"This past week I had the opportunity to attend TechCon 365 - Dallas. It was one of the greatest personal and professional experiences I’ve had. Getting to build lasting relationships with people who are in your area of work is something you can’t beat." – TechCon 365 - Dallas 2024 attendee

TechCon 365 – Dallas by the numbers

• 522 attendees | 61 speakers, 31 MVPs
• 1 Microsoft keynote, 1 Microsoft AMA, 145 total sessions (16 Microsoft-led sessions)
• 1 Women in Tech Panel, 25 workshops
• 21 sponsor/exhibitor companies; 42 sponsor attendees.

Note: A special shout out to Christy Sanchez (Headshot Photographer) who took beautiful images throughout the conference AND was gracious enough to loan us a few to make this collagic-recap truly pop! Thanks, Christy.

Opening keynote

Day one got off to a great start with the keynote, “The Practical Nature of Working in the Future Present” co-presented by Emily Mancini, Martina Grom, Josh Leporati, and me (Mark Kashman); Nov.13.2024. We aimed to share what everyone can immediately put into practice tomorrow. We encouraged people to take a bold step and choose their next Microsoft tech adventure. Emily focused on upleveling everyone Productivity. Martina eased concerns and shared her top Governance to dos. Josh focused on ways to optimize Communications. And I spent time on how Copilot keeps you informed and collaborates with you.

The main takeaway: To discover ways to optimize investments in Copilot, Teams, Viva, SharePoint, OneDrive, and more. This keynote was a map – a guide to your future present of Microsoft 365, ripe with opportunity. And as one attendee commented, "Loved the theme of getting time back."

Collage of photos from the TechCon 365 – Dallas 2024 opening keynote. PC: Christy Sanchez [/in/christy-sanchez-headshot-photographer]

AMA

Have question, get answer. That’s the design, and our panel delivered.

The Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) was a rapid fire of questions from the audience – with our panel of experts taking the hot seats. The audience was fully engaged and seized the opportunity to ask the questions that mattered most: To address questions on improvements to SharePoint file access within Teams, Copilot licensing, Power Platform solutions, adoption guidance/materials, and more. It proved a wonderful balance of time, with answers flowing and feedback taken. Plus, there was much SWAG to be given to each person who asked a question.

Collage: Several photos of our panelists and attendees engaging in Q&A during the AMA + much SWAG.

A few nice attendee verbatims from the AMA survey:

• "Adoption and feedback sites as well as public preview were important. Being to speak directly to managers was Golden!"
• "Got some suggestions for power platform adoption to take home with. Great discussions. Moderator was very funny."
• "I appreciate the availability of the panelists, being willing to do this. It's always great to hear from Microsoft."

Sessions

"The instructor was great and taught in the language of a 6th grader which made everything really easy to understand." – TechCon 365 – Dallas attendee

Throughout the three days of the conference, each event held high-value sessions to frame a deeper discussion around the core areas of each product area, Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. With Microsoft-led sessions like, “Hyper automation in Procure-to-Pay: Revolutionizing Efficiency with AI Builder and Azure” by Danielle Moon and Dave Amble, “Unlocking Career Advancement: Mentorship Strategies and Allyship” by Miranda Jones, “Cracking the Code: Create a Strategy and Run a Winning Microsoft 365 Security Program” by Saurabh Gupta,  “Unraveling Microsoft Fabric for the Power BI User” by Dan English, “Build a FHIR based Healthcare App on Power Platform” by Jim Novak, and “What's New and Next in Copilot & AI in OneDrive” by Irfan Shadad and Mark Kashman.

Collage: Several photos of expert speakers throughout the event from breakout sessions and workshops.

"I absolutely loved this (Lists & Loop) session! There were no PowerPoint slides. It was all demos that were slow enough that I could follow along and try it too in a lab like format." – TechCon 365 – Dallas attendee

Ask the Experts (ATE)

Long-form discussions to tackle and unblock issues and find solutions – that’s ATE.

