In this post, App Dev Manager Pia Calibuso talks about her experience joining Microsoft as App Dev Manager in Premier Support.

You may often hear that major companies care about their customers and consumers. How they accomplish that, and the amount of success attained varies greatly. As a recent hire into Microsoft and having worked in an assortment of roles supporting customers, the more I settle into my role here, the more I realize that Microsoft is serious about our mission: to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. As Microsoft employees, we are all trained to execute on our mission.

I am an Application Development Manager (also known as App Dev Managers or ADMs). We exist to partner with you, to understand your needs, and put you on the path to fulfill them. If you’re wondering what the heck an Application Development Manager/ADM/App Dev Manager does more specifically, a colleague of mine wrote this excellent blog, and I highly recommend you check it out- https://devblogs.microsoft.com/premier-developer/want-to-be-an-adm.

Earlier this year, I wrapped up several role specific training stints and the guiding principle was, “Your customer’s needs are most important.” The people conducting these trainings are hyper aware that all our interactions are going to be unique from customer to customer, which means you can’t train an ADM how to do their job 100%, and it’s true. In those sessions, whenever someone asked a question about the best way to handle a scenario, the answer was often, “It depends…” which lead to discussions about the situation to get a better understanding of the background. The training is focused on enabling ADMs to hone their skills in three major areas: curiosity to ask questions, to understand what your true needs are, imagination to create valuable solutions tailored to you, and the gumption to make that a reality. Amongst my peers, I am fortunate to be able to work with a myriad of people from many walks of life that are empowered to embrace their unique experiences to find ways to approach and often resolve issues.

So, “why does it matter to me how much you train or what you learn?” you might be asking. Well, for one, when you think about advisors, say, one in finance. You partner with one who would typically assess your current situation in addition to understanding your short- and long-term financial goals. You’re looking for the guidance and expertise of someone who is well versed in the field and can help you plan for your retirement or other financial goals. ADMs can be the same thing, but for your development needs.

As an ADM, I am expected to be that squeaky wheel that is passionate about doing what is right for you, my customer, in the long run. I am on your side and I take pride in helping you grow to be the best that you can be; this often arises in the form of ensuring you and your developers get the best tools and know how to help you modernize your applications or even internal processes. If we’re being honest here, my heart is racing as I am writing this – this kind of investment in our people I find personally exciting and motivating.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for someone to help you and your organization get better at what you do, you’ve come to the right place! The name of the organization is Developer Support – and that’s exactly what we are here for. So, if you’re looking for guidance and are on the fence on whether or not to try out our services or just know, we have people here passionate about learning and sharing, and above all, actually care deeply about seeing you succeed, especially your ADM.