Elly Yates-Roberts |
South Coast Summit 2021 will take place on 15-16 October at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, UK. It is a free two-day conference for professionals working with Microsoft technology. It focuses on all three pillars of the Microsoft platform: Business Applications, Modern Workplace and Azure.
Sessions will be delivered by Microsoft UK, Microsoft most valuable professionals (MVPs) and UK Gold Partner expert speakers, and the event will also feature a large exhibition of sponsor products and services.
South Coast Summit 2021 is one of the biggest Microsoft conferences and networking opportunities of the year. Whether attendees work in development, solution implementation or are technical experts, the event gives delegates the opportunity to find answers to the most pressing Microsoft technology questions.
Attendees can also take part in workshop training sessions that will cover the whole Microsoft platform. Nine in-depth sessions will take place on the first day, with each lasting the entire day. These will cover: Azure, Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotic Process Automation, Security and Compliance, Unified Communications, Teams Apps and Extensibility and Viva, Microsoft’s Employee Experience Platform.
Instead of participating in a workshop, attendees can also choose to take part in the Power Platform Hackathon. This event takes a real-world problem and fixes it using a solution built on the Microsoft platform – an application created and designed by attendees.
The Summit will take place on day two, with the Microsoft executive-led keynote session on Microsoft 365 and Azure beginning at 9am, followed by 184 separate sessions delivered by more than 200 speakers. Multiple breakout room presentations and theatre sessions will be led by top MVPs and experts and will cover: accessibility and inclusivity; adoption and change management; collaboration and productivity; data and AI; development and extensibility; Dynamics 365; meetings, calling and devices; Azure; Power Platform; robotics process automation; and security and compliance.
At the end of the day there is another value-added opportunity to network with sponsors and attendees. At 5:30pm, after the breakout sessions and theatre sessions end, attendees will find a sponsored networking area in the Arlott Atrium, with the chance to speak with sponsors, speakers and other attendees over a drink.
The last activity is the Charity Pub Quiz at 7:00pm, hosted by Microsoft MVP Andrew Bibby to support and collect donations for Breast Cancer Awareness through Breast Cancer UK.
The quiz will be based on the Microsoft technology stack as well as other fun topics. Test your knowledge on current events, general knowledge, Office 365, Power Platform and Azure while raising money for charity.
Over the two days, attendees will have a unique opportunity to get help directly from Microsoft’s UK team. Many of the business’s own professionals will be on site to answer questions or advise on optimising Microsoft solutions.
As one of the biggest Microsoft conferences and networking opportunities of the year, South Coast Summit 2021 is expected to be popular within the Microsoft community.
It is also one of the few in-person conferences to be held this year and is the UK’s single largest free conference addressing Microsoft cloud technology.
Nathan Sweeney is co-founder of South Coast Summit
This article was originally published in the Autumn 2021 issue of Technology Record. To get future issues delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for a free subscription.