A bit of an update on our travels to Phoenix….
I arrived in Phoenix this past Friday evening. Saturday was a full day as I awoke at 4:45 AM…caught a taxi at 5:30 AM and met some ‘new’ friends at Arcadia Park for a 12-mile run at 6AM. Thanks Phoenix Fit for allowing me to join you for some hard miles in the dry, hot Phoenix weather. Cooling off with some ‘refreshments’ was also a welcome treat! The locals in Phoenix are very kind to visitors.
After my hard work Saturday morning a group of us were treated to some team building of sorts. It was a great way to get to know some of our Microsoft counterparts as well as other partners. We spent the back half of the day at The Sanctuary, a beautiful resort at Camelback Mountain. I have to admit that there wasn’t too much talk of Microsoft Project on this excursion. But after an afternoon at the infinity edge pool overlooking the mountains and a 90-min massage I was all relaxed and ready for the big week ahead!
That evening we enjoyed dinner with all of the PAC members at Kenneth Steiness’s home in Chandler, AZ. The food was fantastic and it was a great way to get to know the other partners.
Now down to business! Sunday morning the PAC meetings officially began. We spent the entire day, along with most of today (Monday) learning and getting prepared for Project (Server) 2010. As Peter pointed out, the official launch is not until Wednesday. So I’m not privileged to disclose much at this time. But what I can say is that there is TREMENDOUS EXCITEMENT all the way up to the Executive levels within Microsoft about this new release! We’ll soon be talking about new features, benefits, and so on. So stay tuned for that.
Monday evening was the opening reception for the Microsoft Project Conference and I’ve already spoken to several of the exhibitors. They are equally as excited and the energy level shared between Microsoft and the Partner Community is the highest it’s been in the 8 years I’ve been working with this product. Stay tuned for more in the coming days and weeks!