| Genre | Conference |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Annually |
| Venue | Varies each year |
| Location | Varies each year |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 2003–2023 |
| First | July 12, 2002 |
| Last | July 19, 2023 |
| Organised | Microsoft |
| Sponsor | Main sponsors: Huawei, Tech Data. BitTitan and Dell EMC |
| Website | partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire |
Microsoft Inspire (formerly the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference[1]) was a conference held annually by the Microsoft Corporation for its partner community. It was announced in 2024 that it would be replaced by Microsoft's new virtual event, MCAPS Start for Partners.[2]
At Inspire, partners are taught about Microsoft's roadmap for the upcoming year, network and build connections, share best practices, experience the latest product innovations, and learn new skills and techniques.[3] There are also keynote addresses from Microsoft executives, featured speakers, business-track specific offerings, and hundreds of sessions.
In its current form, it has been held since 2003.[3] Before 2003, it was two different events, Microsoft Fusion and the Microsoft Business Solutions Stampede.[4] In recent years, not including the Virtual Online events, it has been co-located with the Microsoft internal Microsoft Ready conference.[5]
| Year | Dates | Venue | Location | Participants (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | July 12–15 | Los Angeles Convention Center | Los Angeles, California | 4,700[6] |
| 2003 | October 9–11 | Morial Convention Center | New Orleans | 5,500[4] |
| 2004 | July 11–13 | Metro Toronto Convention Centre | Toronto, Canada | 5,500 attendees[7] |
| 2005 | July 8–10 | Minneapolis Convention Center | Minneapolis | 10,000 attendees 6,500 Microsoft employees[8] |
| 2006 | August 11–13 | Boston, Massachusetts | [9] | |
| 2007 | July 10–12 | Colorado Convention Center | Denver, Colorado | [10][11] |
| 2008 | July | Houston, Texas | [12] | |
| 2009 | July 13 | New Orleans Morial Convention Center | New Orleans | [13] |
| 2010 | July 11–15 | Washington Convention Center | Washington, D.C. [14] | 13,000[15] |
| 2011 | July 10–14 | Los Angeles, California | [16][17] | |
| 2012 | July 8–12 | Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Air Canada Centre | Toronto, Ontario | 15,000[18] |
| 2013 | July 7–11 | Houston, Texas | [17] | |
| 2014 | July 13–17 | Walter E. Washington Convention Center | Washington, D.C. | |
| 2015 | July 12–16 | Orange County Convention Center | Orlando, Florida | |
| 2016 | July 10–14 | Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Air Canada Centre | Toronto, Canada | |
| 2017 | July 9–13 | Walter E. Washington Convention Center | Washington, D.C. | 16,000 |
| 2018 | July 14–19 | Mandalay Bay Convention Center | Las Vegas, Nevada | 17,000 |
| 2019 | July 13–19 | Mandalay Bay Convention Center | Las Vegas, Nevada | |
| 2020 | July 21–23 | Virtual Online Event | Worldwide | |
| 2021 | July 14–15 | Virtual Online Event | Worldwide | |
| 2022 | July 19–20 | Virtual Online Event | Worldwide | |
| 2023 | July 18–19 | Virtual Online Event | Worldwide |
References
- ^ "Introducing Microsoft Inspire: A New Name for our Worldwide Partner Conference". Microsoft Partner Network. 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Join us on July 10 for MCAPS Start for Partners". partner.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ^ "WPC 2011 - Worldwide Partner Conference - July 10-14, 2011". Archived from the original on 2011-10-07. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- ^ "Manta - The Place for Small Business". Goliath.ecnext.com
- ^ Microsoft. "Microsoft Ready". Microsoft Ready. Archived 2021-09-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ^ "Manta - The Place for Small Business". Goliath.ecnext.com
- ^ "Microsoft Kicks off Worldwide Partner Conference 2004 - with Velocity". News.microsoft.com. 11 July 2004.
- ^ "Manta - The Place for Small Business". Goliath.ecnext.com
- ^ "Web Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet". Webhostingtalk.com
- ^ "Microsoft Unveils New Opportunities for Partners at Worldwide Partner Conference 2007". Webwire.com. 10 July 2007.
- ^ "Microsoft World Wide Partner Conference - Denver, CO (July 10-12, 2007) - VoIP News". Archived from the original on 2012-05-22. Retrieved 2011-10-07.
- ^ Mitchell Ashley (8 July 2008). "Meet Me In Houston At Microsoft WPC". Network World. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Microsoft Pri0". Nwsource.com
- ^ "Microsoft Pri0". The Seattle Times
- ^ "Microsoft Pri0". The Seattle Times
- ^ "Microsoft Pri0". The Seattle Times
- ^ "Microsoft Inspire". Partner.microsoft.com
- ^ "WPC 2011 - Worldwide Partner Conference - July 10-14, 2011". Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-10-07.