Microsoft Dynamics Profile: An MVP's career guided by a passion for sharing knowledge

As a Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform enthusiast and two-time MVP, Arpit Shrivastava has a passion for learning new things. His career in the Microsoft channel has evolved through several products and roles, and those changes have brought both new challenges and opportunities, both to develop new skills and to share knowledge.

MSDW reached out to Arpit to hear more about his career, his work in the community, and more insight on the success of his professional journey. He tells us about his career experiences, from working with SharePoint to Dynamics CRM and D365 and now to Power Platform services. His work on developer tools for Power Pages, formerly Power Apps Portals, has earned him recognition in the community, and he tells us how the different challenges and opportunities over the years have shaped his outlook on work and community contribution. He also tells us about his broader outlook on work and knowledge, including his willingness to share his knowledge and learn new skills.

MSDW: When did you receive your first MVP award?

Arpit: It was a long wait but worth it. I was beyond blessed and humbled to be awarded my Microsoft MVP award for the first time on April 1, 2021. That was the best moment of my life. I consistently worked on something I loved for five years, and I was beautifully rewarded for it. Who wouldn't like that? For me, it was not only an award but also an acknowledgment and the token of appreciation for my hard work that I had been putting in to solve real-world problems, my efforts to make the community stronger, and all the sleepless nights I so willingly spent maneuvering the D365 world.

Is being an MVP something that you were actively working toward?

Never. I've always believed that you don't work for recognition but let your work be worthy of recognition. Honestly speaking, I didn’t even know about the MVP program and was not aware that I could be rewarded for the work I was doing for the community until some industry experts reached out to me and talked about this program. They asked me to expand my circle, take it to the larger audience. Probably, this could be the reason that I had to wait for such recognition for a long time.

I grew up in a family where my parents spent more than half of their lives educating students. Being a child of this family always inspired me toward being a mentor. Therefore, sharing knowledge has always been my passion and I did it purely out of my own interest. Because my parents always taught me “Knowledge is power, and knowledge shared is power multiplied.” And now this has become the tag line of my website, Arpit Power Guide, as well.

What does it mean to you to be an MVP? Has it helped you in your job?

Being an MVP each day I feel proud, valuable, passionate and a bright leader in the community. Being awarded for something that you have been doing from so many years is always special. However, for me It's not like after winning an award, my job is done, and I can relax. That means, now I have to work harder.

Being a Microsoft MVP is more than a badge of honor. It has come with additional responsibilities and benefits that help me strengthen my technical skills and make the community stronger and powerful. After becoming a Microsoft MVP, now I get a chance to interact with Microsoft’s product team and know more about the Microsoft thought process and the way of developing and releasing products.

The MVP badge has been a boon for my career. [As] someone who used to be quite introverted and only known by very few people professionally, [I am] now known by everyone in the organization. Not only in my home country but also globally. People love to know my journey to become an MVP. They respect what I do for the community. Today I have a very large network of IT professionals whom I connect with to learn, share, and discuss about the technologies. I am part of Center of Excellence (COE) team in my organization, [where I] share ideas to design reusable components and accelerators for the client and for the organization.

Can you describe your work at Capgemini?

I have been working at Capgemini since 2019 when I joined the organization as a senior application consultant. However, now I have been promoted to D365 and Power Platform architect. Along with working with some giant clients. I am also a key member in the Center of Excellence team in the organization, where we discuss ideas, solve real world customer problems, work on proofs of concept and presales activities. I also create accelerator and reusable components. My job also consists of training IT professionals and new employees and helping the organization to grow.

As far as my professional career is concerned, I have never limited myself to a specific role. Being in a dynamic technology I always wanted to be part of a team or role where I could learn, share, and grow more. Therefore, I never stick to a single project and always work on multiple projects at a time, where I have to deal with many interesting and challenging requirements. I also love to solve those problems by providing the best possible solutions for the clients.

At Capgemini Sweden, I also lead the MVP program team where our objective is to find prospective MVPs or someone who has a zeal to become an MVP and help them become an MVP.

When did you first started working with D365 (Dynamics CRM) and Power Platform?