Nobody could quite believe it
The announcement at the end of the Commsverse 2026 keynote landed like a gut punch wrapped in applause. This was it - the last ever Commsverse. An event that has become a cornerstone of the Microsoft Teams and communications community, signing off in style.
And what a way to go. They keynote itself was fantastic - as expected. Firstly, we had the obligatory spoof movie; the team completely upped their game this year with a Matrix spoof with Mark Vale as Neo who must decide between accepting Copilot - the blue pill, or rejecting it - the red pill. It was great. Then Sunday Times bestselling author Jamie Bartlett explained how we can best communicate with artificial intelligence in his keynote “How To Talk To AI (And How Not To)”. It was very interesting and thought-provoking.
Standing room only
I had the great privilege to speak year - a session on building interactive workflows in Teams using Adaptive Cards and Power Automate. It was a very practical session, and largely demo-driven, so the kind of session I love to deliver. But nothing quite prepares you for talking to a room that’s completely full, with people lining the walls.
Standing room only. First time that’s ever happened to me. That kind of energy is hard to manufacture. It’s the sort of thing that makes you realise why you say yes to these things in the first place.
And then there were the cars
Not every conference ends with a hot lap. But Commsverse is not every conference. The venue it has been in for the past 4 years (Mercedes World) has given it a slightly odd but incredibly welcome relationship to cars.
And somehow I found myself strapped into a C63S AMG being driven around a track at a speed that made me simultaneously question and reaffirm my life choices. It was brilliant. Completely unexpected and absolutely unforgettable!
The thing that actually makes it
The sessions are great. The venue was great. The cars were, clearly, exceptional. (Did I mention there were cars?)
But Commsverse has always been about the people. The Microsoft community is something genuinely special - generous, kind, endlessly knowledgeable, and always willing to share. Every conversation in a corridor, every coffee grabbed between sessions, every “oh you work on that too?” moment - that’s what this event has been built on.
And at the heart of it all has been Mark Vale and his incredible team. What they built with Commsverse, year after year, is no small thing. It takes vision, dedication, and a lot of hard work to create a space where a community can truly come together. Mark and the whole organising team - thank you.
Goodbye
There’s a particular kind of sadness that comes with the end of something good. Not the sharp kind - more like the quiet kind, the one that sneaks up on you on the drive home. Commsverse is done. But the community it helped build? That’s not going anywhere.
Thanks for the memories. Thanks for the knowledge and conversations. And yes - thanks for the rides. 🚗