Final of TechEd 2013 Europe in Madrid

The TechEd 2013 Europe Madrid closed its doors on June 28th. The four intense days have come to an end and, right now, the facilities have been completely dismantled awaiting the next event to be held in the pavilions of the Juan Carlos I fair park.

For a team manager and developer, doing reporter/blogger jobs, it's been a real he althy beating. Spend all day in and out of interviews; or from a technical talk to a hands on-lab; or simply enjoy long conversations with the cream of the MVPs (and those who are not but deserve it); all this provokes an intense revolver of ideas and sensations.

Now, settled in the tranquility of the solitary moment of writing, I can reflect and obtain a guiding thread that leads me to discern the keys and conclusions that stand out above the all in relation to the event as a whole.

Microsoft's commitment to Cloud Computing without a network

What is a mere indication in the final world of users or companies, in the hyper-technological environment of TechEd it has been patent: the determined and persistent commitment from Microsoft for anything that smacks of Cloud Computing.

All of its products, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 2012 Server, are conceived, designed and promoted to be used and integrated into Cloud services. Nor does it escape all the software from services that work on operating systems such as System Center, Office, SharePoint, Lync, etc.

What's more, even the very discreet presence of the Xbox (of the XboxOne not a word) also included references to its ability to function in and with the Cloud.

The company's drive towards this market is so great that, even when its training calendar is still not up to the needs, in the presentations what stands out above all else is the preparation in Cloud computing.

The pace of evolution and updating does not stop, it accelerates

With all the people I spoke to, whether in private conversations or in interviews, they all indicated to me that the rate of updates and evolution of the myriad of applications that are part of the Windows ecosystem will be increased.

The times when two or three years passed between a version of the operating system, or one of the great services, are in the past; leaving only Blue as a great update of the complete ecosystem, but of whom there are still things to be defined.

I have been able to verify first-hand the reality of these statements, when new versions of Windows 8 and Windows Server have been presented, as well as Microsoft SQL, Visual Studio, etc.

And I've also been told that the minor upgrade model could be similar to Azure's, which is made up of multiple enhancements that are delivered on an ongoing basis , and that are totally transparent in their installation and configuration to the end user.

The Build and North American TechEd have tarnished the event

If the main presentations on the first and third day lost much of their interest and expectation, as they were practically copied from those made less than a month earlier at TechEd in North America, things got even more complicatedAs the dates coincide with the most anticipated Microsoft technological event by the media: BUIL 2013

On Wednesday, starting at six in the afternoon, TechEd Madrid was completely emptied so that we could connect and enjoy the BUILD via streaming. Knowing, moreover, that the real novelties were there.

But the worst thing has been Microsoft's restrictive policy on information, which prevented the speakers of the different Windows technical talks , being able to give them in the new version 8.1; losing a golden opportunity for more technical users to learn about, and then promote.

The organization, an excellent example of professionalism

Receiving, informing, distributing material, feeding, hydrating and keeping more than 6000 attendees at the event, means a job that is anything less trivial thing.

The work of the organization and of all the people who were at the service of the attendees has demonstrated a professional quality of the highest level.

To those who left their skins to cover all the types of needs that require this number of people locked up for four days in the pavilions; those people who did not lose their smile at any time; those people who, from their invisibility, kept watch at every door, at every table, in every talk; I want to thank those people, from these lines,

Really, you must speak in English

The TechEd is a huge Noah's Ark, which instead of carrying pairs of animals, carries thousands of men – yes, the female presence was practically non-existent – ​​that, to prevent the event from becoming a tower of babel, they use a single language to instrumentalize social relationships and conversations: English

Obviously, all the talks have been given in English with the most varied accents; some of whom understood each other perfectly and others that no one but them could discern what they were saying.

But the waiters, the reception and help services, all the documentation and all the salespeople and specialists in the different positions of the technology exposure, they also spoke mainly in English.

And, of course, conversations in Spanish among Spanish-speakers only lasted until someone from any part of the world joined in, immediately jumping into the language of Shakespeare.

In summary, I have been able to feel in my flesh that English is no longer an optional language or second language, that with a little bit of chatter to go on a trip is enough: right now (actually it's been a long time of this) it is absolutely essential.

TechEd 2013 is dead, long live TechEd 2014!

Now the door has been closed, we are all back in our homes after long and short trips. Tired from these four intense days, full of personal and technological knowledge.

But I'm almost positive that most of us are already counting down to the start of TechEd next year.