Re-Awarded Microsoft MVP for 2013!
The first day of a new year is always a special moment for me, one of the very first email of the year announcing my MVP Award, since 7 years in a row now.
2012 has been an incredible ride, I got a second child, I turbo boosted my company with tons of great Windows Store apps projects, got awarded Microsoft Windows 8 App Partner of The Year. Now I have sold the company and ready to explore new challenges.
I am thrilled to continue as an MVP for one more year as I plan to get closer to technical stuff, more than ever.
Only drawback is I am still under the Silverlight category, which doesn’t make much sense for me now, as I have been focusing exclusively on Windows 8, Windows Phone and Azure for more than 1 year now. I can just think of it being a temporary period and I will be moved to something closer to Windows 8 later, waiting for this product group to establish how to deal with MVPs (they had a darn busy year I guess!).
Let me be clear on Silverlight: it still is an awesome technology, it reached v5 and is a mature product, it makes perfect sense for several scenarios, it is (currently) way superior to the XAML option in WinRT (but this is temporary, and XAML in WinRT will catch up quickly without any doubt). Well, features comparison set apart, you know that the real difference is SL being cross platforms (but maybe not enough platforms). BUT obviously that technology doesn’t need MVPs anymore. So again, I hope to be migrated to anything Windows 8 related in the near future. Waiting for that, in the short term I see more value in the RD program, which suffer from a decrease in quality communications but still remains very interesting, and a position in which I want to stay more than MVP (but both are ok too!).
By the way, the RD program has a fresh new logo:
Going back to Silverlight, I don’t want to judge *why* Microsoft de-emphasis Silverlight, but the WAY Microsoft did it was catastrophic, and a big mistake. Developers have been kept in the dark for months. It really hurt badly the community. People got angry. I saw lots of Silverlight guys fly to iOS or Android business, and I can totally understand that move. This total absence of communication and guidance from Microsoft was unacceptable, many developers have felt betrayed. The way Microsoft handled their shift in strategy was very poor if you ask me. I based my entire company on Silverlight, got a team of almost 20 dedicated devs, thanks to my connections I saw that coming and managed to successfully redirect the ship to Windows Store apps with XAML at the right time, but it could have been worse, no doubt it has been worse for some.
My *emotional* point of view: I don’t really care. I am by far not in a position to judge what MS needs to do with their products.
Who am I ?
A Silverlight enthusiast ? An entrenched Silverlight expert?
No.
I am a Microsoft Partner. And I chose to be a partner, not Microsoft.
Every time Microsoft has a strategy shift I have 2 options:
1. Follow and adhere to the new path
2. Stop being a partner and explore others vendors platforms.
Simple as that. You have the choice. You can’t blame Microsoft for killing its own product. Except if you are a shareholder Microsoft owe you nothing. I mean, we certainly don’t have all the economics, numbers and market vision for such a decision. So as a Microsoft Partner we must follow or get off. I am comfortable with that.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!