March 21-23, 2017 | Hyatt Regency Bellevue

In order to be successful, smart businesses must continue to build strong partnerships.

Each year, the Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit provides an unparalleled opportunity for leaders across the industry to connect, build relationships, and share ideas on how to expand and build new services, drive innovation, and create new business opportunities. This exclusive, invitation-only event will commence on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 11:30am and end on Thursday, March 23, 2017, at 4:30pm. Keynote sessions, breakout tracks, workshops, and networking opportunities are intended to help you forge new ideas, services, and partnerships to advance your hosting business.

We look forward to connecting and collaborating with you!

Warm regards,
Keith Barnett

General information

Summit Attendees

This invite-only event brings together the leading worldwide cloud service providers which include pure-play hosters, Telco’s, MSPs, ISVs and SI.

Summit Details

March 21-23, 2017

Hyatt Regency Bellevue
900 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004, USA

Location

The 2017 Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit is being held at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Bellevue, Washington, USA.

Hotel

The Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit is pleased to offer the Hyatt Regency Bellevue for your accomodation needs. You may make your reservations at this hotel during registration.

Hyatt Regency Bellevue

Hyatt Regency Bellevue

The 2017 Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit hotel block is now closed. Please contact the Hyatt Regency Bellevue directly to book a reservation, but rates and availability cannot be guaranteed.

Hyatt Regency Bellevue
900 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004, USA
Phone: +1 (425) 462-1234

Below are nearby hotels that you may also contact directly to reserve your room. Please note that you will be responsible for transportation to and from the event.

The Westin Bellevue (.2 mile away)
Courtyard Seattle Bellevue/Downtown (.4 mile away)
Seattle Marriott Bellevue (.8 mile away)
Sheraton Bellevue Hotel (1 mile away)

Bellevue facts

Bellevue combines a stunning natural setting and vibrant metropolitan center with world-class arts, entertainment and cuisine.

The name Bellevue was adopted from a French term meaning “beautiful view.”

Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, across Lake Washington from Seattle with a population of roughly 125,000.

Bellevue weather

The average temperature in the Seattle-Bellevue area during March is in the low 50s Fahrenheit during the day and mid to lower 40s Fahrenheit in the evening. These temperatures are typically accompanied by cloudy skies and scattered rain showers. Ensure your comfort by packing an all-weather jacket and an umbrella.

Airport information

Major Airport: The nearest airport serviced by a number of commercial airlines is Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA-TAC). SEA-TAC is approximately 30 minutes from Bellevue.

Private Planes: Private planes utilize Clay Lacy Aviation at Boeing Field, which is about 20 minutes from the Hyatt Hotel.

Area transportation

Taxis, limouisines, and Uber are available at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Should you prefer to arrange for car service ahead of time, the following companies are available for hire:

Yellow Cab: + 1 (206) 622-6500
Carey Limousines: + 1 (206) 762-3517

Agenda

All activities, unless otherwise stated, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue.
If you aren’t attending in-person, register to watch the keynote sessions streamed live.

Tuesday March 21, 2017

9:00 AM
Registration Desk opens - Grand Foyer
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

CSP Lounge - Grand Foyer

The Cloud Solution Provider Program (CSP) Lounge will be open on Tuesday, March 21 from 10 AM - 5 PM. This will be your opportunity to talk and meet with solution experts on CSP products (Office 365, Azure, Sky for Business, EMS and others). There will also be the opportunity to get live demos around some of the new workloads to better position them with your customers.

11:30 AM - 12:00 PM

SkyKick Session: Scalable, Sticky, High-Margin Cloud revenue with O365 & Azure

Large IT Cloud Solution Providers are pursuing a transformational cloud opportunity. The best are finding ways to build revenue streams that are not just high-margin, but also drive stickiness with their target customers and have huge upside potential. SkyKick's work on the front-lines of cloud management with Office 365 and Azure has given us a perspective on how large cloud solution providers are grabbing the opportunity. In this session, SkyKick execs will share best practices and tips that can help you to unlock the opportunity.

Lenovo Session: Considerations when Building and Enhancing Your Hybrid Cloud Environment

Join Lenovo for a panel discussion to explore the challenges finding an easy to install, reliable and manageable cloud infrastructure. The panel discussion will discuss various solutions for cloud or cloud-connected environments spanning individual, department/branch and enterprise solutions - for private or hybrid cloud. The panel will be asked to touch on how a broad range of customers’ requirements can be accommodated from a cloud-connected edge device to racks of servers in a service provider. Come and join us and find out more.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Transition to breakouts
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM

HGST Session: Unlock the Business Value of Spaces Direct with Western Digital and DataON

The ROI from the strategic investments you make in Storage Spaces Direct during the coming year will depend on which vendors’ products you choose. Learn why the largest cloud providers rely on Western Digital and its HGST and SanDisk branded products, and how DataON Storage delivers storage systems optimized for Windows Server environments. You’ll see a live demo of DataON MUST, a new management solution for at-a-glance management of Spaces Direct environments.

