of Pop Culture
34:34 Upcoming Conferences and Events
36:32 Contest
37:01 Remembrance of Conferences Past
40:30 Wrap-Up and Acknowledgments