It’s less than two weeks until most of us who are flying to Inspire will be on our way to Las Vegas, so I thought I’d do a quick review of the sessions that are currently on my shortlist. At this stage I still haven’t quite culled everything down, there are still a few conflicts, and I’m sure there are sessions I haven’t seen listed yet that will also make it on to the list.

I’ve broken the session lists into two broad categories that will align with what I think might focus areas for the next year – Microsoft 365, and Security & Compliance.

Microsoft 365

Monday, July 15 at 12:30 PM
Microsoft 365 for SMB
Small and medium business (SMB) is the center of the global economy, creating 94% of all new jobs over the past two years and driving services demand up 20% year over year. With cloud momentum accelerating, there has never been so much opportunity in this segment for partners to grow their practice with Microsoft 365.

Monday, July 15 at 1:00 PM
Industry and firstline solutions with Microsoft 365
Increased industry customer teamwork needs and the extensible and customizable Microsoft Teams platform created huge demand for partners to deliver solutions that address specific industry and firstline work teamwork challenges. In this session, learn how and what solution to develop so that your company can ride the wave, and monetize this opportunity.

Monday, July 15 at 2:00 PM
Microsoft 365 compliance
Innovation in digital technology continues to accelerate, transforming the way we live and work. At the same time, policy makers across the world work to ensure that appropriate personal data oversight and safeguards are in place through compliance standards such as GDPR. Adhering to these standards is often complicated and onerous. Join this session to learn how Microsoft 365 is uniquely positioned to help your customers meet their compliance obligations with integrated tools that allow them to assess their risk, protect their data, and efficiently respond to data requests.

Monday, July 15 at 2:30 PM
Selling with Microsoft as an SMB partner
As the SMB market continues to grow and adopt the cloud, join us to learn how to engage, sell, and succeed with Microsoft. Hear best practices from Microsoft leaders, partners and field representatives. FY20 will be the year of SMB and we want to show you the way.

Monday, July 15 at 3:00 PM
Accelerate your SMB customer acquisition with Microsoft 365
Are you taking advantage of the opportunities and programs of Microsoft 365? In this session, we walk you through customer scenarios, value pitches, and targeting strategies to help you accelerate customer adds.

Monday, July 15 at 4:00 PM
Drive your business with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365
Join this session to learn how Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 help customers drive organizational culture change and accelerate teamwork. Kady Dundas, Director of Microsoft Teams shares the latest news from Teams and explores the partner business opportunity. Hear from members of the partner community with succesful practices, as we discuss what we must do together to be successful with Teams and Microsoft 365.

Tuesday, July 16 at 9:00 AM
Grow your SMB practice with Microsoft 365
Small and Medium Business is the growth engine for Microsoft and its partner ecosystem, creating 94% of all new jobs over the past 2 years. Cloud momentum is accelerating, causing the ecosystem to change to driving greater focus on providing true value add managed services. Microsoft is helping partners mobilize around this shift, through focused investment in Teams and our Security portfolio. Come and hear Terry Sutherland, GM SMB engineering and Pascal Walschots , Senior Director Partner Marketing for Microsoft 365, show you how to seize the SMB opportunity in FY20!

Tuesday, July 16 at 10:30 AM
Manage devices efficiently with Microsoft 365 Business
Bring your laptop because you will configure Windows 10 and BYOD device management policies for SMB customers after an overview and real-world scenario briefing. Then you’ll dive into the Intune specialist workspace and fine tune the policy to meet your customer’s specific requirements. Finally, you’ll run some tests to ensure the policies are working as intended.

Monday, July 15 at 5:30 PM

Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Search

Come learn what it means for Microsoft Edge to be built on Chromium and how it will positively affect your business and customers. From manageability, to security, to compatibility, Microsoft Edge is the best browser for M365. Enterprise customers also benefit from easy, fast, and secure use of Microsoft Search, which makes finding work results – from people to files to company information – easy, fast, and secure by using Edge.

