Spreading a culture of excellence is one of our missions. We are so proud to be able to say that our consultants are our ambassadors who share the same purpose and passion. We are more than proud to announce that, once again, our knowledge-sharing guru (as we like to call him) Mustafa Toroman has been made a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP).

The annual Microsoft MVP Award recognizes exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who actively share their high-quality and real world expertise with users and Microsoft.

Mustafa is both a System Engineer and Program Architect. As System Engineer, his role is to lay the blueprint and make sure nothing goes wrong, from an infrastructure standpoint. As Program Architect, he has a similar responsibility, but on a broader level. He sets standards, decides which technology is going to be used, and makes sure the best possible product is delivered to AP clients.

Mustafa started his IT career as a Database Administrator (DBA), but he slowly evolved to become a System Engineer. A bit later, he became interested in cloud, and that’s pretty much where he is today.

There are MVPs in over 90 countries, they speak more than 40 languages and span numerous Microsoft technologies. We were curious how one gets interested in the MVP program, so we asked Mustafa to share his experience.

“Joining the MVP program was something that happened along the way. I was active in the IT community, started blogging, speaking at conferences and to user groups, etc. The MVP Award came as a result of these activities. The MVP Award should not be a goal, but should be the result of your activities. If someone aims to become an MVP just for the sake of it, I don’t think they can last very long. The MVP program has standards and expectations that are impossible to maintain if you don’t love participating in the community,” says Mustafa.

This is the fourth time Mustafa has been presented with MVP Award.

“First, it’s a great recognition of what I do, and shows that everything I do within the IT community is appreciated. Second, it’s amazing to be a part of the MVP crowd, which comprises about 2,000 experts from around the world – an astonishing group of people who possess in-depth technical knowledge and who are ready to lend a hand and share advice at any time. Then there are a few technical benefits, like some subscriptions and early access to new products and services,” Mustafa explains.

“MVPs’ efforts enhance people’s lives and contribute to our industry’s success in many ways. By sharing their knowledge and experiences, and providing objective feedback, they help people solve problems and discover new capabilities every day. MVPs are technology’s best and brightest, and we are honored to welcome Mustafa as one of them,” shared Microsoft Team with Mustafa.

MVPs from around the world have the opportunity to meet Microsoft executives, network with peers, and position themselves as technical community leaders.

“The MVP program requires a certain amount of community activity, which is not easy to keep up with. The MVP Award is presented on a yearly basis and getting one entitles the recipient to MVP status for a year. To maintain this status, you constantly have to be engaged in similar activities, and that is very hard to do if you don’t enjoy being part of the community. There are a few ways someone can become an MVP: by speaking at conferences and to user groups, participating in technical forums, writing blogs, articles and books; contributing to Open Source Projects. For myself, it’s been a combination of speaking and writing. I used to blog and participate in forums, but things have changed a bit. Over the past few years, I’ve spoken at more conferences, so I’ve had less time to visit forums. Writing a blog has been replaced by writing books – I’ve published three books within the past year,” said Mustafa.

As a recipient of this year’s Microsoft MVP Award, Mustafa has joined an exceptional group of individuals from around the world who have demonstrated a willingness to share knowledge and contribute to raising the IT industry to ever higher levels.