What the NDA Means at the MVP Global Summit

Editor's note: The following post was written by MVP Award Program Manager Kerry Herger

The 2013 MVP Global Summit is almost upon us and in a very short time nearly 1,400 worldwide MVPs will converge on the Microsoft Redmond campus to participate in more than 550 technical sessions with hundreds of members of Microsoft product teams.

The sheer number of participants—and the amount of content shared—makes this the largest community event in the world. But that’s only part of what sets this annual gathering apart. For 20 years, Microsoft teams have sat down with these community leaders and many have provided visibility into their products in the early stages of development, giving MVPs the information they need to look forward in their work with community and to gain valuable community feedback to help make our products better.

Most MVPs have numerous communications with Microsoft product teams throughout their award year, but the hands-on experience and deep exchange of ideas at the Summit is something most members of the community—including Microsoft’s product teams—look forward to all year. As Amy Van Hollebeke, Microsoft CRM Senior Program Manager, explained at last year’s MVP Global Summit: “It’s one thing to hear opinions and ideas through email—but sometimes you just get it completely differently when you’re sitting in a room together at the Summit and MVPs are able to really explain how a feature can be improved.”

To lay the groundwork for this relationship, all MVPs sign a non-disclosure agreement assuring they will not share any confidential information they may gain from Microsoft. Throughout the MVP Global Summit, MVPs hear the refrain, “Don’t forget your NDA!” since it’s essential to the dynamic exchange of ideas between the MVP community and Microsoft. In
other words, what’s shared at Summit, stays at Summit.