Cisco Session: Cisco Integrated System on Cisco Azure Stack

On February 9th Cisco announced its intention to provide Integrated Systems for Microsoft’s Azure Stack solution. Cisco provides a unique value prop for Azure Stack by leveraging the strong joint engineering relationship combined with best practices from the broader portfolio of Cisco’s cloud offerings. From this presentation, it will become clear why Cisco must be considered as a primary candidate for any Azure Stack installation.

1:45 PM - 2:00 PM
Transition to next breakout
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Session: Accelerate Your Azure Hybrid Cloud Business with HPE

The ongoing rapid market acceptance of Microsoft Azure, the robust growth of managed cloud services and the upcoming release of Microsoft Azure Stack is creating an exceptional opportunity for service providers to increase their business by delivering Azure consistent services. HPE is partnering with Microsoft to help you take advantage of this situation. Join us to learn how HPE can help you accelerate your business with Microsoft Azure Stack.

Reinvent or die: how to survive the era of digital transformation

The market is changing. Customers are changing. Perceptions are changing. Cloud is disrupting the service provider business at the speed of light. The key to survival? Reinventing your business, with a clear focus on modern marketing. During the workshop, Maarten will discuss all relevant aspects of modern marketing and show you examples of how you can reinvent your business. Let the reinvention begin. www.paal15.com

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Transition to breakout / coffee service
3:00 PM - 3:45 PM

Azure Selling Best Practises

Come learn how to position and sell Azure to your customers. We’ll share best practices, top questions almost all customers ask and key things to position to improve your close rates.

Selling Business Productivity Solutions at Scale to SMB Customers

In this session we’ll go through 3 steps to uncover your cross and upsell potential in a scalable and repeatable way across Microsoft Cloud Productivity Services. Also, there will be a special emphasis on building a channel motion.

3:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Transition to next breakout
4:00 PM - 4:45 PM

Transforming Your Business with Azure and Microsoft Cloud Platform: 2 customer perspectives

Companies across many industries are transforming their business models and delivery capabilities by leveraging cloud-based deployments. Find out how a healthcare provider and a security software vendor are using the cloud to innovate and accelerate their businesses.

Best Practises about Research about Office 365 and methods to identify what customers want to buy next

Learn from two of our research firms about what customers are buying, why they are buying it, and what they want to buy next. See how to scorecard your own performance using public data and consider adding Net Promoter Score research on the end of every sale.

4:45 PM - 4:50 PM
Transition to breakout
4:50 PM - 5:35 PM

Partner Center and Tools to help you Transact

In this session we will discuss the features of Partner Center, latest updates the platform and how it can help you transact and scale. Plus we will be discussing open source tools to quickly teach how to use the available CSP APIs for management, reporting and analytics.

Harnessing Cloud to Monetize the IoT Explosion

IoT is rapidly reshaping all aspects of our lives. By 2020, 30B sensors will be connected to the Internet. The data from these sensors is enabling companies to truly transform their business models. Come and learn about Microsoft customers that are already leveraging Azure to power their IoT investments and build new revenue streams.

6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Welcome Reception / Networking Evening in the Sponsor and Exhibitor Hall

Wednesday March 22, 2017

7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast in Exhibit Hall
8:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session

Watch these keynotes via live streaming

12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Lunch in Exhibit Hall
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM
Transition to breakouts
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Cloud MSP Breakout

Accelerating Innovation in Azure: Sneak preview of new and upcoming Azure Services to help grow your business

Mining your existing customers to drive incremental customers is key to business growth besides acquiring net new customers. Keep up with the pace of innovation @ Azure and learn about the new & upcoming Azure Services that you need to include in your tool-kit to grow your business.

Focusing on DevOps & Automation to build a profitable managed services business on Azure

Running a Profitable Managed Services business relies on DevOps expertise and singular focus on automation. In this session, come learn how to leverage the power of ARM Templates, Azure Functions, Azure Automation (w/ DSC) and configuration management in a modern continuous release DevOps CI/CD environment. We will share how a typical Azure Service uses DevOps & automation to their own advantage internally as well as focus on Secure DevOps and insights into removing objections.

Managed Services on Azure: Microsoft Priorities and Investments

Microsoft is a partner-led company and Cloud MSPs are key to driving Azure consumption. Microsoft is making significant investments and removing friction points to help Cloud MSPs acquire net new customers and grow consumption with existing ones with a focus on your growth and profitability. Unlocking these is key to our joint success…

Growth Acceleration with Azure in a Consumption World

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Breakout Rotation 1:

Applications Breakout: Cloud economics and the importance of selling business value to drive digital transformation

The speakers will cover some important principles in cloud economics, and how the focus on differentiation and customer success can boost overall profitability. But to do that, a partner must also have developed their cloud practices to support their growth, which we will share as the building block for a successful cloud practice. We also cover the latest CSP incentives, and some great practices straight from some of the most successful partners in CSP.

