For years, the Microsoft MVP Summit has been the pinnacle event of the year for those of us honored with the MVP award. It’s a time to connect with product groups, peer into the future of our favorite tools, and recharge our professional batteries alongside some of the brightest minds in the tech world. I often refer to it as recharging with the mothership.
But if I’m being completely honest, this year’s summit felt… different.
As a dedicated Microsoft Access developer and MVP, I walked away from Redmond this year with a mix of gratitude for my peers, but a growing sense of disappointment regarding how the event itself is being handled.
If you’ve been following my journey here at Access Experts, you know I value transparency. So, let’s talk about what went down, what’s changed, and what it means for the Access community.
The Hard Truths: Where the Summit Fell Short
1. The Access Track: Just One Session?
In the past, the MVP Summit offered robust, multi-session tracks where we could deep-dive into the Microsoft Access roadmap, voice our concerns directly to the engineering team, and collaborate on future feature sets.
This year? There was only one single session dedicated to the Access team.
For an entire group of Access MVPs—many of whom flew in from all corners of the globe—having our primary focus condensed into a single hour felt like a massive step backward. Access remains a critical engine for millions of business databases worldwide. While we appreciated the time we did get with the team, one session simply isn’t enough to cover the depth of what our community needs to discuss. Not to mention it does not help our ROI with all the travel expenses.
2. The Logistics: No More Hotels or Transportation
Beyond the content, the logistical support for MVPs has seen drastic cuts.
In previous years, Microsoft generously covered hotel accommodations and provided reliable transportation to shuttle us between venues and campuses. All of that was cut off starting two years ago, again, hurting the ROI.
• Lodging: MVPs have to foot the bill for their own hotel rooms in an increasingly expensive Seattle/Bellevue market.
• Transportation: There was no organized transit, leaving us to navigate rideshares, rental cars, or public transport on our own dime.
Keep in mind, MVPs are volunteers. We don’t get paid to advocate for Microsoft products; we do it out of passion for the technology and our communities. Shifting these significant financial and logistical burdens onto the attendees makes it incredibly difficult for many deserving MVPs to justify making the trip.
The Silver Lining: What Made This Year Special
Despite the cutbacks, the trip was far from a loss. In fact, there were several incredible highlights that reminded me why I love being part of this ecosystem.
Stepping Into Microsoft Studios
One of the absolute coolest experiences of this year’s summit was getting the opportunity to record a session at Microsoft Studios. The production quality, the professional setup, and the chance to create high-caliber content right in the heart of Microsoft was an incredible highlight. It was a fantastic way to share my knowledge in a top-tier environment, and it definitely made me feel valued as a creator.
Creating Content on a Gorgeous Campus
I took full advantage of the beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery to record several videos for my channel using the campus as a background. It was the perfect backdrop to clear my head, create some fresh visual content for my audience, and refocus on the big picture.
Invaluable Peer Networking
Getting to sit down with fellow peers, share our client success stories, brainstorm workarounds for tough development challenges, and just talk shop with people who truly “get” Access is irreplaceable. We may have had to organize our own dinners and hangouts, but the brilliance and warmth of the MVP peer network remain unmatched.
Final Thoughts: Will I go next year?
Despite the cuts to content, budget, and evening festivities, one thing Microsoft can’t dilute is the strength of the MVP community itself.
The real value of the summit has always been the people. Standing in hotel lobbies, grabbing coffee between sessions, and having late-night debates with fellow Access experts made the trip worthwhile. We love this product, and we love the community built around it. But we also hope Microsoft remembers that investing in its MVPs is an investment in the very foundation of their user base. Will I go next year? It depends on my budget and my schedule, it will be a game time decision.
What are your thoughts? If you are a fellow MVP or follow the community closely, have you noticed a shift in how tech events are being run lately? Let’s discuss in the comments below!
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