How Adam Dolman Built a Microsoft Powerhouse Inside a Global Giant
What happens when you give a start-up mindset the scale of a global giant? 100,000+ employees. Global systems integrator. Layers of process that can slow anyone to a crawl. And yet, a Microsoft business unit emerged that runs like a start-up. Fast. Innovative. Able to get new ideas to market before the keynote’s even finished. In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, we cover: -The “creep” from hands-on engineer to strategic leader (and how to plan for it) -Why leaving after 17 years made him better when he came back -How to build GTM plans before Satya’s even finished the keynote -The real enterprise play in Sovereign Cloud & AI -Why upskilling sales teams is just as important as technical teams -Leading with ambition and humanity inside a huge organisation Adam’s career path is part roadmap, part reality check for anyone trying to move fast in a big corporate without breaking it. 🎧 Full episode live now! If you’ve tried to build a Microsoft practice inside a big corporate, how did it go?
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From £7k Loan to Global Lead: How Forefront Identity Manager Sparked It All
Think you need a master's degree to lead global Microsoft Security Strategy?Wrong, Jason Revill started with a train ticket to Hull, now he is.... Global Microsoft Security Practice Director at Avanade! Shaping Security strategy used by the world’s biggest enterprises in the GenAI era. But his career started with a £7k loan, a train to Hull and a big bet on becoming an expert in Microsoft technology hardly anyone knew how to use! 🎙️ On this week’s Microsoft Mentors: ➡The £7k bet that unlocked his career (and why MIM still has a place in his heart) ➡ Building Avanade’s Security Practice from scratch ➡ Moving from IC to global leader without losing touch with tech ➡ Copilot, agents, and what’s next for Microsoft Security This one’s for you if you're: 👉 Trying to stand out in a crowded consultancy 👉 Wrestling with the IC → Manager transition 👉 Wondering what to bet on next 🔊 Full episode live now! #MicrosoftSecurity #Leadership #Copilot #CareerInTech #ForefrontIdentityManager #MicrosoftPartner #Podcast #Avanade
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Support Engineer to Microsoft Partner CEO: Shane Gronniger & GCS Technologies
Straight out of university, he and two mates launched a small MSP in Austin.No capital.No customers.No business degrees.Just curiosity, grit, and a knack for solving real tech problems.Fast forward 25 years…Shane Gronniger is now CEO of GCS Technologies, one of Texas’ top Microsoft Partners:➡️ 45+ employees➡️ 100s of long-term clients➡️ Still 100% privately owned➡️ Still no outbound sales teamHis growth strategy?Earn trust. Educate clients. Stay hands-on with the tech.No lock-in. No fluff. Just real work and real relationships.In this week’s Microsoft Mentors, Shane shares the blueprint:➡️ Why GCS bet big on Microsoft-first security➡️ How to grow without sales reps or investors➡️ What “AI readiness” really looks like in the SMB market➡️ How to keep clients loyal with zero contractsIf you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to go from support engineer to Microsoft Partner CEO, this is your episode.What would you tell your younger self starting out in tech?
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Rise of Telana: Combining Azure and GCP to Drive Applied Innovation
How do you deliver outcomes, no matter the platform? Everyone has the same tools. The difference is what you do with them. That’s the ethos behind Telana, the new force born from Ancoris + Sundown Solutions. This week on Microsoft Mentors, we unpack how Telana is blending Azure and GCP to deliver applied innovation, not just technology. Because here’s the truth: ✅ Innovation isn’t tech for tech’s sake ✅ Buyers don’t care about cloud loyalty ✅ It’s all about solving real business problems So… Azure or GCP? Wrong question. The most exciting projects in 2025 are multi-platform by design because customers want outcomes, not infrastructure debates. Telana is delivering those outcomes: >£1.5M annual savings for a retail client through smarter data >Real-time clinical environments running seamlessly on GCP >Strategic AI adoption on both Microsoft and Google stacks @André Azevedo has seen this play before; from Cloudreach’s 30→1000 headcount growth to building Telana’s brand that’s purpose-built for this next era. We talked: ➡️ What applied innovation actually looks like in the field ➡️ Why Microsoft + Google is a strength, not a split ➡️ The leadership lessons that shaped Telana’s launch Are you designing your cloud strategy around platforms or outcomes? #Azure #GCP #CloudStrategy #MicrosoftPartners #InnovationLeadership #AppliedInnovation #MicrosoftMentors #Telana #CloudTransformation
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Idea to Impact: How IBM Is Rewiring Microsoft Delivery
IBM & Microsoft. Once fierce rivals. Now strategic partners. If you'd said this in the 80s in the midst of the PC wars, you'd be laughed out of the server room. Fast forward to today, IBM have a strong strategic partnership with Microsoft and have launched a dedicated Microsoft Practice. Why? Because transformation at enterprise scale now demands collaboration at enterprise scale. 🟦 Azure 🟨 Fabric 🟩 Copilot 🟪 AI at the edge of every workflow Customers are looking for aligned ecosystems. And IBM’s new Microsoft Practice puts decades of enterprise consulting muscle behind Microsoft’s modern cloud stack. In this week's Microsoft Mentors podcast, I sat down with Tim Callahan to unpack: ➡️ The vision behind IBM’s Microsoft Practice ➡️ What this means for Azure customers (hint: faster idea-to-impact) ➡️ How IBM is restructuring to fuel transformation, not turf wars ➡️ And why, in a world racing toward AI, it’s not about picking sides, it’s about building bridges This episode is packed with insight, nuance, and a few throwbacks to OCS and Blue Yonder mailboxes 👴 What do you make of the IBM + Microsoft alignment?
Microsoft Mentors: The Podcast lifts the lid on the journeys of the most successful leaders in the Microsoft Partner ecosystem.
Through candid conversations with founders, business owners, and technical leaders, we explore the strategies, grit, and lessons behind their growth and how they’re building competitive advantage for the future.
These are the untold stories and practical lessons from leaders who are defining success in
Azure, AI, Data, App Innovation and Security.
Our mission? To tell Partner stories at scale and create impactful Microsoft conversations.
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