Y es que hoy es un día para alegrarme, ya que acaban de premiarme con el honor de pertenecer al programa Microsoft Regional Director. ¿Qué significa? Pues muchísimo, pero nada mejor que el resumen expuesto en http://rd.microsoft.com
“El Programa Regional Director ofrece a los líderes de Microsoft los conocimientos del cliente y voces del mundo real que necesita para continuar empoderando a los desarrolladores y profesionales de TI con las herramientas, servicios y soluciones más innovadoras e impactantes del mundo.
Establecido en 1993, el programa consta de 150 de los principales visionarios de la tecnología elegidos específicamente por su comprobada experiencia multiplataforma, liderazgo comunitario y compromiso con los resultados comerciales. Por lo general, encontrarás a los Directores Regionales en los principales eventos clave de la industria, liderando grupos comunitarios e iniciativas locales, dirigiendo empresas enfocadas en la tecnología o consultando e implementando el último avance dentro de una corporación multinacional”.
Y es que este reconocimiento no solo tiene que ver con la trayectoria técnica que he ido desarrollando durante mi carrera profesional, sino también con la dedicación orientada al cliente y a resultados, labor a las que he estado dedicado todos estos años tras haber cofundado Intelequia. Muchísimas gracias a tod@s l@s que de algún modo u otro han hecho realidad este reconocimiento: a los miembros de la comunidad; al grupo de usuarios TenerifeDev; a los compis MVPs y RDs con los que no hemos parado de disfrutar haciendo eventos (mención especial a Tibi Covaci por la nominación); a todos los miembros de la propia Microsoft con los que es un placer trabajar; a los compañeros en el trabajo que siguen empujando como el primer día; a la familia que me hace disfrutar del breve tiempo del que disponemos; y en especial a Carmen Martín, que ha sido la compañera de viaje con la que sin duda no sería ni la mitad de lo que soy hoy.
Os dejo las FAQs del programa Microsoft Regional Director, que también están disponibles en http://rd.microsoft.com
Do Regional Directors work for Microsoft?
No, Regional Directors are not employed by Microsoft. In some cases, Regional Directors or their companies may have contracts to deliver goods or services to Microsoft but they are not employees.
How are Regional Directors selected by Microsoft?
Regional Directors are hand-picked by Microsoft based on a rigorous set of evaluations designed to help us select the best representatives of developer, IT pro, and strategic technology needs of the world's most impactful businesses.
How long is a Regional Director's term?
A Regional Director's term is two years.
How do Regional Directors work with Microsoft?
Regional Directors act in a non-paid advisory capacity with Microsoft. On an ongoing basis, RDs are asked to participate in scheduled strategic feedback sessions with Microsoft senior leadership teams. Because of their community leadership positions, passion, commitment to technology and business excellence, RDs have a regular outlet where they can express real-time customer and community feedback directly with Microsoft engineers and the senior leadership team, including Satya.
I'd like to become a Regional Director and believe I meet the qualifications. Is this possible?
We actively search for amazing leaders. RD nominees come from Microsoft senior-level full-time employees or other RDs. If you have a relationship with either of those you should express your interest. We open up the nominations once a year, typically in January. Usually we have very few available slots and hundreds of candidates but we are continually looking for new leaders to step in.
Do Regional Directors have specific technology expertise?
We like to think of RDs as technology generalists. Most of them have significant technology backgrounds but have progressed their careers to the point where they have architect level depth across both Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms. This uniquely helps qualify them to work with our product teams to understand the needs of all customers which ultimately helps us build better products.
What is the difference between an RD and an MVP?
Many of our RDs also carry the MVP award title, although most of them are finding it harder to maintain both credentials as each has different demands on the member's time which makes it difficult to qualify and maintain both. However, the key differences really come down to the business consultative nature, customer experience, and cross platform architect skills possessed by RDs versus the deep technical focus which qualifies an MVP.
