As regular readers will know, we are very proud round these parts of the four – count ’em –  distinguished Microsoft MVPs we have in-house. So, as 2016 comes to an end, we have asked them to offer us their New Year reflections.

First of all, we’ve got Keith Garner, Solutions Architect, 1E & Microsoft MVP.

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How was 2016 for you?
Personally, it was just very new for me. I started with 1E early in the year and it’s been a whirlwind. We kicked things off in February talking onsite with customers about Windows 10 deployments and have moved forward to working on new projects and products.
It’s been a trial by fire but wouldn’t have it any other way.
Most significant trend of 2016?
For me it’s security: being aware of all the vulnerabilities and challenges around that.
With Windows 10, I think Microsoft has woken up and created an operating system that addresses most of the security concerns of the modern enterprise. That’s been exciting. Of course, Windows 10 requires the new hardware and more advanced features to make that possible.
Biggest surprise of 2016?
I must say that was I think my biggest surprise of the year was coming in and realizing just how big the demand was for BIOS-to-UEFI.
This time last year I was working for Microsoft in the surface division – and to me BIOS-to-UEFI was a non-issue: surface devices don’t do BIOS! But it soon became clear to me how many people there are who are using it and need it…

Biggest villain of 2016?

Malware. But now there’s this growing realization that there isn’t one simple answer to solving the security problem. It’s about working with different teams, your mail team, your PC desktop team, your server team, your security team, and working together to identify threats, ensuring everything is working in a coordinated fashion.
Hero of 2016?
Locally I got lucky and have been working with Mike Terrill and Dave Fuller on BIOS-to-UEFI.
Mike is the extrovert in the team, the connected guy. He’s always out talking with customers, getting the best ideas and trying to figure out what they need. It’s been great working with him.  With Dave: we had the kernel of an idea but he really helped us figure out exactly what it should be and how it should fit into our overall strategy.
Dave and Mike were the perfect two guys to finish the product and make it useful to everybody.