Situated in a prime spot on the expo floor, the Ask the Experts tables offered attendees a chance to take their toughest questions and technical challenges to get guidance from Microsoft and community experts. Visitors left with actionable solutions, enhanced product knowledge, and a touch of inspiration. The tables were staffed by Microsoft speakers and community leaders, including MVPs, Regional Directors, MTC members, and user group leaders – all with the same goal in mind: Help someone seeking help.

Women in Tech & Allies meetup

On Day two, the Microsoft team organized a meet-up for women in tech and their allies, providing a space to network, share stories, and inspire one another across all career stages. Miranda Jones, Danielle Moon, Michelle Caldwell, and Emily Mancini created a welcoming environment where attendees celebrated achievements, discussed progress, and explored ways to make the Microsoft ecosystem a global leader in fostering inclusion, mentorship, and support for women. Consistent feedback from numerous attendees: “Loved being in a room with likeminded people and to feel like I (we) belonged.” The team also saw several new signups for the “Women in Power(Platform)” group on LinkedIn. Sign up now.

"Women in Tech & Allies Meetup" graphic image from TechCon 365 – Dallas 2024 with panelists: Miranda Jones, Danielle Mon, Michelle Caldwell, and Emily Mancini.

I asked my colleague, Miranda Jones, to share her personal thoughts on the meetup: “I had a wonderful experience participating in the Women in Tech session at TechCon Dallas last week. During our session I and other panelist had the opportunity to talk about combating imposter syndrome, the importance of mentorship, and many other topics important to the women in the room. What was most impactful for me with the opportunity to reinforce the importance of women supporting women and uplifting each other. I left the session energized by the positivity of all the women in the room and with several new connections.” – Miranda Jones (Microsoft)

Women in Tech meetup ‘group selfie’ during TechCon 365 - Dallas 2024. PC Photo taken by: Danielle Moon.

Expo Hall & Party

To celebrate being together in person and provide attendees with more opportunities to connect with partners, the conference hosted the Expo Party on the expo hall floor Wednesday afternoon. This casual networking event allowed local Microsoft Innovation Center employees to attend for free, giving them the chance to meet customers and community members. 

The Expo Hall was hopping with discussions, interviews, smaller-stage talks, badge scanning, SWAG, prizes, and exemplary community building – all week! Vendor booths were busy – meaning lots of demos, solutions given, and a better understanding of what customers need beyond the core apps and platforms.

Collage: Several photos of the sights, sounds, and goings on within the Expo Hall during TechCon 365 – Dallas 2024 event.

"I enjoyed the layout, location, and value derived from the sessions here at TechCon 365. This was a first-class event, and I look forward to coming back again." – TechCon 365 - Dallas 2024 attendee

In the end...

We were so pleased to see this event sell out! And to see and hear the sold-out crowd mingle and share, and the fortune of getting to mingle with everyone ourselves. We are grateful for this year's active and engaged #TechCon365 in Dallas — so much goodness, caring, learning, and having fun! Great questions, stories, and a deeper understanding of your concerns. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Join in the fun next year… at Seattle, Atlanta, and/or Dallas – 2025!

TechCon 365 in 2025 – three cities: Seattle (June.23-27.2025), Atlanta (August.11-15.2025), and Dallas (November.3-7.2025) | TechCon365.com

Cheers, Mark “Joker” Kashman

And if you made it this far, you ARE ready for 52-card pickup! AKA, a last collage of a unique speaker gift from the event team: A pack of playing cards with all the speakers’ faces. And. I. Love. Being. Joker (along with David Wilhelm, the other Joker (card); fitting). It personifies my overall experience – to “play” for a week with the best community in tech; always on my “Yes, please” agenda. It means I met new people (and took selfies), got to play an “expert” and present the OneDrive breakout session with Irfan Shahdad, and the Lists and Loop session – no slides / only demos, to moderate the AMA (with much SWAG giveaway; see above AMA collage), and got to again work with the great TechCon365 event team: David Wilhelm, Sharon Toler, Ashley Wilhelm, Christy Sanchez, Art Schlosser, and the whole event team.

Full-deck of playing cards with all TechCon 365 - Dallas 2024 speakers' faces - (left) All cards laid out, and (right) subset of four cards of each opening keynote co-presenter.