So long, and thanks for all the Fitz.

Yesterday, I had lunch with Fitz AKA Mike Fitzmaurice. Fitz is probably one of the most recognizable names and personalities in the SharePoint community. He's been in the SharePoint space for more years than I have... and that's a long time. :-) His SharePoint expertise is unparalleled, his ability to connect with customers & partners cannot be matched and most importantly, he's a great person. I've had the privilege of working with Fitz on SPS 2003 and SharePoint Server 2007. In a nutshell, I'm a fan of Fitz.

So why am I randomly writing about this - it's because Fitz decided to leave Microsoft and join Nintex, a strong SharePoint partner, as their VP of Product Technology. I'm sure he'll do wonders... and while I'm sad to see him leave, I'm glad he's going to stay in the greater Seattle area and work closely with SharePoint technology.

If there are a few of you who are wondering "Who's Fitz?", you haven't been in the space long enough to appreciate what Fitz has done. One of the most popular blog entries of its time (2+ years ago) was his post on WSRP - a classic. He was also one of the first to announce and evangelize SharePoint Server 2007. If there's any criticism, he didn't blog enough...which according to his last blog post as a Microsoft employee, he's going to change. :-)