Infrastructure Breakout: Workload and Application migration to Azure – your path to recurring revenue!

For service providers, the ability to assess, migrate, manage and optimize customer workloads is critical to building a recurring cloud managed services revenue stream. In this session you will learn about the key opportunities our customers’ transition to public cloud presents you as a service provider, some of the key capabilities these customers are looking to consume, Microsoft Azure cloud migration framework, tools and best practices that you can leverage to build a scalable cloud migration practice. We will also hear from some of our partners who are already profiting from thriving cloud migration practices.

Marketing Breakout: Building Infrastructure Offers that Win. On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

In this session we will look at ISVs and Infrastructure buyers and identify key offerings that are working in market and how to entice movement through infrastructure assessments and data platform activities.

3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Transition to next breakout / coffee service
3:20 PM - 4:20 PM

Breakout Rotation 2:

Applications Breakout: Driving Office 365 Sales Velocity and Building customer trust - by investing in vertical offers

Understand how investing in vertical offers creates stickiness and value add for your customers - enabling you to drive Office 365 sales and build customer trust, cross-sell cloud workloads and maximize the customer’s quality of experience with partner services.

Infrastructure Breakout: How Data Platform and Intelligent Services can make you win new customer deals

Join this session to learn from Microsoft and partners how Data Platform and Intelligence Services can be key to transform your practices into a real value added Solutions and Products. Hosters and Managed Service Providers can take advantage of customer’s data in many ways, so you can differentiate and win new opportunities in the market by driving Digital Transformation.

Licensing Breakout: Modern Licensing for Cloud Solutions

In this session you will learn about recent updates to Microsoft licensing programs for Cloud & Hosting partners. Modern licensing enables you to leverage Microsoft software & Online Services for your hybrid cloud solutions. We will discuss the Microsoft services presented in breakout sessions from a licensing perspective. We will also touch on Azure Stack licensing for service providers.

4:20 PM - 4:30 PM
Transition to next breakout
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Breakout Rotation 3:

Applications Breakout: Build with Office 365 - Modern Meetings and Security As A Service

This session will provide insight on how to help increase your average revenue per Office 365 user and drive higher customer lifetime value.

Infrastructure Breakout: Remote Desktop Services (RDS): Why do you support 24x7 infrastructure for apps that run from 8 AM - 5 PM?

With scripting or support from the ISVs, service providers can take advantage of the application and desktop usage patterns on Azure. This 8AM to 5PM RDS optimization and infrastructure scaling is native to cloud. It allows for 30%-70% ongoing infrastructure cost savings and drives margin expansion and/or addressing needs of new customers segments. In this session we will share with you business model for the RDS to Azure transformation, examples of partners taking on this opportunity and point you towards tools and partners that will make that transition easier.

Marketing Breakout: Success with Azure Beyond the Enterprise - Making Azure Relevant for All Segments

Learn how to leverage Azure’s hyper scale availability and Enterprise class feature set to develop, reach, attract and support new segments and technology channels. From SMBs to ISVs – Azure, combined with your brand and unique competencies, provides a platform to explore and enable untapped product bundles, attach scenarios and revenue streams. In this session you will hear from key US and WW infrastructure marketing leads about current midmarket and SMB market trends and how to translate the expanding opportunity of IT transformation into actionable steps to accelerate your Azure and Microsoft technology practice.

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Exhibit Hall Cocktail Reception
7:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Networking Evening Offsite at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar, Bellevue

Thursday March 23, 2017

7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast in Exhibit Hall
8:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Keynote Session

Watch these keynotes via live streaming

12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
Lunch in Exhibit Hall
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM
Transition to breakouts
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Breakout Rotation 4:

Applications Breakout: Building and Growing your Dynamics 365 Business

The Dynamics 365 business continues to see market momentum. Join this session to gain insights into the Dynamics business and how to build your Dynamics 365 practice.

Cloud MSP Breakout: Drive transformative change with Advanced Analytics

Advanced analytics a key differentiator as it helps business gain strategic insights to trends & opportunities in real time. Microsoft has several rich analytics offerings that build on familiar tools that significantly reduce deployment and training time. In this session, you will get a glimpse into Cortana Intelligence services such as Azure Machine Learning, IOT, Data Factory, Stream Analytics, the new Intelligence services such as Cognitive Services and Bot Framework, and the business value it provides.

Infrastructure Breakout: Azure Stack – Hybrid Azure Opportunity Update

Azure provides a rich platform for developers to modernize their applications, and in fact most applications are moving to public cloud quickly. Some applications however face technological and regulatory obstacles; regulation, latency, data sensitivity, and customization needs are primary examples. Azure Stack provides a way to run the same applications in on-premises environments. In this session you we will update you with the latest Azure Stack information and help you make a decision on how and when to deploy Azure Stack in your datacenter.

