They did it again! Working as a technology consultant, Rebekka Aalbers-de Jong was awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award in the ‘Business Applications’ category for the fourth time. As a Solution Architect Data & Analytics, Marc Lelijveld was named MVP for the fifth time in the ‘Data Platform’ category.
Why we are proud of our MVPs
Only technology experts who demonstrate leadership when it comes to sharing knowledge with communities, possess specialized knowledge and exceptional technical expertise in a particular Microsoft technology can be honored with this award.
Ton Mulleneers, Managing Director Netherlands at Macaw, says “I am both proud of their achievement and professionalism, and inspired by their genuine passion. It seems to be their second nature to share knowledge. They make a difference by being curious and eager to learn and always achieve the best results for customers. Marc and Rebekka are very active within Microsoft’s community. For example, they provide product feedback, write blogs and participate in podcasts. They also lead conferences and user groups, help organize events, such as Microsoft Ignite, and review books related to the Microsoft community.
The MVP title is awarded for one year at a time, and MVPs are re-evaluated every 12 months. Among other benefits, winners are added to a list of official Microsoft MVPs, can attend the annual MVP Summit, and Marc and Rebekka received an MVP profile page. We sat down with both stars and found out that achieving 5 MVP awards is both a milestone and a cherished dream for Marc. But it doesn’t seem to stop here!
Inspiration
Both MVP’s are incredibly driven and passionate. The decision to run for the MVP-ship seems to stem from a simple question: do I still like it? A clear ‘yes’ it sounds. Rebekka: ‘I get energy from being on stage and organizing events. The interaction is the secret sauce.’ We hear a similar sound from Marc: ‘I get inspired by discussing and sharing knowledge with like-minded people. In addition, I think it’s great to hear and think along about future features to make solutions for customers as relevant as possible.’
Community contributions
That being named a MVP isn’t a walk in the park is evident, for example, from the nine-page list of contributions Marc shared. These include emails to program managers with customer questions, events attended, presentations given, blogs written and more. The 18 blogs Marc wrote over the past MVP year can count on a loyal fan base and up to 17,000 readers per blog. Thanks to this valuable content, the number of visitors to his website increased by 16 percent.
Energy
Rebekka: ‘You become MVP because you like it. Think of it as a kind of hobby. Something you do for the long run because it gives you energy. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.’ Marc adds, ‘An incredible amount of my own time goes into it, but because I don’t see it as work and enjoy it, I love doing it.’
Great year
On the past MVP year, they look back positively. ‘It was a busy but interesting year with the release of Fabric,’ Marc highlights. ‘That you get to think along with such a release and be involved at an early stage is incredibly cool. I also get a lot of satisfaction from being able to help customers and being challenged when a customer says, “But that doesn’t make sense.” And that you can then work toward improvements together with the program manager at Microsoft and bring that back to the customer.’
For Rebekka, the first in-person visit to the Summit in Redmond stands out. ‘You only know the product group people from online meetings, and then to meet them in person now and be able to talk about business and non-business as well as technical and non-technical topics made me very happy.’
