This is my updated post on providing information on what the MVP Summit is, what to expect, and some useful tips/tricks in the neighborhood.
This is a big update on a post that I wrote in 2012.
What’s an MVP?
The MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award from Microsoft is exactly that – an award for expert community services relevant to products or services that Microsoft offers.
Microsoft used to describe MVPs as:
MVPs are independent experts who are offered a close connection with people at Microsoft. To acknowledge MVPs’ leadership and provide a platform to help support their efforts, Microsoft often gives MVPs early access to Microsoft products, as well as the opportunity to pass on their highly targeted feedback and recommendations about product design, development, and support.
Now the description has changed a little but the spirit is still the same:
Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the “bleeding edge” and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products, and solutions, to solve real world problems.
There are thousands of MVPs from ~90 countries/regions around the world. Allegedly, there are 4,000 MVPs, but I think that number might be a little lower.
Each MVP is an expert in one (some have a few awards) are. I am an Azure MVP and most of my contact is with other Azure MVPs and the program managers for Azure technologies that I am interested in.
To achieve MVP status, one has to be nominated by an MVP or a Microsoft employee. A review process runs monthly to see if the candidate has 1 year of expert/relevant community (not as part of their employment) contributions and falls into the top X% of their award category. If they do, they are contacted and asked to sign an NDA. They are now an MVP until their next annual review when the process repeats – that starts in March and the renewal notification is in early July.
The NDA is a big deal – MVPs are getting behind the curtain and learning a lot of things that are not for the public: how things are done, getting into strategy discussions, hearing about things that aren’t even at private preview stage, and so on. People do breach their NDA, and they get kicked out. There is also an expected behavior, which also leads to some ejections.
MVP Summit
There are lots of benefits to being an MVP, but the MVP Summit is the crown jewel. Once per year, there have been exceptions to this, MVPs are invited to Redmond, Microsoft’s global HQ, to meet with the program managers (PMs) of the various Microsoft products and services. This is a conference where pretty much all of the content is under NDA.
This event is a big deal for everyone. MVPs want to go to mingle and learn about new things. Microsoft schedules the Summit for a sweet spot in their sprint planning cadence so that they can get feedback from MVPs on what they are planning.
There are lots of different kinds of sessions:
- Educational: Deep dives on how something works.
- Futures briefing: Here’s what we are planning on working on/releasing.
- Discussion: We want feedback.
- Leadership sessions: Various leaders – no names here but it’s not hard to guess – host sessions to discuss their strategies, their year, or answer questions.
Outside of this, there is formal and informal track sessions:
- Tours: Go somewhere that the public never gets to see or hear about.
- Hands-on labs: A chance to learn directly from the team that created something.
- Privately organised meetings: Arrange private meetings with PMs to discuss relevant topics.
You can see how the MVP Summit is a conference like no other Microsoft conference!
Location
The MVP Summit is held in Redmond, a city east of Seattle that is dominated by the Microsoft campus.
Most MVPs opt to stay in the nearby city of Bellevue, which is between Seattle and Redmond. Bellevue is a lovely town with a main street featuring the Bellevue mall. On my first MVP Summit, around 15 years ago, most of us stayed in one of the few hotels in the area, such as the Red Lion, Hyatt, Westin or Hilton. Every time I return, a new set of tower cranes is erecting a tall building that develops into yet another hotel.
The accommodation system has changed, so MVPs book wherever they want. Some will organise before booking, and their cliques will book in the same hotel or nearby hotels. Years ago, Most Hyper-V and System Center MVPs would opt for the centrally located Hyatt. The Exchange MVPs were often to be found in The Westin, across the road from the mall and connected by a bridge to the Hyatt. A group of Germans would have stayed in the Red Lion which is a bit more remote but much more affordable. A few will choose to stay in a hotel closer to the Redmond campus but there’s little to do there and they are far from all the nighttime activities. These days, you’ll find us anywhere and everywhere, but still mostly grouped.
Transport plays a role in location. We used to have organised buses to ferry us to and from the campus. That is no longer the case so people are choosing their location based on public transport or car park availability/price.
The Campus
You will find Microsoft offices all around the greater Seattle area: Seattle, Bellevue, and of course, in Redmond where the Summit is located.
The campus is huge, spanning ~100 buildings connected by roads with Microsoft-owned taxis and bus services. Cara parks are scattered all around the tree-lined streets and parks. You never can see too much from one location – a mix of parks, recreation areas, trees, and buildings always block your view. The buildings aren’t very tall, but they can go on quite a bit. When I was there last year, a light rail system was still being constructed to connect Redmond with downtown Seattle, to avoid the peak time traffic which barely moves on the highways – keep in mind that Boeing HQ/factory and Amazon HQ are nearby, along with lots of other big companies.
On a good moment a bus or car journey from downtown Bellevue should be between 15-20 minutes to your destination in Redmond. But traffic, especially in the afternoon and evening is pretty awful heading back south.