Marketing Breakout: Three Partners Delivering Big Transformation in Small Business

Learn how hosting and cloud service providers help SMBs to transform and grow their business. Panel discussion with 3 partners who have evolved their portfolio together with Microsoft to serve the changing needs of SMBs

3:00 PM - 3:20 PM
Transition to next breakout / coffee service
3:20 PM - 4:20 PM

Breakout Rotation 5:

Cloud MSP Breakout: Investing in Cloud Tooling - Margin expansion in a high growth hyper scale cloud market

Cloud tooling is a critical investment to allow for margin expansion as you drive high velocity growth. Critical areas to focus are Assessment & Migration, Security, Automation and DevOps, Monitoring and Management, Automated Provisioning & Deployment etc. Enabling ISVs executives will share with you their value proposition, integration with Azure ARM/CSP APIs and business model to enable you to build automated Cloud Tooling.

Infrastructure Breakout: Identity Driven Security

Winning and Managing Identity: The fundamental workload for any customer moving to Public/Private/Hybrid Cloud.

Licensing Breakout: Modern Licensing for Cloud Solutions

In this session you will learn about recent updates to Microsoft licensing programs for Cloud & Hosting partners. Modern licensing enables you to leverage Microsoft software & Online Services for your hybrid cloud solutions. We will discuss the Microsoft services presented in breakout sessions from a licensing perspective. We will also touch on Azure Stack licensing for service providers.

4:30 PM
Event concludes

Keynote Speakers

Aziz Benmalek

VP of WW Hosting & Managed Service Providers, Microsoft Corporation

Aziz Benmalek

VP of Worldwide Hosting & Managed Service Providers, Microsoft Corporation

Aziz Benmalek is the Vice President of the Worldwide Hosting & Managed Service Providers group in Microsoft. The Hosting & Cloud Services team works with a diverse partner ecosystem of over 29,000 Hosters, Service Providers, SaaS Providers/ISVs, Outsourcers and Telecommunication companies from around the world to deliver flexible cloud solutions to customers. As one of the fastest growing channels for IT delivery, the Hosting Service Providers organization is a strategic line of business chartered to land Microsoft’s cloud vision across platform and applications.

As Vice President of WW HMSP, Benmalek oversees the strategy and go-to-market across sales, marketing, technical enablement and business development. Working across multiple businesses and product groups, Hosting Service Providers develops infrastructure and productivity solutions to drive Microsoft cloud platform adoption, deployment and consumption.

Prior to his current role, Benmalek was general manager of the U.S. Hosting and Cloud Services business, working with nearly 6,000 U.S. based partners. There, Benmalek developed a deep, end-to-end engagement model working with partners to jointly create the vision, strategy, business case, and go-to-market scenarios to maximize market opportunities. While leading the U.S. business, Benmalek delivered double digit growth each year and scaled the business by hundreds of millions of dollars over several years.

Benmalek has over 24 years of global experience in the technology industry and has been with Microsoft for the last 18 years in various senior leadership positions. Prior to being general manager of U.S. Hosting & Cloud Services, he led the WW Hosting business in the Communications Sector, and managed the Global Partner Group in the Enterprise & Partner segment, based in Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington. Benmalek was also a Country General Manager in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, based in Dubai and Casablanca, and led the Small and Medium Business in Microsoft France.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Benmalek worked several years in IT consulting at AXA France in the CIC Financial Group, and led Sales and Marketing with an ISV in Paris.

Benmalek attended “Classe Preparatoire” in Lycee Louis-Le-Grand in Paris, holds an Engineering Degree from École Centrale Paris, and a MBA from the European School of Management (ESCP).

Steve Clayton

Chief Storyteller and General Manager of Microsoft’s Image & Culture team, Microsoft Corporation

Steve Clayton

Chief Storyteller and General Manager of Microsoft’s Image & Culture team, Microsoft Corporation

Steve Clayton is Microsoft’s Chief Storyteller and General Manager of Microsoft’s Image & Culture team. The team is responsible for Microsoft’s company storytelling both internally and externally with a mission to change the perception of Microsoft through stories. Steve was the architect of the acclaimed “88 Acres” story that heralded a new direction for Microsoft’s corporate storytelling and led to the creation of microsoft.com/stories

Prior to this, Steve was Director of Cloud Strategy in Microsoft International and CTO of Microsoft's UK Partner Group. He has worked at Microsoft for over 18 years in a range of sales and technical roles - always with a passion for technology and its potential impact on the world. Steve has been awarded the coveted Microsoft Circle of Excellence Award three times during his career.

Steve holds a 1st class Honours degree from Loughborough University in Information and Computing. Outside of work he’s a fan of Liverpool Football Club and enjoys design and scuba diving.

Amy Hood

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Worldwide Finance Organization, Microsoft Corporation

Amy Hood

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Worldwide Finance Organization, Microsoft Corporation

As chief financial officer, Amy Hood is responsible for leading Microsoft’s worldwide finance organization, including acquisitions, treasury activities, tax planning, accounting and reporting, and internal audit and investor relations.

