It's great to be back!

Well hello again!  It has been a while, but I’m back. I never really left, but what I’m back to is writing blogs.

 It has been five years since my last post in the AppPlat Team. During those years, I’ve been working for the OEM division which oversees Microsoft’s relationships with the makers of devices small and large.  During this time I was mainly working on stuff that wasn’t appropriate to blog about, so I kept quiet and got deep into the hardware business.  But I’ve missed engaging with the community through this medium and  now in this role, that I took on approximately one year ago, as Chief Evangelist for Microsoft, I’m happy to be back!

Over the years I’ve spoken many times about the magic of hardware and software working together, and now in this role, I’m excited to be leading the Developer Platform Evangelism (DPE) Division where hardware and software meet.  Whereas in OEM, I worked with the companies making the devices, I’ve recently resumed working with ISVs and all of the companies that build software bringing these devices to life across the Microsoft platform.  From established companies building complex line of business applications to bleeding edge new consumer apps that are put together by small startups and everything in between, DPE is really a place where we get to connect and engage with the developer community.  In the past year alone, I’m excited that we’ve already held two Build conferences talking about the Microsoft platform.  With Windows 8.1 around the corner and a common core across our products, our apps and the scenarios they enable define the “magic” you get when great hardware and software work together.

Microsoft provides an amazing developer platform and you can count on me to be engaged, passionate and an honest voice while the ecosystem evolves.  You will definitely hear from me as we continue to iterate on our products, our tools and our developer support.  Just recently we re-launched the //developer.microsoft.com website and the team is continually updating it with fresh content.

If you want my constant stream of consciousness, join me on Twitter @StevenGuggs.  I’ll keep you up to date on what’s going on for developers and when new apps hit. I’ll also use this blog to dig a little deeper into our business and share our news with the developer community.

Cheers