The campus is a mish mash of all kinds of buildings. You’ll find older buildings that date back decades. Microsoft has been itterating through these buildings, either renovating them or knocking them down and replacing them for the past few years. Each building is a self-contained unit with offices, meeting rooms/areas, kitchens, canteens, and shared parking areas. You can only gain entry to a building if you are expected or invited – so don’t bother getting into trouble.
The Summit is spread across many buildings. Building 33 is the conference centre and the bigger groups can be found there. But other groups can be anywhere around the campus. You can walk from building to building – there are plenty of footpaths if the weather is OK. This being the Pacific Northwest, rain is never far away. In that case, there are shuttles for certain routes, normally based out of Building 33. If you have a special destination that you need to get to and walking is not an option, then you can ask at reception for a taxi and a Microsoft car or bus will collect you at the door.
If there are any questions, one of the staff (traditionally wearing a purple top) will be ready to help. The folks here are probably doing one event after another all year around and know what they are doing.
One of the nice perks is a trip to The Commons and building 92. Here there are two cool things to visit.
- The Company Store: We have normally been granted a voucher to allow us to spend up to $200 (of our own money) in the Company store. You can find various hard to find bits and bobs, such as bags and clothing, that are sold at retail prices. But the real finds are the Microsoft accessories and software which are sold at cost price. Imagine getting several years of Microsoft 365 Home for less than the price of 1 year? Or Xbox GamePass? Make sure you talk to a staff member before purchasing if you are not a USA resident because activation will not work without doing some special stuff.
- The museum: You can walk through the history of Microsoft from day 1.
By the way, not far from Building 33 are Buildings 16 and 17. They share a courtyard that is a literal walk through the release history of Microsoft right through its early years.
Activities
A lot is going on during the MVP Summit. Imagine a conference that has a select few attendees, many of which get to know each other over the years. Even if you are a newbie, you probably know some of the others through come kind of community activities. It is rare that an MVP attends the Summit and doesn’t know anyone.
A lot of evening activities are arranged:
- Microsoft will run receptions: These are normally directly after the last session in one (or several) campus building(s) and can last 1 hour or into the night. Food and drink is provided.
- Sponsors: Some community groups or companies that want to get to know the MVPs can arrange a party in one of the local bars.
- Informal: Friends will get together and arrange something – dinner, drinks, karting, whatever.
Outside of the Summit itself, you have Seattle and the surrounds to explore:
- An outlet mall in Tualip about 45 minutes north of Bellevue. You would be amazed how many MVPs will be there the day before the Summit.
- Downtown Seattle with the Pike Place Market, Space Needle, or a visit to the home of the Seattle
SeahawksCheathawks (Go Niners!). - Oodles of outdoor opportunities lime Mount St. Helens, Olympia National Park, or the Cascades (listen out for the dueling banjos).
- The Boeing museum.
- Shopping at the big stores like Wallmart and Target – fun for us from outside of North America.
- The Bellevue mall with lots of shops (Apple), bars, and restaurants.
Eating and Drinking
Breakfast, snacks, and lunch are provided at the MVP Summit. When there is a reception, there are usually some light eating options. Coffee, tea, and bottled/canned drinks are everywhere (and free) in the buildings. So do not waste money in your hotel!
The question is where do you go before/after the Summit? That will be based on your hotel location, but many attendees opt for Bellevue so here are a few options.
Eating:
- The Cheesecake Factory at the mall is a very popular option. Yes, it serves meals, not just dessert. Don’t get me wrong, the cake is amazing but only those of you with something wrong with you will have room for it after a meal. Do not have a starter/appetizer, because the meals are HUGE. Go straight to the main course. And you can, if you wish, get an amazing slice of cheesecake to eat in or takeaway in a handly container.
- Palminos: It’s near the Westin, across the road from the Cheesecake Factory. I used to get breakfast there but it was already expensive before prices went up.
- Dennys: If you want the American eat-till-you-collapse experience, then this is it. You will need to travel, but there is nothing like it. You will not eat again until late that night.
- Fish, Chinese & Mexican: There are a a few options beside the Cheescake Factory, but it’s years since I went to any of them and really don’t recollect them.
On the bar side of things, there are few places around central Bellevue. Some of the MVPs feel like they must go to Joey’s beside the Hyatt. Personally, I think it’s an overpriced dump filled with posers and serving undersized drinks. The only good thing about the place is the car park out front, facing the Hyatt main door, where you’ll see a few cool cars. Otherwise, just keep walking. You’ll find a few bars on the walk down from the Hyatt (or up from the Westin) on the way to the mall. One spot, which is upstairs from the Cheesecake Factory, has become popular in recent years with MVPs.
Beyond central Bellevue, there are lots of other eating and drinking options. Washington State has a big craft beer thing going on, so it is worth wandering. You’ll also find other chain restaurants if you want to hop in car/taxi/Uber.
