Dear Community Members, Friends, and Colleagues,
As I mark my 15th anniversary in the Microsoft MVP program, I’m filled with immense gratitude, humility, and pride. What began as a passion for sharing knowledge and building connections has blossomed into a deeply rewarding journey—one shaped by innovation, collaboration, and the extraordinary people who make this community thrive.
Over these 15 years, I’ve had the privilege to learn from brilliant minds, contribute to inspiring projects, and witness the transformative power of technology firsthand. Whether through speaking engagements, blog posts, mentoring, or hands-on technical work, being part of the MVP program has continually deepened my commitment to empowering others and fostering open, inclusive collaboration.
To the community: thank you for challenging, supporting, and celebrating with me. Your curiosity, creativity, and kindness are what keep this ecosystem alive and forward-looking.
To Microsoft: thank you for the honor and trust. The MVP program is a unique platform that amplifies voices, nurtures growth, and builds bridges—not just between developers and users, but between ideas and action.
While this milestone is a moment to reflect, it’s also a reminder that there’s always more to explore, create, and share. I look forward to continuing this journey together—with the same spark, but even greater purpose.
With heartfelt appreciation,
James
Here are some photos with Awesome people that I have met during these years:
Here you see Vijay Tewari in the middle who nominated me for the first time 🙂
Damian Flynn on the left and me on the right are Microsoft MVPs for Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)
at that time in 2011.
Here you see Tina Stenderup-Larsen in the middle, she is amazing! A Great Microsoft Community Program Manager
supporting all the MVPs in the Nordics & Benelux doing an Awesome Job!
On the right is Robert Smit a Great Dutch MVP and friend.
Mister OMS alias Scripting Guy Ed Wilson.
When there is a Microsoft Windows Server event, there is Jeff Woolsey 😉
“The three Musketeers”
Meeting Brad Anderson, he had great lunch breaks interviews in his car
with Awesome people.
The Azure Stack Guys on the 25th MVP Global Summit 😊
Mister PowerShell Jeffrey Snover at the MVP Summit having fun 😂
Scott Guthrie meeting him at the Red Shirt Tour in Amsterdam.
Great to meet Yuri Diogenes in 2018 with his book Azure Security Center.
I know him from the early days with Microsoft Security, like ISA Server 😉
Mister Azure, CTO Mark Russinovich meeting at the MVP Global Summit in Redmond.
a Great Technical Fellow with Awesome Azure Adaptive Cloud Solution Talks!
Mister DevOps himself Donovan Brown in Amsterdam for DevOps Days
My friend Rick Claus Mister MS Ignite.
Mister Azure Corey Sanders at the MVP Summit.
Mister Channel 9, MSIgnite, AI Specialist Seth Juarez
He is a funny guy.
Meeting Scott Hanselman in the Netherlands together with MVP Andre van den Berg.
Scott is Awesome in developer innovations and technologies.
Following Azure Friday from the beginning.
Windows Insider friends for ever meeting Scott Hanselman.
With on the left MVP Erik Moreau.
Windows Insiders for Ever 💙
Here together with Dona Sarkar here in the Netherlands
Windows Insider Friends having fun with Ugly Sweater meeting.
On the right my friend Maison da Silva and on the upper right Erik Moreau and Andre van den Berg.
Friends for Life 💙
Microsoft Global MVP 15 Years Award disc is in the House 🫶
on Monday the 14th of July 2025.
Cloud and Datacenter Management Blog 