With only 14 working days until the debut of Microsoft Partner Summit, it’s a great time to take a look at a bird’s eye view of the experience on offer.

This year’s new Microsoft Partner Summit experience can be summarised across three key areas:

• Killer keynotes with an impressive speaker line-up
• Over 30 practical sessions designed to inspire ideas and build skills for Microsoft Partners
• A new way of networking and creating connections
   

Day 1 – Tuesday, 14 November

Opening with a joint experience for Partners and Customers - From the universe to the workplace – how a digital world demands new thinking 

From the universe to the workplace – this is the path to be traversed in this fascinating keynote that explores how a blend of new ideas, technology and mindsets is required to adapt to a rapidly transforming business landscape. Hear multiple perspectives from these global and local leaders: Brian Cox - Physicist OBE, Toni Townes-Whitley - Corporate Vice President Industry, Microsoft, Jenny Lay-Flurrie - Chief Accessibility Officer, Microsoft, David Thodey - Chairman CSIRO, Chair Jobs for NSW, Steven Worrall - Managing Director, Microsoft Australia.

Just for you (Partners Only)

Partner vision keynote - Mark Leigh, One Commercial Partner Director will take a deeper look at the partner ecosystem in Australia, the opportunities that will drive growth and sharpen your competitive edge through Microsoft’s solution areas –Modern Workplace, Business Applications, Data and AI, Apps and Infrastructure. Then Julia White, CVP Cloud Platform Microsoft, will deep dive into the solution area promising the biggest opportunities for Australian partners. We’ll wrap by celebrating the Microsoft Australia Partner Award winners!

Partner Keynote 2  -The power of purpose: how the art of simplicity and storytelling can transform your business - A look at how critical it is to have a unique value proposition for engaging with customers and employees; and in maintaining a competitive edge. Steve Clayton, Chief Storyteller Microsoft, is at the forefront of sharing Microsoft’s transformation story with the world. Hear his insights and understand the lessons learnt, from the critical starting point of defining your purpose; to the art of sharing your story.

Then we bring it home with a closing keynote and a joint experience for Partners and Customers.  Beyond the Cloud Inspired by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s book, the closing keynote will look at three critical shifts that will define business and society in the coming years: Artificial Intelligence, Mixed Reality and Quantum Computing with featured speakers Steve Clayton, Chief Storyteller, Microsoft,  Lawrence Crumpton, HoloLens Solutions & Partners, Microsoft Asia Pacific & David Reilly, Director, Microsoft Quantum Sydney

To close the day, experience a new approach to structured networking. Facilitation will ensure it’s a valuable use of time and deliver strong connections, evoke passion, energy and impact on subjects that really matter, where people can make a difference! .More details to come on this partner-only experience.

Then the evening is free to head out for sponsor-led events. Take advantage of meeting and greeting our Sponsors in the Expo during the breaks.

DAY 2 – Wednesday, 15 November

Opening Partner Keynote - A unique opportunity to hear from two of Microsoft’s leading champions of the partner ecosystem Toni Townes-Whitley, CVP Industry Microsoft And Joel Borellis, WW OCP Technical Lead. Hear their take on the global landscape founded in the industry opportunity, and the importance of building the right skills for customer demand.

Session Breakout time with a huge array of practical sessions designed to inspire ideas and build new capability for Business Owners, Sales and Marketing Teams. Breakout sessions will build a connected experience across day 2, with three types of sessions. Many of these sessions and speakers are listed on the Microsoft Partner Summit website.

1. The local market opportunity The first block of sessions will assess the needs of industries in Australia and the market opportunities for Australian partner organisations.
2. Ground your knowledge The second block of sessions will share learning and insight from leading experts and thought leaders mapped to the outcomes of digital transformation pillars of empower your employees, engage your customers, transform your products, and optimise your operations. All topics are pivoted to focus on helping you build your business.
3. Build new skills and deepen your knowledge The third block has a mix of topics around Go-To-Market strategies and deep dive sessions with global and local experts that build on a selection of the day’s topics to deepen your knowledge and build new skills.

Partner Summit Closing Keynote - An inspiring and practical look at how to turn your organisation into a lean, mean, innovation machine with  Dr Amantha Imber, an Innovation Psychologist and Founder of leading innovation consultancy Inventium. She holds a PhD in organisational psychology and helps companies cross-industry, to innovate more successfully. Amantha is the co-creator of the Australian Financial Review’s Most Innovative Companies list, ranking Australia's top innovator; and is the author of two books: “The Creativity Formula” and “The Innovation Formula”.

Partner Evening Celebration  - After 2 days of learning, it's time to unwind and connect with peers at the official Partner evening celebration hosted at the ICC (Please note you must select attendance within the registration process).

I encourage you to look at the new sessions and speakers on the website and get your registration in soon. With the event being in Sydney, and having worked on APC for the last 2 years, I can say with confidence that tickets will sell out! Ticket pricing and  access to pre-paid ticket through Silver and Gold competency guidelines .

Personally, I’m really excited about this year’s event. It’s been great to hear your feedback and collaborate with the One Commercial Partner team here at Microsoft to design two days that we hope will deliver the highest value to you and your business.

Looking forward to welcoming you to our first ever Microsoft Partner Summit 2017!