Prior to this role, Hood was chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Business Division, responsible for the company’s productivity applications and services including Microsoft Office 365, Office, SharePoint, Exchange, Dynamics ERP and Dynamics CRM. During her time in the Business Division, Hood helped lead the transition to the company’s Office 365 service, and she was deeply involved in the strategy development and overall execution of the company’s successful acquisitions of Skype and Yammer.

Hood joined Microsoft in 2002 and previously held positions in the Server and Tools Business as well as the corporate finance organization. Prior to 2002, she worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. in various investment banking and capital markets groups roles.

Hood earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. Hood lives in Seattle with her husband and daughters.

Giovanni Mezgec

General Manager, Microsoft Office Marketing Team, Microsoft Corporation

Giovanni Mezgec

General Manager, Microsoft Office Marketing Team, Microsoft Corporation

Giovanni Mezgec is a General Manager in the Microsoft Office Marketing Team. In this role, Giovanni is responsible for global partner marketing for Office 365. Specifically, he is accountable for defining and executing the strategy to grow our partner ecosystem and make Office, Office 365 and Skype for Business even more successful in the marketplace.

Giovanni joined Microsoft in 1990 as a software localization engineer. Since then, he has held many positions in both the product management and marketing disciplines working on products like Microsoft Windows, Interactive TV, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft BackOffice, Microsoft Project, Office Apps, Skype, Skype for Business as well as several cross company marketing and sales campaigns.

Giovanni lives in Seattle with his wife Shelby and in his spare time, enjoys travelling and physical exercise!

Mike Neil

Corporate Vice President, Azure Infrastructure & Management, Microsoft Corporation

Mike Neil

Corporate Vice President, Azure Infrastructure & Management, Microsoft Corporation

Mike is the Corporate Vice President of the Azure Infrastructure & Management group. A senior leader in engineering for Microsoft, Mike has responsibility for the Azure management tools, infrastructure, including hardware and Azure marketplaces, and for developing and executing the Azure Stack hybrid scenarios for enterprise customers enabling them to run Azure services within their own datacenters.

Mike has had an active leadership role in Azure Operational Insights, Azure Automation and Microsoft’s Cloud Platform System and helped double Azure revenue and capacity year over year. In his 14+ years with Microsoft Mike has overseen the engineering of Windows Server, System Center, and been responsible for Microsoft’s server and PC virtualization.

Mike joined Microsoft as part of Microsoft’s 2003 acquisition of Connectix Corp. While at Connectix, Mike was the vice president of engineering and worked on the original team that developed Virtual PC Mac, allowing Apple Macintosh computers to run Windows. Mike also was one of the founding members of Pixo, a Silicon Valley start-up company that developed operating systems and applications for handheld devices, the most notable of which is the Apple iPod.

After attending the University of Michigan, Mike joined Apple culminating as the integration lead and technical lead for Apple’s Macintosh OS.

Aziz Benmalek, VP of Worldwide Hosting & Managed Service Providers, Microsoft Corporation

Aziz Benmalek is the Vice President of the Worldwide Hosting & Managed Service Providers group in Microsoft. The Hosting & Cloud Services team works with a diverse partner ecosystem of over 29,000 Hosters, Service Providers, SaaS Providers/ISVs, Outsourcers and Telecommunication companies from around the world to deliver flexible cloud solutions to customers. As one of the fastest growing channels for IT delivery, the Hosting Service Providers organization is a strategic line of business chartered to land Microsoft’s cloud vision across platform and applications.

As Vice President of WW HMSP, Benmalek oversees the strategy and go-to-market across sales, marketing, technical enablement and business development. Working across multiple businesses and product groups, Hosting Service Providers develops infrastructure and productivity solutions to drive Microsoft cloud platform adoption, deployment and consumption.

Prior to his current role, Benmalek was general manager of the U.S. Hosting and Cloud Services business, working with nearly 6,000 U.S. based partners. There, Benmalek developed a deep, end-to-end engagement model working with partners to jointly create the vision, strategy, business case, and go-to-market scenarios to maximize market opportunities. While leading the U.S. business, Benmalek delivered double digit growth each year and scaled the business by hundreds of millions of dollars over several years.

Benmalek has over 24 years of global experience in the technology industry and has been with Microsoft for the last 18 years in various senior leadership positions. Prior to being general manager of U.S. Hosting & Cloud Services, he led the WW Hosting business in the Communications Sector, and managed the Global Partner Group in the Enterprise & Partner segment, based in Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Washington. Benmalek was also a Country General Manager in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, based in Dubai and Casablanca, and led the Small and Medium Business in Microsoft France.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Benmalek worked several years in IT consulting at AXA France in the CIC Financial Group, and led Sales and Marketing with an ISV in Paris.

