I'm proud to share that Microsoft has named me a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in Microsoft Azure, in the Azure Operations & Management technical area, for 2026–2027. You can see the award on my MVP profile.
It is a community award. Nobody earns it alone, so most of this post is about the people and the community behind it.
What's Inside
- What the Microsoft MVP award is, and what it is not
- How I got here: cloud platforms, AI, and Cloud Native Calgary
- Thank you to Rolf Schutten and Steve Buchanan
- What an Azure Operations & Management MVP means for teams we work with
What the MVP Award Is
The MVP award is Microsoft's annual recognition for people outside the company who share real-world technical expertise with the community and give honest feedback to Microsoft's product teams. MVPs are in more than 90 countries and cover many Microsoft technologies. It isn't a certification and you can't sit an exam for it. It recognizes the past year's community work, and it is reviewed every year.
Two things it is not. It is not a Microsoft job: MVPs are independent, and so am I. And it is not a company award: it is given to a person. Code To Cloud's own Microsoft relationship is separate. We are a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and an approved Cloud Solution Provider.
How I Got Here
My work has always been about platforms: first building them, then architecting cloud platforms on Azure, and now running AI agents on them in production. That included nearly five years at Microsoft, where I went from Azure Customer Engineer to Senior Solutions Engineer, leading cloud and AI platform strategy with enterprise customers. This year I moved on from Microsoft, and Code To Cloud is where that work continues: governed AI platforms on Azure and GitHub for enterprise and mid-market teams.
Alongside the day job, I kept doing the community work I enjoy most:
- Cloud Native Calgary. I started the CNCF chapter in 2023 and have led it since, with meetups and workshops for Calgary's cloud-native engineers. I'm also a CNCF Ambassador.
- The Code To Cloud podcast. Long-form conversations with builders and technology leaders.
- Code To Cloud Summit. A community conference in Calgary.
- Talks and open material. Most recently two sessions at Prairie Dev Con Winnipeg, plus our free, open-source Introduction to Microsoft Foundry workshop and Kodra.
None of that was done with an award in mind. It was done because teaching people and getting them into a room together is the part of this job I love.
Thank You
A few people deserve a public thank you.
Rolf Schutten nominated me for the MVP award as I was leaving Microsoft. Putting someone forward takes time and belief, and it meant a lot at a moment of real change. Thank you, Rolf.
Steve Buchanan has been my mentor along the way, with support and guidance whenever I needed it. Thank you, Steve, for the time and the advice.
And thank you to everyone who has come to a Cloud Native Calgary meetup, joined the podcast, sat in a workshop or asked a hard question after a talk. This award is really a reflection of that community.
What This Means for Teams We Work With
My award area is Azure Operations & Management: running Azure well once it's live. That covers governance, landing zones, monitoring, cost and the operational discipline that decides whether a platform holds up in production. It's the same ground our Agentic DevOps work stands on. An AI agent platform is only as trustworthy as the Azure foundation it runs on.
In practice, MVPs get early access to technology through Microsoft programs and a direct line for feedback to the product teams. Much of what we hear early is under NDA, so I won't pass any of it on. What I can promise is that when your teams hit a real gap in Azure, it can reach the people who build the product.
Nothing about how we work changes. You still get straight answers, honest tradeoffs, and hands-on help building the thing rather than a report about it.
Where to start
Operations and management is where AI platforms on Azure succeed or stall, so start with the free checklists we publish for exactly that:
- Azure AI Landing Zone Readiness Checklist. Microsoft's 44-point AI Landing Zones design checklist in plain language, sorted by when each decision becomes hard to reverse.
- Agent Platform Production Checklist. 33 checks for running agents in production: evaluation gates, identity on every model call, spend, and human approval.
Short on time? The 5-minute readiness scorecard tells you which one to read first. No email required. When you're ready to talk about your own platform, book a discovery call.
Kevin Evans
Founder, Code To Cloud Inc.
Kevin Evans leads agentic DevOps and application modernization engagements for enterprise and mid-market teams, and offers fractional CTO advisory to growing businesses. He spent nearly five years at Microsoft, rising to Senior Solutions Engineer, and is a Microsoft MVP for Azure, a CNCF Ambassador and Calgary chapter lead, based in Calgary, Alberta. More about Kevin
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Microsoft MVP?
The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award is an annual award that Microsoft gives to technology community leaders who share real-world expertise with other practitioners and give feedback to Microsoft's product teams. MVPs are in more than 90 countries. It recognizes community contribution, not an exam result, and it is renewed or not each year.
What is Kevin Evans' MVP award area?
Microsoft Azure, in the Azure Operations & Management technical area, for the award period 15 July 2026 to 15 July 2027. You can check it on his Microsoft MVP profile.
Is Code To Cloud a Microsoft MVP?
No. MVP is an award to an individual, Kevin Evans, not to a company. Code To Cloud Inc. is separately a member of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and an approved Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider (CSP).
Does Kevin Evans work for Microsoft?
No. Kevin spent nearly five years at Microsoft, rising to Senior Solutions Engineer, and left in 2026. The MVP award is given to people outside Microsoft, and Kevin is independent of Microsoft.
