Dare I say it. Not to my knowledge does such a program exists, but I was thinking about it today. So much of what we do now is about community and raising awareness for our products and services. One of the things I really like about Microsoft is their capability of recognizing valuable community based effort outside of its walls. An example of this is when Visual Studio 2008 was in beta I was signed up to the Connections program and did some user testing on the product. In my testing I reported some bugs and interacted with Microsoft. At the end of the process I was sent a small token of appreciation as a thank you that now sits on my desk.
Now Microsoft has a rich MVP program across its product lines. I am not a MVP for Microsoft at this time but the program from my view makes sense. I believe these are the reasons it does
Recognizes Community Contributors
The community in general is the first line in elevating awareness. When you have those individuals that go out of their way to prop up the rest of the community being recognized formally is a very positive and lifting thing. I cannot count the number of posts I have read from proud MS MVP’s announcing their admission to the program
Forces Other Partners to Bring their Game
Being a member of the MVP program should offer some perks. Enough perks that ensures that other individuals would strive to be part of the program. This would enrich the community with more information and voices and should have the trickle effect of displaying to the end users a rich ecosystem of qualified partners.
Allows for MVP Contributions at Events
One of the things that would be positive is that at the Insights or Sage Summit, MVP’s could provide a presentation of material. Showing that deep knowledge for the Sage products exists outside of the internal teams is a really good thing and should be embraced.
Now, MVP enrolment should not be based on revenue dollars, but on community contribution, capability and a nomination process.
– Mark