Tuesday, July 16 at 2:30 PM

Blocker-busters: Windows 10 and Office 365 deployment blockers workshop

Do you have customers stuck on Windows 7 or Office 20xx? Bring your toughest Windows 10 and Office 365 deployment challenges and our panel of blocker-buster experts will help you find a solution. If you’ve recently overcome a deployment blocker – come and brag to your peers! You might go home with a cool prize.

Tuesday, July 16 at 4:00 PM

Welcome to the next generation of Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is the best browser for Microsoft customers on a variety of platforms and devices. It’s the only browser that supports modern websites with a Chromium open source engine and legacy web apps with Internet Explorer mode. Customers are very interested in increasing productivity and cutting costs with our new browser strategy, so come and learn what makes Microsoft Edge better than other browsers.

Tuesday, July 16 at 4:00 PM

Winning in K-12 education with Microsoft and Windows

In two years, Microsoft Education and Windows devices have increased share 4x (per Futuresource), in the fastest growing segment of the US K-12 education (

Wednesday, July 17 at 1:00 PM

Secure SMB customers against cyberthreats with Microsoft 365 Business

Microsoft 365 Business is an integrated solution, bringing together the best-in-class productivity of Office 365 with advanced security and device management capabilities to help safeguard SMBs from cyber threats and data leaks.  In this session you will learn about product capabilities included in Microsoft 365 Business to help you accelerate customer acquisition and grow your profitability

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Modern Windows 10 and Office 365 deployment with Autopilot and System Center Configuration Manager

The process of deploying Windows 10 and Office 365 continues to evolve. In this session learn how to utilize Autopilot, Desktop Analytics and the Office Customization Toolkit – all within your existing SCCM infrastructure – to implement modern deployment practices that are zero touch and hyper efficient.

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Move your customers to the cloud before Windows 7 and Office 2010 end of support

Windows 7 and Office 2010 end of support is a compelling moment for our small and medium businesses to shift their productivity suite to Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Join the Microsoft 365 team to see how businesses have evolved, and how your customers can easily add protection, increase productivity and reduce ongoing costs.

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Protect your customers by achieving Zero Trust with Azure Active Directory

Join this session and become equipped to help customers move from a traditional perimeter-focused security model to a Zero Trust strategy. Join us and learn how Azure Active Directory enables Zero Trust with secure authentication, conditional access, and comprehensive identity protection that will help your customer’s digital transformation.

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Windows 10 commercial devices: The best and fastest path to a modern workplace

Now, more than ever, businesses need a modern workplace, and the best way to accelerate the transition to modern is with a new Windows 10 PC. In this session we take a look at how a new Windows 10 PC unlocks the promise of the modern workplace and discuss the motions you need to bring the modern workplace vision to life for your customers. You’ll leave inspired and confident in the direction Windows 10 PCs are heading and with an understanding of the resources available to support you.

Wednesday, July 17 at 3:00 PM

Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Search

Come learn what it means for Microsoft Edge to be built on Chromium and how it will positively affect your business and customers. From manageability, to security, to compatibility, Microsoft Edge is the best browser for M365. Enterprise customers also benefit from easy, fast, and secure use of Microsoft Search, which makes finding work results – from people to files to company information – easy, fast, and secure by using Edge.

Wednesday, July 17 at 4:00 PM

Managing your customer’s security in the modern workplace

Learn how Microsoft Threat Protection can be the newest managed service business which helps secure your customer’s endpoints, Office 365, and your cloud app ecosystem with a seamless and integrated solution.

Thursday, July 18 at 8:30 AM

Expand your security management practice with Microsoft 365

End users are more susceptible to cyber-attacks than ever before, making it vital to secure corporate data on every endpoint. Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) offers new opportunities to create and expand your security management practice and is integrated natively within Microsoft 365. In this session, our product managers demonstrate how you can position device compliance, application management and threat protection to become a trusted endpoint security adviser for your customers.

Thursday, July 18 at 10:00 AM

Protect customers from cyber threats with Microsoft 365 Business

Bring your laptop because you will configure Conditional Access & Advanced Threat Protection policies in Microsoft 365 Business after a feature overview and real-world scenario briefing. Then you will dive in to see how these policies work. Finally, you will run some tests to ensure the protection is working as intended.

