Windows Azure MVP

Exactly one year ago I’ve decided to focus on Windows Azure for two reasons:

1. I’m a Cloud Computing enthusiast;
2. Of all the Cloud Computing offerings out there I found Windows Azure to be the most promising;

So in early 2011 I started actively studying the technology, speaking at community events and working on projects involving Windows Azure from estimates to full-fledged implementations. It was a great year overall and I really enjoyed following one of my 2011 resolutions.

Today I’ve received the following email – it’s my official announcement as a Microsoft MVP on Windows Azure.

Windows Azure MVP Announcement Email

That was a really great surprise – a perfect start for 2012!

The most important thing to point out here though is that this is a community-driven recognition program, which means that in the end it’s the community who has to benefit the most of it. So to make it clear and valuable, here’s what I propose to make this work as designed:

1. If you’re interested in Windows Azure and need someone to talk to about specific issues, let’s get in touch;
2. If you’re hosting a technical event and you’re looking to fill a slot on cloud computing and/or Windows Azure, let’s get in touch;
3. If there’s anything where you think that I can help you out with on topics concerning Windows Azure (e.g. migration project, contest, article), let’s get in touch;

In a nutshell, as a Microsoft MVP I’m looking forward to get involved in the community to spread the word on Windows Azure, crack specific problems and in the end contribute to the evolution of products that can benefit from this remarkable technology.

Of course, I will do this proactively as well so stay tuned by subscribing to my blog or following me on Twitter to find out more about events that I’ll participate to, articles that I’ll write and code-samples that I’ll submit.

I want to thank everyone that made this happen, especially Petru, Mihai and Alessandro with whom I was in close contact these months.

For those of you who are not yet familiarized with Windows Azure, here’s a list of links I recommend to start with:

1. Windows Azure Overview (windowsazure.com)
2. Windows Azure Training Kit – December Refresh (microsoft.com)
3. AzureWorks User Group (azureworks.ro)

 

Speaking at Programatica 2011

I will be speaking on June 30 2011 at the Programatica 2011 event in Bucharest about Mobile & Cloud Computing from a Microsoft perspective, with focus on last year’s developments and changes that occurred on both the Romanian market and Worldwide.

După 1 an de Cloud Computing în România http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=mn-programatica-mobileazure-110629-110629161844-phpapp01&stripped_title=dup-1-an-de-cloud-computing-n-romnia&userName=mihainadas

View more presentations from mihainadas

Speaking at preMIX 2011

I will be speaking at a Microsoft event in Bucharest, April 2011. preMIX is designed to support the annual MIX event that takes place in Las Vegas by creating a local opportunity to talk about web technologies.

I will follow up with more details in the upcoming weeks.

Microsoft WPC – 5 days in 5 minutes

I’ve prepared a montage of some of the most representatives photos I took during the WPC. It was a rewarding experience that I won’t forget! Thanks Kimberly, Darren, Ed and Ashley for the pleasure and I hope that these 5 minutes will always refresh your memories of New Orleans.

You can find the photos posted in my Windows Live Photos account.

Imagine Cup & Microsoft Students to Business Video

The fruit of our presence at the Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference 2009 is a video clip that briefly presents some of Microsoft’s most valuable academic programs: Imagine Cup (www.imaginecup.com), Microsoft Students to Business (www.microsoft.com/s2b) and Microsoft Student Partners (www.student-partners.com).

The video was presented in front of 9000 Microsoft partners that attended the vision keynotes on WPC’s Day 3. Without any other further comments here we go – THE clip.

First pictures from the WPC, New Orleans

It is already Day 2 at the WPC. A lot of things went on in the past two days and as you probably expect they are all very exciting. Bellow you can find all the pictures I took in the last couple of days. I promise to return with a post on what happened here yerstarday and hopefully with some very interesting interviews with the Microsoft Product Marketing Managers from Windows 7, IE8, live@edu, bing, Visual Studio and others.

