Brian Murphy’s Post

🌟 Embracing Change: My Microsoft Journey Today is my last day at Microsoft and I find myself reflecting on the remarkable voyage I’ve had—the highs, the challenges, and the invaluable lessons. Today, I want to share some of those insights with you. 🔹 Gratitude: To each one of you who has been part of my journey, thank you. From late-night troubleshooting sessions fueled by caffeine to celebratory team lunches, our shared experiences have left an indelible mark. You’ve been more than colleagues; you’ve been my companions in growth. And to those who supported my philanthropic ideas, your encouragement has been a beacon of light. 🔹 Learning and Growth: Microsoft has been my canvas for growth—a dynamic space where curiosity thrives. Growth mindet is actually lived! Here, I’ve collaborated with brilliant minds, wrestled with complex challenges, and stretched the boundaries of innovation. The lessons learned—both technical and human—will forever shape my career trajectory. 🔹 Inspirational Colleagues: To my mentors, Tim, Marcus, Yusuf, Jacqueline and Bernhard and fellow explorers, your unwavering support has been my compass. Special recognition goes to Celia, whose wisdom guided me through the corporate labyrinth. Our interactions weren’t just about KPIs, they were about resilience, empathy, and leadership. 🔹 Multicultural Magic: A heartfelt nod to the Multiculturals LT and Hueseyin —a vibrant tapestry of diversity. Together, we wove ideas, celebrated cultural nuances, and championed inclusion. In our global village, borders blurred, and perspectives merged. 🌎🌍🌏 As I step into the next chapter of my professional life, I carry with me the Microsoft spirit—the relentless pursuit of excellence, the passion for impact, and the unwavering belief that technology can change the world. 🚀 Onward and Upward: While my path diverges, our shared legacy remains. Let’s continue to learn, inspire, and create. Thank you, Microsoft, for being more than a workplace—it’s been a canvas of possibilities. #MicrosoftMemories #TechJourney #Grateful #womanintech

In the ever-evolving landscape of Microsoft, I’ve come to learn the immense value of clear communication and the subtle nuances of unconscious bias. The culture here is robust, a nurturing ground for learning and an opportunity for profound personal transformation. On this day, a personal milestone intertwines with my professional narrative. Twenty-six years ago, my wife and I welcomed our son Zach into the world. His life, though tragically brief as we lost him on the third of May, has been a beacon of inspiration. Zach’s legacy urges me to savor every second, to relish each smile and laugh, and to embrace every chance for joy and connection. Today, I choose to share this intimate part of my story openly, stepping into the vulnerability that Microsoft’s culture has taught me to value. It’s a step towards healing, understanding, and fostering deeper connections within our world wide community as I continue to learn. As we continue to support one another in our individual and collective journeys, let us remember the lessons from the lives that touch us. Zach’s memory is a powerful reminder to make the most of every moment and to approach each day with gratitude and openness. I’m fortunate to be at Microsoft, where I can share this day with my teammates. We’re spending it at a school, sharing what Microsoft offers to the community. Later, we’ll strengthen our bonds through a team-building exercise—a bake-off competition. #MicrosoftCulture #PersonalGrowth #Openness #Vulnerability #TeamBuilding

🔥 Join us for a full day of partners engagement on all Microsoft Fabric, from partner-specific opportunities to strategies for landing key workloads with your customers. This learning and networking event is offered for free and exclusively to partners attending the European Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon Europe), that will take place in Stockholm, Sweden the week of September 24, 2024. The free Partner Pre-Day will include: -> Deep dives into content specifically tailored for Microsoft partners. -> A conversational AMA with top Microsoft leadership. -> Time to mix and mingle with your peers and Microsoft counterparts. ➡ Purchase your pass* https://aka.ms/fce to FabCon Europe and then make plans to join us early for this free day of partners content and networking. * be sure to purchase the three-day pass, as the Partner Pre-Day is free! #MicrosoftFabric #Partners #Microsoftpartners #Microsoftadvocate #FabConEurope #partnerpreday Paul Goddard Angela Evans Guido Kerkhof Karina Battaglia Patricia Santos Mestre Therese Treutiger Goksel Topbas Leighton Searle Lillie Harris Fiona Carney Anne-Sophie TUAL Bonnie Pelosi Tamer Farag Nikolina Kvesic Jeeva AKR Renata S. Rocha Tyler Mays-ChildersJason Himmelstein Taylor Hartley-Logan

Can AI tell stories in languages other than English? AI, including ChatGPT, can't do what we are doing in data analytics. Language is the ultimate barrier for scalability. Today's AI is for English ONLY. But there are six UN official languages, and many other non-UN languages. Can AI handle them all? AI can do many things, but NOT everything. AI is expensive 💰 🤑💸 in electricity bills. Let's try this fact-check question to see if AI works. This sets us apart from AI. Is there any today's AI data solution you know, that can interpret and answer the following Chinese-English multilingual questions? With our intellectual property (IP), a copyrighted multilingual metadata, we can provide real time answers, by census geographical locations, as evidence for decision/policy making. "Who, in the Ontario province of Canada, has new US patents granted on the nearest Tuesday, when the USPTO releases the newly granted US patents on a weekly basis?" "Who, in the "江蘇‘’ province of China, has new US patents granted on the nearest Tuesday, when the USPTO releases the newly granted US patents on a weekly basis?" Without metadata, NO data can be found/retrieved, even by the most advanced technologies, like AI, NVIDIA chips, supercomputers, etc. https://lnkd.in/g-aJFnXR

New weeks hold new opportunities, set your priorities right and get the best of the week. Have a great week ahead. #microsoft #microsoftpartner #yourdigitalstrategypartner #newweek

