The Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award is the highest award that Microsoft has given annually since 1995. The nominees convince with their high technical competence, which they record in their contributions (lectures, books, blog articles). In doing so, they make a significant contribution to the community for Microsoft. “We couldn’t be successful without such an incredibly valuable and dedicated group of people working with us” – Brian Harry, Microsoft Corporate Vice President. The individual MVPs form a global community from over 90 countries/regions.
With that being said, I am very pleased to be able to introduce you to MVP award winner Thomas Stensitzki today.
The interview is divided into two parts. In the first part we get to know Mr. Stensitzki personally, while in the second part we will go into more detail about his work as a MVP. What does an MVP actually like to do in his free time and what is his actual job? You can find the answers in the first part of our interview with Mr. Stensitzki.
Interview with Thomas Stensitzki – Part 1
When you’re not in your MVP role, what do you do for a living?
My professional focus is on consulting on Microsoft technologies. With my company, Granikos GmbH, I help customers with very different challenges. This begins with the planning and conceptual design of Exchange Server migrations in purely local IT environments. However, this has been declining in recent years. The implementation of Exchange Hybrid and migrations to Exchange Online are now in the foreground. With these migrations, locally as well as to Microsoft 365, one always finds the IT sins of the past. Here I then actively help to find and solve the problem. In addition to Microsoft consulting, I teach selected courses on Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 and Exchange Server in cooperation with Microsoft Learning Partners as a certified Microsoft Trainer (MCT).
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How long have you been an MVP?
I was named MVP in 2018. So it’s now four years as MVP. You don’t even notice how time flies. The appointment as MVP in the Office Apps & Services category came as a surprise. Deciding whether and when to be named MVP is one of the great mysteries of this world.
What goals are you pursuing with your homepage or blog (if you have one)?
Share and pass on knowledge. This is what drives my blog, my video channel and my podcast. The podcast is the latest project for me. With the podcast, I would like to introduce user groups in German-speaking countries and encourage interested parties to set up a user group if there isn’t one in their region yet. It is existential that we pass on and share acquired knowledge. This is the only way we can all constantly learn new things.
Who do you follow to stay up to date on Microsoft?
This question is not easy to answer. In addition to the internal MVP information channels and direct interaction with the product groups, there are primarily blogs from Microsoft enthusiasts and Microsoft itself, but also the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.
My regularly visited blogs are:
My Twitter recommendations are:
- Jeff Guillet
- Thorsten Pickhan
- Raphael Koellner
- Ingo Gegenwart
- Teams User Group Berlin
- Exchange User Group
What does an MVP like to do most in their free time?
What do I do in my free time? If you have turned your hobby into a job, the boundaries are fluid. For me there is no hard line between “work” and “free time”. In addition to the actual work, the focus is on community work in user groups and mentoring from certified trainers (MCT) as one of the MCT Regional Leads in Germany. Let’s not forget that as an MVP you have a very busy evening schedule to attend meetings with Microsoft product groups.
A real break also means a certain digital abstinence. In order to implement this, I need a vacation with an explicit focus. However, I’m not the type for the classic annual vacation. A vacation can consist of pure “doing nothing” or it can be a so-called active vacation on a ranch.
Thank you very much Mr. Stensitzki for this exciting insight into the life and work of an MVP! I’m looking forward to part 2. Do you have any questions for our MVP? Please let us know in the comments.
Meet Thomas Stensitzki on social media
This was the first part of the Interview with Thomas Stensitzki. I hope you enjoyed getting insight in the life of an MVP!
See you soon!
Aline & the Lookeen team
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