Quick Re-Cap of the SPTechCon Panel --- The Future of SharePoint

This morning there was a panel discussion about SharePoint at the Crossroads.

We heard over an over again … Focus on the Business. Focus on Solutions.

Of course, we also heard about cloud, on-premise and the formerly verboten word … Hybrid.

“SharePoint is not just a product anymore. It's a set of solutions. Cloud, hybrid and on-premise need to be cohesive. 2016 will clarify and unify this.” ~ Joel Oleson, BA Insight

We also heard a lot about Integration.

“Microsoft solidified that the cloud is different. Group Collab is no longer just about a team site. Yammer and Exchange are no longer just Social and Mail Lists. They become GROUPS as a whole.” ~Dan Holme, IT Unity

 The Panelists

There were a lot of great points brought up by the panelists. The panelists included some of the luminaries of the SharePoint world, including something I want to see more and more of in the coming months and years. Of the six panelists there was one woman. It was the always fabulous @WonderLaura aka Laura Rogers.

Hint: We need more visibility and representation by the Women in Technology.The SharePoint world is graced with more than a few incredibly talented and respected leaders. Let’s get them on stage.

• Todd Klindt – Rackspace Twitter: @ToddKlindt
• Laura Rogers – Rackspace Twitter: @wonderlaura
• Marc Anderson - Sympraxis Consulting Twitter: @sympmarc
• Joel Oleson - BA Insight Twitter: @joeloleson
• Dan Holme - IT Unity Twitter: @danholme
• Rob Windsor - Portal Solutions Twitter: @robwindsor

 The only way to achieve everything is ... In the cloud.  ~Dan Holme, IT Unity

The 10 Second Summary, Recommendation and Insight from Each Panelist

• Todd – I know I have a job for more than a couple of years
• Laura - Integration Possibilities – We are seeing how Exchange, Lync, Azure, SharePoint and all technologies blend together
• Marc – Is happy to see organizations allow us to solve problems. It's not about the tech. It's about solutions. There are more options today. Which allows for even more solution scenarios
• Joel - There is a new Microsoft. There is some retooling to stay relevant – learn azure, scripting, hybrid.
  • The Hybrid of the future is about Integration.
• Dan - Investments in hybrid. It's no longer on-prem or cloud  ... It's both.
• Rob - Get comfortable doing JavaScript integration

Best Line: Delivered by Marc D. Anderson in response to something Rob WIndsor said about maturity:

"I'm older than you, so ..."

Great Job to David Rubenstein for moderating. Thanks to the SharePoint TechCon crew and the speakers for creating a fun and enlightening panel.
 

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Jeff is an expert in the Enterprise Content Management industry. He brings over 20 years of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing and Alliance expertise to audiences around the world in speaking engagements and via his writing. He has worked for Microsoft, Kodak, and is currently the Chief Evangelist at K2. Tweet him @jshuey or connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google+ He is active in the Microsoft Partner Community and is the co-founder and President of the IAMCP Seattle chapter.

He is a contributing author to Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Yahoo, US News and to the Personal Branding Blog.