Benmalek attended “Classe Preparatoire” in Lycee Louis-Le-Grand in Paris, holds an Engineering Degree from École Centrale Paris, and a MBA from the European School of Management (ESCP).

Steve Clayton , Chief Storyteller and General Manager of Microsoft’s Image & Culture team, Microsoft Corporation

Steve Clayton is Microsoft’s Chief Storyteller and General Manager of Microsoft’s Image & Culture team. The team is responsible for Microsoft’s company storytelling both internally and externally with a mission to change the perception of Microsoft through stories. Steve was the architect of the acclaimed “88 Acres” story that heralded a new direction for Microsoft’s corporate storytelling and led to the creation of microsoft.com/stories

Prior to this, Steve was Director of Cloud Strategy in Microsoft International and CTO of Microsoft's UK Partner Group. He has worked at Microsoft for over 18 years in a range of sales and technical roles - always with a passion for technology and its potential impact on the world. Steve has been awarded the coveted Microsoft Circle of Excellence Award three times during his career.

Steve holds a 1st class Honours degree from Loughborough University in Information and Computing. Outside of work he’s a fan of Liverpool Football Club and enjoys design and scuba diving.

Amy Hood, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Worldwide Finance Organization, Microsoft Corporation

As chief financial officer, Amy Hood is responsible for leading Microsoft’s worldwide finance organization, including acquisitions, treasury activities, tax planning, accounting and reporting, and internal audit and investor relations.

Prior to this role, Hood was chief financial officer of Microsoft’s Business Division, responsible for the company’s productivity applications and services including Microsoft Office 365, Office, SharePoint, Exchange, Dynamics ERP and Dynamics CRM. During her time in the Business Division, Hood helped lead the transition to the company’s Office 365 service, and she was deeply involved in the strategy development and overall execution of the company’s successful acquisitions of Skype and Yammer.

Hood joined Microsoft in 2002 and previously held positions in the Server and Tools Business as well as the corporate finance organization. Prior to 2002, she worked at Goldman Sachs & Co. in various investment banking and capital markets groups roles.

Hood earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. Hood lives in Seattle with her husband and daughters.

Giovanni Mezgec, General Manager, Microsoft Office Marketing Team, Microsoft Corporation

Giovanni Mezgec is a General Manager in the Microsoft Office Marketing Team. In this role, Giovanni is responsible for global partner marketing for Office 365. Specifically, he is accountable for defining and executing the strategy to grow our partner ecosystem and make Office, Office 365 and Skype for Business even more successful in the marketplace.

Giovanni joined Microsoft in 1990 as a software localization engineer. Since then, he has held many positions in both the product management and marketing disciplines working on products like Microsoft Windows, Interactive TV, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft BackOffice, Microsoft Project, Office Apps, Skype, Skype for Business as well as several cross company marketing and sales campaigns.

Giovanni lives in Seattle with his wife Shelby and in his spare time, enjoys travelling and physical exercise!

Mike Neil, Corporate Vice President, Azure Infrastructure, Microsoft Corporation

Mike is the Corporate Vice President of the Azure Infrastructure & Management group. A senior leader in engineering for Microsoft, Mike has responsibility for the Azure management tools, infrastructure, including hardware and Azure marketplaces, and for developing and executing the Azure Stack hybrid scenarios for enterprise customers enabling them to run Azure services within their own datacenters.

Mike has had an active leadership role in Azure Operational Insights, Azure Automation and Microsoft’s Cloud Platform System and helped double Azure revenue and capacity year over year. In his 14+ years with Microsoft Mike has overseen the engineering of Windows Server, System Center, and been responsible for Microsoft’s server and PC virtualization.

Mike joined Microsoft as part of Microsoft’s 2003 acquisition of Connectix Corp. While at Connectix, Mike was the vice president of engineering and worked on the original team that developed Virtual PC Mac, allowing Apple Macintosh computers to run Windows. Mike also was one of the founding members of Pixo, a Silicon Valley start-up company that developed operating systems and applications for handheld devices, the most notable of which is the Apple iPod.

After attending the University of Michigan, Mike joined Apple culminating as the integration lead and technical lead for Apple’s Macintosh OS.

Melanie Posey

Research Vice President, 451 Research

Melanie Posey

Research Vice President, 451 Research

Melanie Posey is the Research Vice President for 451 Research’s Voice of the Enterprise: Cloud Transformation offering, focusing on tracking, analyzing, and anticipating the pace and nature of enterprise cloud adoption.

Prior to joining 451 Research, Melanie spent more than 15 years at IDC in a variety of roles, providing analysis, forecasting, and insight for the cloud, hosting, datacenter, managed services, and telecommunications markets. At IDC, Melanie received numerous awards for research, collaboration, sales support, and client service, including being named runner-up for the prestigious James Peacock Memorial Award.

During her more than 20-year career in the technology research and consulting arena, Melanie has been quoted extensively in the business and technology trade press and is a frequent speaker at industry and client events.