Wednesday, July 17 at 1:00 PM

Windows Virtual Desktop updates and partner opportunities

Windows Virtual Desktop is a comprehensive desktop and app virtualization service running in the cloud. It’s the only virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that delivers simplified management, multi-session Windows 10, optimizations for Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus, and support for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments. Deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes, and get built-in security and compliance features.

Monday, July 15 at 4:00 PM
Windows Virtual Desktop: The opportunity for ISVs, hosting, and managed service providers
Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop is finally here, and it represents a tremendous opportunity for partners that already have a DaaS offer in market today. It is the only service that offers a multi-session Windows 10 experience, optimized for Office 365. Join this session to learn more about this opportunity and how to take advantage of Windows Virtual Desktop.

Security & Compliance

Tuesday, July 16 at 9:00 AM
Unlocking partner profitability with Microsoft security and compliance solutions
Security and compliance is a primary business driver for Microsoft and partners are at the center of our strategy. In this session, learn about the investments Microsoft is making and new tools to drive partner success. Microsoft is leading a change that focuses on leveraging the power of the cloud to automate routine tasks, simplify complex solution landscapes and build an ecosystem of partners to help customers unlock these capabilities. By combining cloud and AI technologies to solve security and compliance challenges, organizations can digitally transform their businesses.

Tuesday, July 16 at 1:00 PM

Accelerate your business with Azure networking security services

Azure networking is the key to unlocking consumption, but it also requires a lock – security. In this session learn about the opportunities to sell networking security services to your customers.

Tuesday, July 16 at 1:00 PM

Become your customer’s trusted security advisor with Microsoft Threat Protection

Learn about the latest updates to Microsoft Threat Protection including Azure Sentinel, Threat and Vulnerability Management for endpoints, and Microsoft Threat Experts, and how to leverage the solution to secure your customers and grow your business.

Tuesday, July 16 at 2:30 PM

Accelerating development of rich, integrated security solutions across Microsoft products

Microsoft makes it easier than ever for you to build apps and deliver services that enhance security operations and improve threat protection. Learn how to tap into Microsoft APIs, analytics, automation services, and open source communities to get started today. We cover the Microsoft Graph Security API, Azure Sentinel, and other services.

Wednesday, July 17 at 1:00 PM

Security Proof of Concept: Microsoft Threat Protection lab (Part 1)

Join us for a hands-on lab to learn more about key Microsoft Threat Protection scenarios. This lab is part of the new Security Proof of Concept, so it’s a great opportunity for you to get ready to deliver this impactful experience and accelerate Microsoft 365 E5 sales!

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Security Proof of Concept: Microsoft Threat Protection lab (Part 2)

Join us for a hands-on lab to learn more about key Microsoft Threat Protection scenarios. This lab is part of the new Security Proof of Concept, so it’s a great opportunity for you to get ready to deliver this impactful experience and accelerate Microsoft 365 E5 sales!

Tuesday, July 16 at 2:30 PM

Grow your security revenue with a cloud native SIEM: Azure Sentinel

Forecasts predict the security information and event management (SIEM) market will be worth $6B by 2023. Learn how to get in on this growing business by attending this presentation on Azure Sentinel, the powerful new cloud-native SIEM tool.

Wednesday, July 17 at 2:30 PM

Managed security services practice leveraging Azure Sentinel

In this session, Accenture Security and Microsoft showcase the managed security services practice built on Azure Sentinel and its value to our joint customers.

Tuesday, July 16 at 6:30 PM

Azure Blueprints: Your managed service power tool

More profitably manage your customers with Azure Blueprints, a new service that enables the rapid, repeatable creation of fully governed environments. This “MSP power tool” helps you manage your customers, while helping them enforce governance and compliance.

Wednesday, July 17 at 1:00 PM

Shifting the managed services paradigm on Azure towards greater automation, efficiency and security

Customers are looking for partners who have expertise in Azure services to optimize and manage their cloud operations. Azure Lighthouse empowers our service providers with capabilities to manage customers at scale and with precision. It allows for cross tenant management of your customer estates with greater visibility and control for your customer. Learn about this amazing announcement, listen to partners who have made a head start on this technology and re-imagine how you optimize your managed service business for your customer.