Travel
The local airport is SeaTac (SEA) Seattle-Tacoma. For the inbound trip, you should know that:
- Baggage can take an eternity to arrive. I prefer to travel light with a carry-on bag. If I intend to come home with more stuff, then I bring a collapsable check-in bag. That way I can get out as quickly as possible.
- The car rental station is in Canada. OK, that’s a stretch, but so is the shuttle journey.
- The taxi and car-share pickups are across the road in the car park – follow the confusing signs.
For departure, you should know:
- Traffic to SeaTax from Redmond is dreadful from early afternoon onwards. Expect delays and plan accordingly.
- This is a typical old, dreaful, American airport. Check-in is cramped, and the queues for security can take well over an hour.
- SeaTax does operate a priority queue system called Spot Saver.
- There are limited/no dining options depending on the terminal that you are in. If you have time, then check out the central options before you head to the gate area. Or preferably, eat before you leave for the airport.
For those of you travelling from Europe:
- Flights from Heathrow and Frankfurt are pretty quick at getting to Seattle. I’ve done the Dublin – Heathrow – Seattle route and its amazing how much quick the BA flight is.
- There are two downsides to Frankfurt and Heathrow. I would need to allow 3 hours of a transfer in Heathrow. I used to be OK with short transfers in Frankfurt but I have heard bad things in recent years. And then, of course, there is immigration that you have to do in Seattle.
- If you are doing a European transfer then consider a flight to Dublin and then the direct Dublin to Seattle route with Aer Lingus. Direct flights from Ireland to the USA can do immigration in Dublin Airport. It usually takes no more than 15 minutes and I’ve been second in line more often than not when I walked into the hall. After immigration there are few eating/dining options so take advantage of the main section in Terminal 2 first or splash out a few quid on the Lounge after immigration.
Many attendees will fly in on the Saturday before the Summit for two reasons:
- Jetlag: UK/Ireland folks will have an 8 hour time differnce and be waking up at 2am for the first few days. It’s worse for folks east of here.
- Unexpected content: When the Summit is announced, there are usually 3 days in the schedule with no agenda. You have to book flights early to get good prices. But if you fly in just the day before then you can end up missing out on content that the Summit or product groups add.
- Tourism/shopping/meeting up: There’s a chance to go an do some stuff while you are dealing with jetlag.
Similarly, those who don’t have/feel pressure to get home often stay an extra day or two. It is not uncommon for the Summit or product groups to tack on content, such as a bootcamp on some hot button topics.
NDA
I did mention the NDA? Every session starts with a slide that says something along the lines of:
No photos
No social media posts
No recording
And guess what? Every year, we’ll see someone sticking their phone up, pointing their Surface, or whatever. And there are always stories of someone being ejected from the Summit and the program. The product groups are putting a lot of trust in attendees and some idiots just don’t listen.
Microsoft also expects similar attention to the code of conduct. You have people of all types from all around the world presenting and attending. The last thing you need is racism or some other kind stupidity. Respect is due to everyone.
What I Get From Summit
The MVP Summit is a “work” highlight for me every year. Obviously, I enjoy going for the NDA content. But it’s so much more.
I’ve been hanging out with the same small group of people for 10+ years now. In the last couple of years, that has expanded to include more people. The funny thing is that I work with one, live 20 minutes from another, and used to work with another. And I only ever see them in person at events like this! I have also made friends from around the world, that I also only ever get to meet at community events or The Summit – the summit is the guts of a week so I see them a bit more.
The sessions are a mixed bag. Some, like all events, can be rubbish repeats from Ignite, but feedback over the years has tweaked sessions. I know that some PMs even reach out in advance to get advise on what attendees are expecting. For the most part, the PMs stick to current/future stuff or bring a requested deep dive on something that is confusing the community. And sometimes, you learn how the sausage is made – those sessions provide an incredible value – some Hyper-V content from 12 years ago is still paying off in Azure (based on Hyper-V).
Some of the real value happens outside of the sessions. Sometimes a PM is lurking in the back and paying attention to questions. I’ve had PMs heatseek me after I’ve asked questions or given feedback – leading to follow up chats in the hallway, hastilly booked meetings, or follow up teams calls. When I was a Hyper-V MVP, I got to participate in some “spring planning” meetings with a small group of MVPs and PMs for Windows Server. There’s one popular feature that was added in Windows Server 2016 I distinctly remember describing how I wanted it to work – and that’s how it was released 🙂 Things like this are possible at the Summit because both the community experts and the PMs that help design the features are there and are intersted.
There is also a … I don’t know how to put this in words, but a sense of direction that you pick up at The Summit. The timing of The Summit (let’s forget the COVID years) is right when new ideas are swirling around all of Microsoft. You get a sense of these and shifts before the big public push, which may eventually appear at Build or Ignite later in the year. Sometimes it’s more subtle, and is never formally announced – it just gradually happens but you know about it.