Melanie holds an M.A. in International Relations/International Economics from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a division of Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.A. in French from Amherst College.

Joseph Sirosh

Corporate Vice President of Data Group, Microsoft Corporation

Joseph Sirosh

Corporate Vice President, Data Group, Microsoft Corporation

Joseph Sirosh is the Corporate Vice President of the Data Group, leading Microsoft’s Database, Big Data and Machine Learning products.

Joseph joined Microsoft in fall 2013 from Amazon.com Inc. where he was most recently the vice president for the Global Inventory Platform, responsible for the science and software behind Amazon’s supply chain and order fulfillment systems, as well as the central Machine Learning group, which he built and led.

Before joining Amazon, he worked for Fair Isaac Corp. as vice president of research and development, where he led R&D projects for DARPA, homeland security and several government organizations. He is passionate about machine learning and its applications and has been active in the field since 1990.

Joseph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a B. Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Chennai.

Mike Walsh

CEO of Tomorrow

Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow

Mike is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century. He advises leaders on how to thrive in the current era of disruptive technological change. Mike’s bestselling books include ‘Futuretainment’ and ‘The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas’. Each week he interviews provocative thinkers, innovators and troublemakers on his weekly podcast, ‘Between Worlds’. A true nomad, Mike travels over 300 days a year worldwide, researching trends, collecting innovation case studies and presenting on the future of business. You can follow him on Twitter at @mikewalsh

A message from Mike Walsh

Julia White

Corporate Vice President, Azure + Security Marketing, Microsoft Corporation

Julia White, Corporate Vice President, Azure + Security Marketing, Microsoft Corporation

Julia leads marketing and product management of Microsoft’s Azure + Security portfolio of products. This includes Microsoft Azure, Enterprise Mobility + Security, Operations Management + Security and extends to hybrid and on-premises infrastructure. In this function, Julia is responsible for the value proposition, global go to market strategy and industry engagement, she works in partnership with engineering leadership to chart the technical direction of the services.

In addition to her product related charter, she also leads National Cloud and Datacenter marketing for the company. In this role, she partners closely with engineering and operations to direct the strategy of our datacenter investments and present them to the market; including evaluating where to invest in sovereign cloud offerings, for example in China and Germany.

Julia joined Microsoft in 2001 as a product manager in Server and Tools, working on the BizTalk Server team. She moved to the US subsidiary to run Small & Medium Business Channel Marketing and Sales Incentives. Subsequently she returned to product management to lead Exchange Server product marketing; in this role, she was instrumental in leading the product’s evolution from an on-premises server technology to Exchange Online; one of Microsoft’s earliest and most successful public cloud workloads.

Over time her remit broadened from messaging to encompass Office 365 product management and technical marketing. She came to public prominence in this role, in March 2014 where she joined Satya at his first public appearance as CEO, helping to launch the Office for iPad apps.

Melanie Posey, Research Vice President, 451 Research

Melanie Posey is the Research Vice President for 451 Research’s Voice of the Enterprise: Cloud Transformation offering, focusing on tracking, analyzing, and anticipating the pace and nature of enterprise cloud adoption.

Prior to joining 451 Research, Melanie spent more than 15 years at IDC in a variety of roles, providing analysis, forecasting, and insight for the cloud, hosting, datacenter, managed services, and telecommunications markets. At IDC, Melanie received numerous awards for research, collaboration, sales support, and client service, including being named runner-up for the prestigious James Peacock Memorial Award.

During her more than 20-year career in the technology research and consulting arena, Melanie has been quoted extensively in the business and technology trade press and is a frequent speaker at industry and client events.

Melanie holds an M.A. in International Relations/International Economics from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), a division of Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. in political science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.A. in French from Amherst College.

Joseph Sirosh, Corporate Vice President, Data Group, Microsoft Corporation

Joseph Sirosh is the Corporate Vice President of the Data Group, leading Microsoft’s Database, Big Data and Machine Learning products.

Joseph joined Microsoft in fall 2013 from Amazon.com Inc. where he was most recently the vice president for the Global Inventory Platform, responsible for the science and software behind Amazon’s supply chain and order fulfillment systems, as well as the central Machine Learning group, which he built and led.

Before joining Amazon, he worked for Fair Isaac Corp. as vice president of research and development, where he led R&D projects for DARPA, homeland security and several government organizations. He is passionate about machine learning and its applications and has been active in the field since 1990.

Joseph holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a B. Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Chennai.

