I've been on Technet for quite a while now so thought it worth trying somewhere new:)! However, I've not gone far ... just across to http://blogs.msdn.com/matt_deacon . See you over there if you'd like to stay in touch!

The slide decks used at the last architect forum can now be found at the new location: www.microsoft.com/uk/architectforum Hopefully this will be the location for all future events!

Been a bit of fun but I've finally submitted the .NET track agenda for QCon (well it's 90% complete)! The line up I've organised from my colleagues at Ms UK is the best I've seen for a while! http://qcon.infoq.com/london/tracks/show_track.jsp?trackOID...

Never heard of SAF? You're an important Microsoft Customer and you've been invited before? Well you need to sort that out! It's about the best thing we do when talking about architecture in my opinion (besides Architect Insight of course!). Well either...

OK - probably old news - in which case so why didn't anyone tell me? So if you've got as many mates as I seem to have then book mark October 27 – 30, 2008 in Los Angeles and keep an eye on http://msdn.microsoft.com/pdc2008 !

The Entity Framework Beta 3 runtime and the Entity Framework Tools CTP 2 that work with the RTM releases of Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 have just been released with a pile of new features this is definitely worth a detailed look and...

I've just been invited to run the .NET track at QCon next year (10-14 March 2008) which is a great honour and responsibility I guess! I was invited to attend as an IASA sponsor last year and was amazed at the quality of the speakers and people who were...

Insight the two day Microsoft Conference dedicated to architecture that I've run for the past two years will take place again next year on the 28-29 April so save the date! The theme this year is " The Future of IT " where we're looking out at next...

I went over to Essex University the other week to give the 1 st year and post-grad computer science students a lecture that focused on something I called “IT Mega-trends” in the afternoon I held a workshop to discuss what implications these trends might...

So following on the back of some major announcements around exchange, sharepoint and communications online services it was fun to hear about the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service announcement at IT Forum the other week.

Well it’s been a while since I was last at TechEd. IT was 1998 in fact, in Nice, but enough said of that! So here I am as a speaker this time! Who let him in I can hear you say. However, enough of all that. I guess by the time you read this all the announcements...

You can download all the slides from the recent OBA forum at the following location: OBA: Unlocking the Business Value of IT Does Microsoft Understand Business Integration? Drill Down of OBA Technologies (see David Gristwood's post for more information...

Thanks to everyone who took part in a really great architect forum yesterday! It was our first forum at the new Microsoft London offices and so there were plenty of teething problems including the light switch which kept on getting pressed descending...

Here's the latest on the UK Architect Forums we have planned. Looking at numbers it seems that the news is already well out there so I'd suggest registering now as space is running out. Office Business Applications Architect Forum - 13 th September, London...

When he/she is not certified! Ok - so this isn’t the case today. But it won’t be long before it’s the case so mark my words! I’ve spent quite a lot of time working with the IASA and on our own Microsoft Certified Architect program over the past year or...

At a recent NCC workshop on we spent a while discussing what is meant in terms of Integration and Interoperability. Both heavily used terms in the industry but that actually are hard to define once you come down to it. The used Wikipedia definitions for...

SOA is rubbish according to Steve Craggs (ex worldwide executive for IBM’s MQSeries business) who suggests that the fault is not actually with SOA itself but more with the way it is implemented! We're delighted that he's agreed to come and talk to...

For those of you at the last Architect Forum Jason Hogg has just announced an update to SecPAL on his blog.

Ok so you'll all tell me that you've tried this out already but I had to mention specially given I've spent the last week with 18 of the lead program managers and architects from the Microsoft Connected Systems Division. This stuff is certainly gaining...

Good question ... Well Mike Walker from Microsoft is charged with finding out and it should be an interesting journey one which I have always pushed for the need to work hand in hand with Industry. I'm about to launch my own campaign on the enterprise...

What's “ Acropolis ”? Well basically, it's a set of components and tools to help build client .NET applications and is part of the wave of “.NET Client Futures”. Check out the video - great voice over:)!

Slide decks are now (finally available) from the recent S+S Architect Forum we held at UK Microsoft Campus. http://www.microsoft.com/uk/msdn/events/postevents.aspx MS Strategy for Software + Services Technology Innovation and the Changing...

Something has been gnawing away at the back of my mind since the recent "Software + Service" Architect Forum with the Jam jar experiment in particular. When I got to the venue I still need to get more pennies to fill the jam jar! I went to the coffee...

I've been trying to find a moment to look at the XNA Games Studio since I got to see a presentation from a colleague at work. It started me thinking a bit about my kids and whether they're too young to have a go at coding (ok so they're 1, 5 and 6 years...

If you're a hot start up, based in the East of England and looking for VC funding plus lots more then take a look at the Running the Gauntlet program run by East of England Development Agency. Microsoft have been sponsoring it for quite a while and the...