Two major conferences for Portugal's SharePoint users

Portugal's SharePoint community is gearing up for two major conferences at the end of September.

The SharePoint Portuguese User Group is holding what it describes as a mega-event on September 29 and our very own SharePointPro Connections has teamed up with Microsoft to hold a two-day workshop in Cascais, Lisbon on September 30 and October 1.

The SharePoint Portuguese User Group (SPUGPT) meeting features SharePoint gurus Joel Oleson from Quest with a session on SharePoint 2010 upgrade and migration best practices and EndUserSharePoint's Mark Miller speaking on the "missing link" between SharePoint and the end-user community.

SPUGPT was formed back in February by António Lage, Rodrigo Pinto and André Vala  and is already commanding audiences of 200-plus at its twice-monthly meetings. More details from the burgeoning user group's website.

The Microsoft SharePoint Connections Workshops 2010 will be held on Thursday, September 30, and Friday, October 1, at Cascais' Grande Real Villa Italia.

European SharePointPro Connections director, Irene Clapham, says: "SharePoint is Microsoft's fastest growing product since Office and while companies are very keen to implement collaboration and workflow technology, we have found that there is also a huge need for quality technical education on the subject. SharePointPro Connections aims to fill this knowledge gap and we are delighted that Microsoft Portugal has invited us to bring our workshops to Lisbon for the very first time."

A flexible schedule means that attendees can choose to attend either the first or second day of Microsoft SharePoint Connections Workshops 2010, with a choice of two tracks on the second day. Sessions will be in English which means IT pros from all over Europe can take advantage of the workshops in Cascais, which is only 15 minutes travel from Lisbon airport.

Day one will feature former U. S. Navy submarine officer, Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) and prolific author on Microsoft technology Scott Hillier presenting a full-day workshop for developers: "Business Connectivity Services – Deep Dive".  Students will learn all about Business Connectivity Services architecture and how to create simple no-code solutions, intermediate declarative solutions and full-code advanced connectors and add-ins. They will also find out how to search external data and deal with various kinds of security, from Windows authentication to claims.

On day two, on October 1, Wouter van Vugt will present his SharePoint Development Excellence Workshop. Van Vugt is a Dutch Microsoft MVP on the subject of the Open XML file format used by Office and a frequent contributor to sites like OpenXmlDeveloper.org and MSDN. His full-day seminar will feature sessions on how to improve the development process with the new advanced techniques and APIs in SharePoint 2010 as well as list, library and content-type customisation and enterprise workflow techniques.

The same day sees SharePointProConnections.com and Windows IT Pro magazine guru Dan Holme host a SharePoint 2010 administration masterclass. Holme says that IT pros could spend weeks discussing what they need to know to deploy, upgrade, configure and administer SharePoint 2010. Here, he will explain the features, technologies and processes that are likely to matter most to them. Whether students are new to SharePoint or are experienced in previous versions, they will find that his fast-paced workshop is packed with valuable content.

Early-bird registrees that book before August 30 for €199 can save €50 off the day rate or attend both days for €348 and save €150. For full details and booking, see the Microsoft SharePoint Connections Workshops 2010 website. Microsoft SharePoint Connections Workshops 2010 will also feature a sponsor expo. For details about how to sponsor/exhibit at the two-day event, contact Nigel Clapham at [email protected] .