Mike Walsh, CEO of Tomorrow

Mike is the CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century. He advises leaders on how to thrive in the current era of disruptive technological change. Mike’s bestselling books include ‘Futuretainment’ and ‘The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas’. Each week he interviews provocative thinkers, innovators and troublemakers on his weekly podcast, ‘Between Worlds’. A true nomad, Mike travels over 300 days a year worldwide, researching trends, collecting innovation case studies and presenting on the future of business. You can follow him on Twitter at @mikewalsh

A message from Mike Walsh

Julia White, Corporate Vice President, Azure + Security Marketing, Microsoft Corporation

Julia leads marketing and product management of Microsoft’s Azure + Security portfolio of products. This includes Microsoft Azure, Enterprise Mobility + Security, Operations Management + Security and extends to hybrid and on-premises infrastructure. In this function, Julia is responsible for the value proposition, global go to market strategy and industry engagement, she works in partnership with engineering leadership to chart the technical direction of the services.

In addition to her product related charter, she also leads National Cloud and Datacenter marketing for the company. In this role, she partners closely with engineering and operations to direct the strategy of our datacenter investments and present them to the market; including evaluating where to invest in sovereign cloud offerings, for example in China and Germany.

Julia joined Microsoft in 2001 as a product manager in Server and Tools, working on the BizTalk Server team. She moved to the US subsidiary to run Small & Medium Business Channel Marketing and Sales Incentives. Subsequently she returned to product management to lead Exchange Server product marketing; in this role, she was instrumental in leading the product’s evolution from an on-premises server technology to Exchange Online; one of Microsoft’s earliest and most successful public cloud workloads.

Over time her remit broadened from messaging to encompass Office 365 product management and technical marketing. She came to public prominence in this role, in March 2014 where she joined Satya at his first public appearance as CEO, helping to launch the Office for iPad apps.

Sponsors and Exhibitors

If you are interested in Sponsoring or Exhibiting at the Summit please email for an application or more information.

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Gold Sponsors

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Bronze Sponsors

Exhibitors

Thank you to our Sponsors and Exhibitors!

Frequently Asked Questions

Prior to the Summit, registered attendees will receive the opportunity to connect via an Event App whereby all registered attendees can download a free App and connect with all other registered attendees. Attendees can also request to join the Microsoft Cloud Hosting Partners LinkedIn group prior to the event to connect with other registered attendees.
This is an exclusive invitation-only event for key decision-makers from the Cloud and Hosting industry. Top-level executives from leading companies in the Cloud and Hosting industry will receive an invitation to attend, share ideas, and network. Space is limited, with a 2 person limit per company. Invitations will be sent starting January 10th, 2017. If you do not receive an invitation and would like to attend, please contact your Microsoft Channel Executive.

The Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit provides a unique opportunity for dialogue with leaders across the industry including Microsoft executives, technologists and the Microsoft Hosting and Managed Service Providers team. You will gain in-depth knowledge of Microsoft’s vision for the Cloud and Hosting industry and strategies for a growing partnership with Hosting and Managed Service providers.

Attendees are encouraged to engage fellow innovators in discussions on how to meet the challenges that face the hosting industry. Ultimately, one should leave the Summit empowered and with a better understanding of how to create, optimize, and grow the business.

There are two ways to update your event registration: 1) Re-enter the registration site as a Registered attendee using your username and password and make the change in your registration record accordingly. 2) Email the registration team with your change and you will receive a confirmation once the change is complete.

Online hotel reservations for the 2017 Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit are now closed. Hotel Reservation changes and cancellations are no longer accepted by the registration team. To make changes to or cancel an existing reservation, please contact the Hyatt Regency Bellevue directly starting 3:00pm Pacific Time on February 28th, 2017.

Please contact the Hyatt Regency Bellevue or hotels listed below for any new reservations. Space and rates are based upon hotel availability and cannot be guaranteed. Please note that you will be responsible for transportation to and from the event.

The Westin Bellevue (.2 mile away)
Courtyard Seattle Bellevue/Downtown (.4 mile away)
Seattle Marriott Bellevue (.8 mile away)
Sheraton Bellevue Hotel (1 mile away)

Attendees are responsible for their travel, transportation, and their hotel accommodations while at the Summit. There are no registration fees for partners invited to attend.
Yes. Meals will be provided during the Summit, starting with a lunch on Tuesday, March 21, and ending with a coffee break in the afternoon of Thursday, March 23 prior to departures.
All Microsoft Cloud and Hosting Summit sessions and events are business casual.
Foreign visitors require a passport (valid for six months longer than your intended stay) and there are particular requirements for certain country’s citizens to have a visa to enter the United States. If you require an invitation letter to satisfy visa requirements, please contact the registration team and you will be provided with a business travel letter. You must be registered for the Summit before we are able to provide you with a invitation letter. The Cloud and Hosting Summit can only provide an invitation letter for use during your visa application process. Please note that you are ultimately responsible for all aspects of entering the United States.
Yes. For any non-confidential sessions, PDF versions of the PowerPoint presentations will be available after the event to registered attendees only.

Event Registration

This exclusive event is now at capacity and in-person registration is closed.

Watch Live Event Stream

Join other organizations around the world to view the keynote sessions streamed live via the Cloud Channel Network. Gather your team in your local office and watch this year’s industry thought leaders take the stage.

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Keynote speaker