Event Preview: European Power Platform Conference aims for broad community appeal

The European conference calendar will expand this spring with the introduction of the European Power Platform Conference, an event created by the team behind the popular European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference (ESPC).

Power Platform's impressive growth over the last few years has made it a natural choice for event planners around the world, and the organizers of the European Power Platform Conference tell MSDW about their plans for their inaugural event, running from April 6 to 8. (MSDW is a media sponsor of the event.)

Event program lead Sarah McNamara told MSDW more about what the Power Platform community can expect from the conference in terms of planning, content, and experiences.

MSDW: How did the European Power Platform Conferenceget started?

Sarah McNamara: The European Power Platform Conference has been created by popular demand, listening to the attendees at ESPC whose resounding feedback was the need and desire to build Power Platform knowledge and skills as a top priority for so many in the community going into 2022.

We quickly realized that we would not be able to cater to the amount of Power Platform sessions within our main conference programme and agreed that to answer this call from the community we should look at creating a dedicated event focused on the Power Platform. So for the first time, we have an event focusing comprehensively on all aspects of the Power Platform. The event will comprise of 3 days, 2 Microsoft keynotes, 4 full day tutorials, 60+ expert sessions by MVP’s and RD’s.

What kind of delegates do you expect at the event?

We designed the program to cater to everyone’s needs: the IT pros, developers, end-users, and business decision-makers will find plenty of great content throughout the event. Also, for the first time we have sessions that are specifically tailored towards “Makers”.

What is the event team’s philosophy around community engagement and community building?

Community building and community engagement is hugely important to us. As a company, one of core values is to assist our customers and the community in their path to professional success. We understand that conferences are a fantastic means of achieving this. The rest of the year we are dedicated to providing learning content to the community via webinars, blogs and training weeks.  We are a professional conference and we believe there is a place for such within community building. We are a conduit for the community and their professional learning experience. Our role is to take care of details so the community can gather, learn, network and do business in comfort and with ease. We look after our speakers and try to make their experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible so that we can all benefit from their knowledge share.

What feedback have you received from the MVPs regarding their approach to organizing the content?

The MVP’s are looking forward to bringing the very latest news and announcements to EPPC..the emphasis is on educating and entertaining. Many have advised that to ensure the freshness of their sessions they will work in any new announcements coming out of the spring Ignite edition and keep working on their presentations right up to the event itself.

What do you expect will be some of the highlights of this event?

The European Power Platform Conference is an event we’ve long waited for! We’re thrilled with everyone in the community who submitted sessions with the program team, and we’re proud of how the program shaped out to be! The programme covers many hot topics but one to note is licensing, we have a session on the pay as you go licensing model and also a full dedicated panel session to this. Apart from the many experts sessions and highly anticipated Microsoft keynotes from Charles Lamanna and Marios Stavropoulos, we think the real magic will be found in-between sessions. You can expect plenty of hallway discussions, meeting new people over coffee, and sharing your thoughts and learning from the other attendees as well. We have a real treat in store with our exhibition and our sponsors will be on hand with some cool demos and giveaways. Our pre-conference tutorial day is proving very popular with deep dive days on Power Platform Fundamentals, Governance, Extending with Azure Services and Power BI Administration.  

As in-person conferences restart again, what is your team doing to help attendees feel comfortable at the event?

Attendees should be assured that we will be taking all necessary steps to follow safety measures and  public health advice. We are optimistic the spring will bring a continued improvement for us all, but in the meantime, we plan for all eventualities and follow WHO and local government guidelines in Berlin and Germany.

What is your view of the demand for in-person Power Platform-related events in Europe?  

“Nothing beats being there” is an expression we have heard repeated over the last couple of years.

 People are ready to get back out into the world and start rebuilding old relationships and creating new ones. With regard to Power Platform, we listened to what the community had to say, and they were right, there was a need for an in-person event like this and once we launched the event they have signed up in their hundreds. We cannot wait to bring this community together again and we really feel that everyone is in for such a treat in Berlin this April.