Microsoft MVP Renewing
Drago Petrovic
Microsoft MVP
Honored to Be Renewed as a Microsoft MVP — For the Eighth Year in a Row
Eight years on, the email still gives me the same feeling. Today I'm proud to share that I've been re-awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award, once again in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams.
The announcement
There are a handful of dates in the year that every Microsoft MVP keeps an eye on — and award day is the big one. This morning that familiar message arrived, and I'm genuinely happy and humbled to say that my MVP award has been renewed for the eighth consecutive year.
Eight years is a long stretch in our industry. The products have changed, the community has grown, and the way we work has been reinvented more than once. What hasn't changed is how much it means to be trusted with this recognition. The MVP award has never felt like a finish line to me — it's a vote of confidence to keep doing the work, and an encouragement to do it better.
So before anything else: thank you. To Microsoft for the continued trust, and to everyone in the community who reads, comments, shares, challenges, and shows up. This award is as much yours as it is mine.
The categories I'm awarded in
This year's recognition once again sits at the heart of the modern workplace.
Microsoft 365
The platform that ties the modern workplace together — identity, collaboration, governance, and the automation that keeps it all running smoothly day after day.
Microsoft Teams
From everyday collaboration to Teams Phone and enterprise voice, this is where so much real-world work now happens — and where there's always something new to figure out.
A quick word on what the MVP award is
For readers who are new to it.
The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award recognises people who actively share their technical knowledge with the community — through writing, speaking, building, mentoring, and helping others succeed with Microsoft technologies. It's renewed each year based on the past year's contributions, which is exactly why a multi-year streak means a lot: it reflects a steady, ongoing commitment rather than a single moment.
It's a community-first award, and that's the part I value most. The best thing about it isn't the title — it's the people it connects you with: fellow MVPs, Regional Directors, and the product teams who genuinely listen to feedback from the field.
Being an MVP has never been about the badge. It's about staying useful — turning what I learn in the field into something the next person can pick up and run with.
— On eight years in the program
Thank you — sincerely
No one reaches year eight on their own.
To Microsoft, and to the program team and product groups who keep the door open for honest, two-way conversations: thank you for the continued trust. To the wider MVP family — many of whom I'm lucky enough to now call friends — thank you for the generosity, the late-night debates, and the constant willingness to share.
To the community that reads the blog, attends the sessions, and sends the questions that turn into the next article or script: you are the reason any of this is worth doing. And on a personal note, thank you to my family and to my colleagues at dotCLOUD Consulting for the support that makes the community work possible alongside the day job.
My promise for the year ahead
An award is a renewal of trust. Here's how I plan to honour it.
Writing on the blog
Keep publishing practical, hands-on articles on MSB365 — the kind you can act on the same day, covering Microsoft 365, Exchange Online, Teams, and the real-world problems behind them.
Speaking at events
Continue to take the stage — at conferences, user groups, and community days — to share what's working in the field and to learn just as much from the rooms I'm in.
Organising events
Keep building places for the community to meet — from the Cloud8 Summit to podcasts and the MVP Taxi — because the conversations that happen there are worth more than any single talk.
Direct support
Stay reachable for the one-to-one moments that don't make it into a blog post — answering questions, unblocking people, and helping where it actually counts.
Tools & scripts
Keep building and sharing PowerShell scripts and tools that take the friction out of everyday administration — free, documented, and ready to use.