Microsoft Business Apps Profile: Why a returning MVP is excited about the future of Power Apps

April 1 is reserved by some people for laying practical jokes and pranks on family, friends, and co-workers. However, the email message Drew Poggemann received on April 1, 2022 was anything but a joke.

"I received my first MVP award on April 1, 2022 and I received it again this year," Poggemann says. "Being an MVP was something that I was really focused on. I first got involved in the Power Apps community and I'm very competitive, so I said I wanted to be a super user in the Power Apps forum. And then I decided to start a new Power Apps user group. And then realized I should be looking at MVP because I respected the MVPs who were out there helping people in the community."

So in the summer of 2021, Poggemann contacted individuals in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 forum and asked what steps he had to take to reach is goal. And the rest, as they say, is history.

MSDW spoke with Poggemann, currently director of solution architecture at Heartland Business Systems (HBS), to learn more about his work with Microsoft technologies, his experience developing and architecting software solutions, and his involvement in the Microsoft community.

MSDW: What does it mean to you to be an MVP? Has it helped you in your work?

Poggemann: It means a lot to me to be an MVP. I get to be involved in a lot of Microsoft strategy discussions and really kind of see the direction of the products in a lot of areas that I focus on, such as Power Apps and Dataverse. Having feedback and input is really valuable and seeing where the products are going is great. Being an MVP was a milestone for me as I wanted to get my career to be at that level from a competency and capability standpoint. From a professional standpoint, it adds a lot to my conversations with customers. When I'm able to say I'm an MVP in this space, it adds a lot of credibility to my discussions.

What does your job as director of solutions architecture at Heartland Business Systems consist of?

I engage with customers and prospects on their strategic initiatives to understand what their business challenges are. I help them [solve] those challenges with processes and technology. We develop a lot of high-level architecture for systems and solutions. I'm doing Power Apps development and database development for some of the solutions that we're building for our customers.

In my role, I have to stay ahead of the technology. And that's one of the things that being an MVP helps with as I get an understanding of where products are going. I have to stay ahead of that and ensure that our customers are looking at different ways or options to come up with solutions.

How and when did you get involved with the Power Platform community?

I signed up in 2018, but I became active at the beginning of 2021. I was asking questions and people were answering them. I realized I could answer questions as well, so that's what I did. I also thought it was a really good way for me to focus on learning new things and broaden my technical skills. I also speak at HBS webinars and quarterly events for customers.

And I'm the organizer of the new Power App user group in Northeast Wisconsin. We currently have about 130 members in the group. We started with people from Wisconsin but because everything is digital and our sessions are virtual, people can join from anywhere. We focus on Power Apps and the surrounding technologies. And when I pick topics, I ask people what they're interested in and what they want to learn about.

Can you talk about your role as a super user in the Power Apps forum?