I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Microsoft ISV CTO Summit. While little of the content is new to me, the opportunity to meet with Microsoft product folk as well as network with other CTOs has been well worth the trip. Every CTO I have talked to at this event is very qualified, though some are more deeply knowledgeable about the newest Microsoft technologies. As a result, it is a challenge for Microsoft at these kinds of events to provide the right level of information for everyone.

Considering this, they have done a very good job.

Anyway, aside from the content, I planned to make the most out of trip to Seattle by connecting with some people outside of the Summit. And aside from a false start — a missing mystery guest — have a good trip so far. Among other people I’ve met with, I:

• Bruce Kyle, our ISV DE — very helpful. I still owe him countless Airframe ports.
• Caught up with Savas Parasatidis. I have followed his blog for some time. He is a brilliant guy. I appreciate his perspective on the OGSA/OGSI/WSRF/WS-* as it relates to Grid and the GGF (search his blog).
• Met Jeffrey Snover and talked about PowerShell. You can tell he is really excited about his product — as he should be. I’m a big fan of this product — especially the productivity gains it gives ISVs — and will likely blog more on it. Mostly we talked about support for ISVs and the future of PowerShell.
• Met Shy Cohen, a WCF Community Program Manager. He has already given me some performance ideas related to the future WCF-enabled Digipede architecture. We plan to drill down more today.

So far, so good.