Joining AvePoint
For those who follow me on the various social channels, you may have seen the press release this morning announcing my new role as Microsoft GTM Director for AvePoint. I expanded on the announcement in a LinkedIn post, as well, but thought I’d touch on a few additional topics here.
I know there will be a few heads exploding this morning out in the community. Then again, I’d like to think that those who know me well will not be surprised at all.
What made you decide to accept the position with AvePoint?
Since the launch of CollabTalk LLC exactly 4 years ago, AvePoint has been a client, a sponsor of several research projects and tweetjams, and a long-time supporter of community efforts that I helped organize, such as SharePoint Saturdays. And of course I’ve had dozens of good friends within the company over the years — even during those years of working for competitors.
We started the conversation about possible roles almost a year ago. I knew there was great potential with AvePoint, and wanted to get involved at some level, but it wasn’t until earlier this month that the right role came along, and everything fell into place very quickly.
What is the scope of this new role?
It’s a multi-faceted role inclusive of business development, partnership strategy and marketing . I’ll drive key Microsoft corporate relationships and go-to-marketing efforts. In a nutshell, my job will be to ensure that AvePoint’s partnership with Microsoft continues to thrive and flourish. As stated in the press releases this morning, AvePoint is Microsoft’s top global co-sell partner for Microsoft Teams (and the very first SharePoint ISV!), and so it is critical that the company is aligned with Microsoft programs and initiatives.
Additionally, I’ll be involved with AvePoint customer and community initiatives such as ShiftHappens, Office 365 Hours and the Community Champions program.
What is happening with CollabTalk?
As some of you know, the CollabTalk brand was launched as a community initiative in January 2012 as a way to bring together disparate voices to discuss important industry topics. This month the CollabTalk TweetJam is wrapping up its 9th year, and we will continue with these monthly community discussions in 2021 and beyond — along with the CollabTalk podcast, and the #MVPbuzzChat and #MsftBuzzChat interview series.
With the new AvePoint role, I am shutting down my CollabTalk LLC research and consulting practice effective immediately, and moving some of the relevant community activities under the AvePoint brand. AvePoint now joins tyGraph as the official sponsors of the monthly CollabTalk TweetJams. The content of the tweetjams will remain independent, but as the name implies, will continue to focus on topics around collaboration.
Other activities, such as the weekly Office Hours live stream and my Productivity Tips webinars will go through some redesign, and move under the AvePoint umbrella. Of course, this blog will remain the same — although I’ll be posting to the AvePoint blog on a regular basis, as well. As an Office Apps & Services MVP and a Microsoft Regional Director, you’ll likely see more from me in webinars, content, and events promoted through AvePoint channels, but my participation in local and regional user group activities will not change. In fact, some planning is already underway for M365 Utah 2021 in August, where we’re planning to combine SharePoint Saturday, SQL Saturday, and Power Platform into a single in-person event.
So….what’s next?
For the next couple weeks, I’ll be drinking from the fire hose. I’m excited, I have a lot of ideas, and I’m looking forward to this next chapter of my career. Other than that, I’ll continue blogging about productivity, marketing and management, as per usual.
