Mitch Garvis, International Expert in Microsoft Technologies, Microsoft Certified Trainer and Consultant/Advisor to MS Learning, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional

This week, Stephen Ibaraki has an exclusive interview with Mitch Garvis.

Mitch is an IT Trainer with a passion for community. Having founded and led two major user groups for IT Professionals he understands both the value and rewards of helping his peers. After several years as a consultant and in-house IT Pro, he now works with various companies creating and delivering training for Microsoft to its partners and clients around the world. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, and has been recognized for his community work with the prestigious Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award.

To find out more, go to http://mitchgarvis.com/blogs/Default.aspx

To listen to the interview, click on this MP3 file link

Go to www.microsoft.com/youshapeit/technet for a look at this interview and much more.

The latest blog on the interview can be found in the IT Managers Connection (IMC) forum where you can provide your comments in an interactive dialogue.
http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/

DISCUSSION:

Interview Time Index (MM:SS) and Topic
:00:39:		What are you working on currently and can you provide some key lessons from this work that would be useful to IT Professionals? "....I'm working on virtualization courses right now and I will be presenting that to Microsoft partners and clients throughout 2009....Virtualization is important because it's not only going to save IT professionals and organizations money, but it's going to be great for the environment...."
:01:27:		You have a long history with wide expertise in client operating systems and especially Windows Vista. Can you overview the Microsoft Client Operating System Landscape including the Windows Vista product suite? "....I think that Vista has been better than Windows ever has been and it's unfortunate that it has such a bad rep....There's a couple of reasons for it but the reality is that Vista is a great operating system, it's powerful, it's reliable and it's secure which are three cornerstones to a good operating system...."
:02:22:		What are the pain points and solutions for IT Pros when installing, managing, and working with Windows Client Operating Systems? "....The biggest problem with Vista or any operating system is attitude...."
:04:01:		With your extensive knowledge of Windows Vista, what are your most useful tips for getting the most out of Windows Vista? "....Use it...."
:04:37:		What do you consider to be the best resources for working with Vista and Windows Client Operating Systems? "....For an IT professional...someone who wants to know more...Books...Community sites...Newsgroups and forums....Add-ons and downloads....Podcasts....If Microsoft comes to your community....go and hear what they have to say and see what they have to show you...."
:05:51:		Are there one or two really important sources of information that you want to share? "....I'm a big fan of newsgroups....If you were to load up your newsreader, whether its windows mail or doing it online and go to: microsoft.public.windows.vista.general, that would probably be your best bet to start....My blog because that is where I write about the issues that are most important to me...."
:06:38:		What about the future with Client Operating Systems-what should IT Pros be preparing for? "....IT professionals who want to stay ahead should always be one generation or at least six months ahead of the curve...."
:08:11:		In the whole area of Windows Vista, there's been a series of service packs. Can you talk more about that? "....The most important features of about Vista SP1 revolve around Windows Server 2008 and functionality with it...."
:10:17:		What questions would you ask and what would be your answers if you were doing this interview? "....'What's the future of virtualization on the desktop?'....'Will the next generation of Windows use the same technology as Hyper-V on the server?'....'Why do you spend so much time working with community?'...."
:11:56:		Mitch shares an interesting story from his experiences.
:13:50:		Where do you have the most fun? Which IT devices do you have some passion for? "....Two devices right now that I'm really looking forward to playing with.....my new mobile phone.....This year I bought my family an Xbox 360 with Guitar Hero World Tour...."
:14:49:		The UN-founded International Federation for Information Processing or IFIP has their Professional Practice Partnership Program which received full ratification at the world general assembly in August 2007 with their first implementation meeting in Montreal hosted by CIPS in October. This marks an historical inflection point and speaks to IT as a recognized profession with global standards, profession-based code of ethics, and widely adopted professional certification-all happening in 2009. Can you provide your comments? "....I think that the new ethics-based certification will show people that not only am I an IT professional but I am part of an organization that if I didn't know and I couldn't deliver, I couldn't be a member...."