Today, we are thrilled to announce the Microsoft Exchange Community (MEC) Virtual Technical Airlift, which will take place Sept 13-14, 2022! We’re excited to be bringing back our biggest Exchange gathering of the year.

Registration is open now at https://aka.ms/MECAirlift!

History of MEC

Historically MEC has been known as the Microsoft Exchange Conference, but this year we decided to swap the word Conference for the word Community to emphasize our goal of reconnecting with the global Exchange community.

The first MEC was held in San Diego, California in 1997. The year before there was an event in Austin, Texas, but that was called the Exchange Deployment Conference, and not MEC. After San Diego, we held MEC in Boston (1998), Atlanta, Hamburg, and Tokyo (1999), Dallas, Singapore, Nice, and Tokyo (2000), and Orlando and Nice (2001), and Anaheim (2002). Then, MEC took a hiatus… a “mysterious ten-year hiatus.”

But the Exchange community spoke—although we were bringing Exchange content to Microsoft TechEd (the predecessor to Microsoft Ignite) and other events, it just wasn’t the same. After 10 years, we brought back MEC in 2012 (and jokingly referred to it as the lost conference because it was absent for so long).

Finally, in 2014 we brought MEC back to Austin, where it all (sort of) started.

MEC Technical Airlift

After 2014, MEC disappeared again, and we brought Exchange content to Microsoft Ignite, the Office 365 Tour, and other Microsoft and third-party events. But like the community said back in 2012, it just isn’t the same.  So, we are bringing back MEC… again!

At MEC, we’ll share product news and talk about what it means through candid Q&A. We’ll provide clarity on our strategy and future investments so you can factor this information into your plans. You’ll  also get practical guidance and can discuss best practices with the people who build, deploy, and support Exchange Online and Exchange Server.

MEC features experts from Microsoft and elsewhere talking about Exchange Online, Exchange Hybrid, and Exchange Server. It is a free virtual technical airlift for IT pros that work with Exchange day-to-day, and developers who create solutions that integrate with Exchange.

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The Exchange Online and Exchange Server engineering teams have a lot of great content for customers and partners.  Here’s a small sampling of our agenda (note, this list is subject to change):

  • Delighting Exchange Online Admins
  • Exchange Online Transport Investments
  • Exchange Server Roadmap
  • Upgrading and Migrating to Exchange Server 2019
  • Exchange Security Best Practices
  • Basic Auth Deprecation in Exchange Online – Are you Ready?

We’ll also have some fresh news to share during MEC!

Call for Content

We have a lot of new and great content lined up for you, but there’s room for more!  If there’s something Exchange-related you’d like to see presented at MEC, let us know in the comments section!

Call for Speakers

The Call for Speakers is also open here. We’re looking for experienced and knowledgeable speakers to deliver breakout sessions and staff Ask the Experts. If you have something Exchange-related that you would like to present, please go to https://aka.ms/MECCFC and submit your proposal today!

Register Today

We hope you’ll join us at MEC. There’s magic that happens when we bring the world’s most passionate Exchange users together. If you haven’t done so already, register here!

Scott Schnoll
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Exchange Online / Exchange Server


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