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 Tech Star of the Year award, Stefano Demiliani.
A valued member of the software development community, our Tech Star of the Year for 2023 is one of the few people in the world to hold prestigious vendor accreditations in multiple technologies.
A prolific author, speaker, and official trainer, his dedication to knowledge sharing has impacted countless cloud professionals across the globe.
Not content with supporting their peers, Stefano recently set his sights on the next generation of potential tech professionals, engaging with school-aged students to showcase the exciting opportunities that a career in the cloud can provide.
An experienced Azure Solutions Architect and CTO, Stefano has more than 15 years of experience in consulting under his belt. In his role as CTO at a leading Italian Microsoft Partner, he has helped more than 100 partners around the globe transition their architectures to the cloud in the past year.
Throughout his career, he’s amassed a wealth of knowledge and a passion for Microsoft technologies that have proved advantageous not only to himself but to the wider community.
One of only a handful of people to hold the Microsoft MVP title for both Azure and Dynamics, Stefano’s dedication to Microsoft cloud technology is evident, as is his boundless professional generosity. Throughout his career in the Microsoft ecosystem, he has worked tirelessly to give back to the community and help others enjoy the same success, establishing himself as a thought leader and an educator.
Stefano regularly shares his vast knowledge and enthusiasm through various channels. He’s an administrator for the official Microsoft Dynamics 365 Community and one of its most prolific contributors. But his work goes beyond the online space: in collaboration with Packt Publishing, he has authored more than 15 Microsoft-related books on topics ranging from Microsoft Dynamics 365 to Azure DevOps.
Aiming to help users and professionals alike learn new skills and make the most of the technology at their fingertips, these books have proved popular, with many becoming best-sellers in their categories.
A further indication of his commitment to sharing knowledge, Stefano is also an official Microsoft Certified Trainer for Microsoft Italy and Microsoft Western Europe, and can often be found speaking at technical conferences like Microsoft Ignite, Directions EMEA, WPC, Global Azure Conference, Microsoft .NET Conference, Azure Days, and Global Power Platform Bootcamp.
In 2020, he founded his own organization to advocate for cloud technology and encourage businesses across Europe to adopt the cloud. Through microsoftarchitects.com, Stefano has held more than 100 virtual events to date, garnering more than 500,000 views in the past year alone.
Recently, he extended his evangelism efforts to the younger generation, taking his events to schools in the hope of inspiring students to learn cloud skills and get into the IT industry. So far, this initiative has engaged more than 200 young people.
Stefano’s outstanding efforts to help others realize the power of Microsoft cloud technology have seen him recognized on numerous occasions. In 2018 and 2019, he was named a Microsoft Dynamics Community Star and is also a Member of the Global Azure Council.
We spoke to Stefano after he added a Digital Revolution Awards gong to his shelf to find out how he felt about the win.
“Winning a Digital Revolution Award was a big surprise for me; the nomination was an honor because I feel that my activities are appreciated.
“Being shortlisted was the first great surprise. Being recognized as one of the top contributors in the world was like winning for me.
“I think that this award will be a huge stimulus for [me and my team] to always do more and do better. Trust me, my company supports a lot of my activities. They’ll be proud that their CTO won this award.
“I think this award can be a push for those inside our company to always do better. This award is a sign that someone appreciates our work. And it’s something we can say to customers. They’ll know that they’re working with people who know what must be done, especially in the cloud.
“Motivation is important, and I got lots of motivation from this. The interesting part of this award is that it’s cross-platform, it’s cross-technology, it’s not provided by a single vendor but by a third-party entity that evaluates all types of technology and gives the awards to the best.
“The jury is also made up of IT experts and representatives of large international companies. So if you work in the IT world and you think that you’ve done something great for the community, it’s something you should do; these awards are a great opportunity to introduce yourself in this world.”
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