Top-class expertise in business applications and Microsoft Azure

Those who are awarded the title of Most Valuable Professional (MVP) by Microsoft deserve to give themselves a pat on the back. You cannot apply for entry to this club of super experts, but have to be nominated by a Microsoft employee or an MVP. The key criteria for selection is a willingness to share your own knowledge with others. For software companies like the COSMO CONSULT Group, the MVPs are a godsend: ahead of their time in terms of technology, they are well networked and often find new, creative approaches, which are best tools for coming up with innovative solutions and products. Tobias Fenster, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at COSMO CONSULT, is one of these MVPs.

If a company is looking for a partner to introduce modern business software and drive digital transformation forward, technical expertise, experience and consulting skills are at a premium. It is therefore smart for software companies to invest in people in order to optimize their competitive position in the long term. However, knowledge is not only a good sales argument; it also opens doors when it comes to networking with experts, developers and specialists. Employee training is therefore at the top of the agenda of the COSMO CONSULT Group.

Tobias Fenster, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at COSMO CONSULT, is the best example. He specializes in the infrastructure and development technology of Microsoft Dynamics 365 business applications. He combines this expertise with a deep knowledge of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. A combination that you will not find anywhere else in this country. It is so special that he is the only person in Germany and one of only 30 people worldwide to be listed by Microsoft as a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in the area of business applications with a background in Business Central. He is also one of only twenty German specialists for Microsoft Azure with the MVP title. Only three people in the entire world hold the both MVP awards for business applications and Microsoft Azure.

The MVP title is the highest award that Microsoft gives to independent experts. The title is only valid for a limited time and is re-awarded annually by an expert jury. The jury considers the "contributions", i.e. what an MVP has contributed to the professional community, which are evaluated individually and in detail. An important point here is the idea of community: MVPs are required to impart their knowledge, for example in the form of specialist articles, blogs, workshops or as speakers at events. The important thing is for this transfer of knowledge to be free of charge. Tobias Fenster spreads knowledge primarily through expert articles and up-to-date posts to his technology blog tobiasfenster.io, which regularly reaches more than a thousand specialists. He is also a regular speaker at international conferences. On top of that, he is involved in promoting young talent and gives children an introduction to programming in school courses.

Alice Piras of the EMEA Lead Community Program explains the importance of the MVP program at Microsoft and how seriously the selection is taken: "Among the community experts, the MVPs make up a special group. They have a solid knowledge of the technology and are willing to share that knowledge openly with others. It is very important to Microsoft to maintain these high standards in the long term. We therefore carefully review every MVP, not only before the award, but also afterwards."

As CTO at COSMO CONSULT, Tobias Fenster is driving technological change within the group. He is introducing agile working methods, resolutely moving the product portfolio towards the cloud and promoting customer-oriented, creative product development. With his expertise and his network to draw on, he is a major reason that COSMO CONSULT will continue to produce impressive innovative solutions based on the latest technologies in the future.