Arrived in New Orleans

I just arrived in New Orleans after an 18 hours journey that got me through Bucharest, Frankfurt, New York and finally New Orleans. I’ve been hanging around for less than 2 hours so I can’t say much yet but I do invite you to keep in touch with my blog to find out more as I plan to be very active for the next week or so.

For those of you who do not know I am in New Orleans attending the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference as a Microsoft Student Partner. I was invited by Microsoft to get a grasp on the student opportunities that Microsoft and Partners has to offer.

For fresh twits from the event just check out my Twitter account at http://twitter.com/mihainadas

See you later!

Search Wars – Microsoft Live Search Cashback

Microsoft redefineste modelul de business pe care s-a bazat Live Search prin incercarea (bună, zic eu) de a ataca pozitia de lider a Google in piata de online search advertising, o piata ce va ajunge in 2010 la aprox. 30 de miliarde de dolari.

Consider ca e o miscare ce are intentia de a tine in joc Live Search, produs ce a ajuns la o cota de piata relativ mica (si in scadere) de 9,1%. Daca vor reusi sa achizitioneze Yahoo! (sau cel putin sa faca un parteneriat) prin care sa redirectioneze traficul catre Live Search Cashback, atunci Microsoft va putea, in sfarsit, sa se gandesca cu optimism la viitorul lor in search business.

E timpul ca cei pasionati de marketing sau business in general sa isi cumpere provizii de popcorn, fiindca artificiile stau sa inceapa.

Referinte: TechCrunch

Microsoft Academic Tour 2008

Am placerea de a anunta organizarea unui eveniment deosebit de valoros ce are ca tema noul val de tehnologii de la Microsoft. Evenimentul se numeste Microsoft Academic Tour si ca in fiecare an viziteaza mari centre universitare din toata tara.

Anul acesta evenimentul din cadrul Universitatii Babeș-Bolyai din Cluj-Napoca se va tine in data de 11 Aprilie 2008 incepand cu ora 14:00 si va avea ca teme de discutie urmatoarele:

• .NET Framework 3.5 & C# 3.0 (LINQ)
• Visual Studio 2008
• Windows Server 2008
• SQL Server 2008
• Silverlight
• Popfly
• Opensource pe platforma Microsoft
• Idei de carieră în Microsoft

Eu voi fi prezent in calitate de speaker si organizator asa ca daca doriti sa participati sunteti invitatii mei.

Mai multe detalii gasiti pe blogul echipei Microsoft Student Partners din UBB.

Nu Există “Balon” în Web 2.0

Mă refer din nou la vechea poveste despre “balonul” web 2.0 (The Web 2.0 Bubble) care spune că valoarea de piață a afacerilor Web 2.0 (Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn, Hi5, etc.) este umflată peste măsură. Părerea este împărtășită atât de specialiști cât și de oameni cu puțin bun simț.

Ca să pun în evidență această anomalie economică am să mă refer la ultima tranzacție notabilă prin care Tata Motors au achiziționat Jaguar și Land Rover cu 2,3 miliarde de dolari.

Sunt mulți bani, dar acest jaguar pălește în fața mamuților din Web 2.0. Nu trebuie să mergem prea departe ca să ne amintim că Microsoft oferea cu câteva luni în urmă 44,6 miliarde de dolari pentru Yahoo! și lor li se părea prea puțin. Deci Yahoo! face cât aproape 20 de (Jaguar + Land Rover).

Wow! Trebuie să-mi fac și eu afacere Web 2.0. Râdeam acum câteva zile cu un prieten când am pus problema afacerilor cu spălătorii auto care, cel puțin în Cluj , vor cunoaște o dezvoltare considerabilă (parcul auto e în creștere, mizeria de pe străzi la fel) în perioada următoare. Ne-am gândit atunci să facem un sait (Web 2.0) prin care să îți speli mașina. Dai 5$ (mult sub prețul pieței) și în schimb primești un sticker “This car was virtually washed”.

Și ca să-l parafrazez pe Badea voi zice: “Trăim pe net și asta îi umflă atât de tare.“