The trophies have been given out, toasts have been made and the canapés have been eaten. After four fantastic global events recognizing the work of organizations and individuals across the cloud industry, the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 season has come to a close.
Throughout the Digital Revolution Awards 2023 events, we saw many outstanding winners take the stage, receiving a round of applause for making a positive impact on our world through cloud technology.
Now it’s time to shine a spotlight on some of those worthy victors and showcase the fantastic work that made them winners in the Digital Revolution Awards.
In this Meet the Winners blog, we’re getting to know the winner of our Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community award, Gregor Suttie.
As one of the largest and longest-standing communities in the tech space, there’s always something great going on in the Microsoft ecosystem. And this past year has been no different, with Microsoft professionals sharing their expertise and supporting one another through relentless waves of market changes, product developments, and acquisitions.
This huge community has embraced the advent of cloud technology and helped Microsoft maintain its position as a major player in a changing landscape. With our Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community award, we aim to recognize the exceptional contributions made by individuals and organizations working within that community.
The winner of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community award is someone who lives and breathes Microsoft technology. The range and diversity of Gregor Suttie’s contributions to the ecosystem are enormous, as is his commitment to sharing his extensive knowledge of Microsoft technologies with others.
Going from cloud novice to Azure MVP in less than two years, Gregor is certainly what you’d call a fast learner. Building on his 25+ years of experience with Microsoft technologies, he passed a whopping nine Azure certification exams in less than 18 months—and has shown no signs of slowing down since.
Now an Azure Architect at Intercept and a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Gregor dedicates himself to helping others develop their own skills through his extensive treasure trove of learning content, including talks, online courses, and writing on getting more out of Azure. His commitment to delivering informative, accessible learning content is creating and developing Azure skills across the globe.
Among his educational output are two LinkedIn courses, which have been accessed by almost 4,000 people in the last year alone. He also reaches countless Azure enthusiasts through his blog, for which he’s known throughout the Microsoft ecosystem as Azure Greg. Here, he shares daily tips on Azure implementation and advice covering everything from best practices to complex cloud challenges.
Offline, he co-founded the Glasgow Azure User Group, providing a space for cloud professionals and users to come together and network, gain insights, and share lessons learned, helping one another get maximum value from the platform.
In addition, Gregor runs Glasgow’s Azure Global Bootcamp and, in 2022, ran an event called Festive Tech Calendar that raised £5,000 for educational organization (and fellow winners in the Digital Revolution Awards) Girls Who Code.
Gregor has taken his expertise and passion for Azure around the world, presenting talks on the technology everywhere from Boston to Belgium. In 2020, he appeared at the Microsoft Ignite Tour in Zurich, Switzerland.
This fervent enthusiasm for Azure, combined with his drive to help others boost their own cloud skills, made him a clear winner for our judging panel.
Here’s what a few of our judges had to say about Gregor’s work:
“The range and diversity of what he’s doing is massive. I suspect this is a person who absolutely eats, sleeps and drinks Microsoft technology 24 hours a day.”
“What was it about Gregor that made him stand above the others? For me, I think it’s the sheer quantity and variety of his work. Ranging from blogger to instructor to holding countless certifications and running conferences, the impact he’s clearly having is demonstrable.”
“It just looks like Gregor is living and breathing it, probably dreaming about it as well! He’s somebody that has made Azure their life; that’s what he’s into, and he’s finding all kinds of ways to make a positive impact as a result.”
We caught up with Gregor after his win to find out how he felt about adding a new award to his growing collection.
“I’m absolutely blown away to have won the Outstanding Contribution to the Microsoft Community award. My career has lasted for 25 years, so I’m kind of getting a bit long in the tooth, so to be put forward for this award was obviously thrilling. And to actually find out that I’d won was amazing.
“I’m pretty sure this award will help get my name out there a little bit more and the name of my company, Intercept, as well. It’s always good marketing and publicity. I’d like to say thank you to Intercept because they allow me to fulfill MVP criteria and make contributions that helped put me forward for this award.
“To come back from America and find out I’d actually been nominated and won the award was truly fantastic. So I would encourage people to take part in it. Sponsor it too; it’s a fantastic event. And all these good companies that take part and sponsor are all putting money into something that rewards people for hard work, and that can only be a good thing in my view.
“If you’re thinking about doing it next year or in the future, without a doubt put your name forward; good luck and all the best!”
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