"What are you thinking of doing after this role?". It was three minutes in to my first interview with Microsoft, and the question caught me off guard. Surely the answer is, "I want to do this role first", right? We all know and dread hearing "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" in an interview, but this time it felt different. What followed was both enlightening and harrowing, as the hiring manager took over half the interview to run through his own career development plan, his planned time to move, and which roles were next for him. Afterwards he again asked me: "What comes next?". This formed the foundation for what became my own lived truth: The best time to develop your career is while you’re happy and inspired in your current role. The best time to learn skills for what’s next is while you’re feeling fulfilled. The best person to own your career growth is you. Even today - I catch myself forgetting it. In a world where we're ruled by KPIs and leading indicators, QoQ growth % and RoBs, top line vs bottom line revenue - the day-to-day grind can be all encompassing. But the reality is that our impact is dictated by the most important thing of all: our own growth and development. I’m a constant - and unapologetically loud - voice for the importance of career development. I’ve been lucky over the last 20 years to have peers, managers, mentors, and friends help me on that journey; not by providing me answers but by holding me accountable and giving me a push or perspective where needed. There aren’t many companies in the world where you’re given a platform that not only facilitates career growth, but makes it an obligation fundamental to our mission: "To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more". The best time to start your growth is yesterday, the second best time is today. If you're ready to develop and build your career - I believe Microsoft can be the platform for you. Check our postings for your location at https://lnkd.in/gAAMb_w6, set the right Job Alerts, and I look forward to seeing you rise and thrive.

Every time I speak at a Microsoft event, it feels like reaching a new milestone, and this one promises to be no different 🙏🏼: In my NEW talk, “Irreplaceable,” I’ll encourage thousands of Microsoft’s new hires to embrace what makes them UNIQUE and leverage their individuality to drive innovation. At a company where creativity and diverse thinking are core to success, it’s not about fitting into a mold, but about standing out and bringing your authentic self to the table. By sharing my journey and insights, I will show how their personal quirks, perspectives, and strengths are their biggest assets, not just in their career but in shaping the future of technology. They’re not just another hire—they’re irreplaceable, and that’s exactly what Microsoft needs to lead the way forward.

When I left Microsoft, I had a bold vision: I wanted to build an impactful, big business with a small team. The conventional wisdom? Hire experienced professionals, and follow industry-standard practices. This approach didn’t resonate with me. Instead, I hired recent college graduates. No industry experience. No preconceived notions about how things "should" be done. I wanted to take a bunch of super-talented folks and train them and share with them the best practices I'd learned at Microsoft. I also wanted to share what they should avoid—things that can affect team culture or slow own our velocity. And it's worked out for us. We have a full-time staff of just 5 people. Every single one of those people is at the peak of their performance. I don't need to be available to them 24/7. We chat once a day to check if they need anything urgent and identify the most impactful tasks for the day. And because everyone is crystal clear on the vision, they're all highly motivated to achieve it. It's been an incredible journey so far—and we're just getting started.

A little late, but congratulations to Nitika Gupta for making partner! If you're not familiar, making partner is one of the primary ways that Microsoft recognizes superstar employees, and from my limited external viewpoint, she is certainly worthy. Nitika will be speaking at #hipconf24 in New Orleans this year. This is her second time at HIPConf, and IIRC Nitika's first HIPConf is where I first met her. She blew away everyone in the room away her in-depth knowledge of how Azure (now EntraId) authentication worked under the covers, particularly with the way it used ML to identify and rank various types of risk signals to deduce whether an authentication was "risky" and should require (for instance) an MFA challenge. My favorite audience interaction from that session (paraphrased for additional humor. Also, it was several years ago.) Attendee: "So if one of my employees login is challenged, how do I know what risk factor caused it." Nitika: "I can't tell you." Attendee: "Well why not, I'll have to explain it to them." Nitika: "Because I don't know." Attendee: "Who knows then?" Nitika: "No one knows." Attendee: "Uhhh... what?" Nitika: "The ML algorithms figure it out. We can't actually tell what specific thing caused the MFA challenge." Attendee: <head slowly explodes> Room: <minor uproar> This was several years ago, maybe 2018, when people were genuinely suspicious of anything that smelled of non-determinism or "AI". Of course nowadays, most people are quite happy to let ChatGPT write their code or work out their personal financial plans, so that interaction would be entirely different today. In any case, history has shown that Entra authentication, and the risk-driven ML behind it, works awfully well, and rarely gets in the way. I'm really looking forward to having Nitika back at HIPConf to provide some insight on the latest in Entra authentication and authorization.

From Employee 30 to Tech Titan: The Steve Ballmer Story As we reflect on the incredible legacy of Microsoft, it's essential to highlight the remarkable journey of Steve Ballmer, who joined the company as its 30th employee in 1980. Starting as a Business Manager with a salary of just $50,000, Steve's contributions have profoundly shaped the tech landscape. Under his leadership as CEO from 2000 to 2014, he navigated the company through significant transformations, embracing challenges and driving innovation that would set the stage for Microsoft’s future. Today, it's fascinating to note that Steve Ballmer's journey has taken him beyond even Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, in terms of net worth and ownership equity. While Gates currently holds about 1% of Microsoft with a net worth of $103 billion, Ballmer boasts a 4% stake and a net worth of approximately $122 billion. This story serves as a testament to Ballmer's impact and vision, showcasing that success comes in many forms and that a steadfast commitment to growth can lead to extraordinary outcomes. #Microsoft #SteveBallmer #Leadership #Innovation #TechHistory