For five decades, Microsoft has shaped the future of technology and made it accessible to all. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary this April, I find myself reflecting on the defining moments of my career when Microsoft was more than just present, but instrumental in shaping my journey.

In 1993, the internet was just starting to be a thing. It was a strange new frontier that fascinated me. I read in a magazine about Mosaic and how the internet provided access to a vast world of knowledge, connecting users to everything from academic research to international news. The idea that a simple program could open doors to libraries, communities, and ideas far beyond the confines of my local environment sparked a curiosity. My school had a few PCs running MS-DOS and Windows 3.1, so I borrowed time on them to connect and see this for myself. Then I wanted to understand how to create web pages. So started learning HTML using a basic text editor. That was my first experience writing ‘code’ and my introduction to Microsoft Windows operating system and basic commands.

When Windows 95 was released, everything changed. I moved from basic HTML to building full websites using Microsoft FrontPage. I got a part time job editing HTML web sites and I earned enough to buy my own Windows PC which was a big milestone.

In 1997, I applied for a casual web admin role at a local tech company called Microimage (you’ll see the connection). At that time I knew just enough about writing ‘code’ and how computers worked. With my knack for curiosity and the keen interest in computers, I got the job. This opportunity opened me to world of software development. I got to learn about what good software was and how it solved real world business problems. I was fixing web sites, selling software, troubleshooting, bug fixing, testing and taking customer feedback, pretty much anything that needed doing as we were a small outfit and striking above our weight. That was my grounding. Windows was the platform to build and grow software businesses. Visual Studio became the code editor to bring together software creation tools like Visual Basic, Visual C++ in a single IDE.

When I moved to New Zealand in the new millennium, I dabbled in web development with ASP, IIS, using Microsoft Visual InterDev: A dedicated IDE for web development, including ASP support, database integration, and debugging tools. Around early 2001, an insurance client needed a website upgrade and a content management system. The tech stack consisted of Microsoft and a ASP (Active Server Pages) based web site.

During the options discovery stage of the project, I learned that Ncompass Labs, a Canadian company, had been acquired by Microsoft, and its new release would be branded as Microsoft Content Management Server (MCMS). This marked the beginning of my journey into the Microsoft Server Platform. I was fortunate to lead the project and collaborate closely with the local Microsoft team to position MCMS effectively.

Microsoft’s Site Server, Commerce Server, and MCMS formed a suite of interconnected products, each addressing different aspects of web and enterprise solutions. Together, they represented Microsoft’s vision of delivering comprehensive tools for web development, e-commerce, and content management. I learnt the ins and outs on the platform value of these which set a strong foundation to what was to come.

Soon after, Microsoft released SharePoint Portal Server 2001 (originally called Tahoe). I was part of an early adopter program and I saw how SharePoint could change the way organisations collaborate. I helped build a sales document automation accelerator solution for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, which was released with SharePoint Server 2007.

As a result of this successful project and ongoing partnerships with Microsoft I was offered a trip to the Mix06 conference in Las Vegas. Bill Gates was doing the keynote and I got to see Bill Gates as part of the APAC group that attended the conference. It was also the launch of Silverlight alongside Internet Explorer 7.0. The Web 2.0 revolution was in full swing. Collaboration platforms were where everyone was focused on. I met some of the product engineers at Microsoft and web pioneers at the time.

“MIX 06 was held from March 20 to March 22, 2006. It focused on the new Internet Explorer 7 and WPF (a part called WPF/E later became known as Silverlight). It featured a keynote by Bill Gates in which he said, “We need microformats”.”

After returning from MIX06, I started the New Zealand SharePoint User Group. This was my way to share my knowledge and inspire others to start working on the Microsoft SharePoint platform. This was another defining moment for my professional career. I am forever grateful for the support, trust and understanding that I had from the local Microsoft NZ product specialist team at the time. The user group community grew expanding across cities, hosting tech tours, training, and networking events. In 2007, I received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award for my work in building the SharePoint community, which is something I still cherish.

In 2008, I got the opportunity for my first visit to Seattle for the MVP Summit and the Microsoft Campus which was unforgettable; meeting the core SharePoint product team and their passion inspired me to return almost every year until 2013.

In 2009, I helped organize the New Zealand Community SharePoint Conference in Wellington, where we brought together some of the top experts in collaboration and technology. I also became a regular speaker at Microsoft TechED and other conferences, building lasting connections with Microsoft experts along the way.

The next decade I adapted to the new offerings of Office 365, SharePoint online and broader cloud service offerings of Microsoft including Azure. I got to travel, attend conferences to speak and work with international customers that deployed Microsoft solutions and advise and consult on large scale projects.

Joining Microsoft in 2020 was another big highlight, this opportunity coupled with being able to directly work with some of the core teams that made the NZ North Azure cloud region a reality was nothing short of incredible. The connections and (re) learnings of the last four years from inside Microsoft has changed my perspective on what opportunities lie ahead and how I can be part of the next set of innovations.

Microsoft’s transition to AI has been years in the making, with significant advancements emerging over a pivotal five-year period starting around 2015. During this time, Microsoft achieved human-level performance on several key benchmarks, including conversational speech recognition, machine translation, question answering, machine reading comprehension, and image captioning. These breakthroughs marked a major leap in AI capabilities and are now seamlessly integrated into Azure and Copilot services, empowering customers to develop more powerful, efficient, and innovative AI-driven solutions both now and in the future

As Microsoft turns 50, these capabilities are opening new frontiers beyond what we can imagine, I approach each day with more excitement and curiosity, same as I did when I first started writing HTML so that I could create a web site.

“In a world where the pace of change is accelerating like never before, Microsoft’s role as a platform company is more vital than ever. What inspires me most is how we are not only pioneering advancements in AI but also empowering our customers to harness this transformational technology turning innovation into real-world impact”

At its core, my journey has been shaped not just by technology, but by the incredible people who form the fabric of Microsoft. I am privileged to have shared meaningful experiences, forged lasting connections.

Here’s to the next 50 years of innovation!