<p>Umbrellar CEO Dave Howden and Vanessa Sorenson, Chief Partner Officer A/NZ and Managing Director Microsoft NZ, catch up on all the dramatic changes since their last podcast chat - her roles, the pandemic, new data centres for the region and the integration of Australia and New Zealand in the Microsoft world. There's a lot to unpack!</p> <p>They discuss how Microsoft is increasingly focused on making it easier for partners to grow their business through improvements to Marketplace, IP Co-Sell and the April 2022 launch of <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/en-au/features/microsoft-takes-startups-in-anz-from-idea-to-unicorn-with-new-microsoft-for-startups-founders-hub-platform/" target="_blank">Microsoft Founders Hub</a>, bringing people, knowledge and benefits together at every stage to solve startup challenges.&nbsp;</p> <p>Vanessa also shares her passion for corporate citizenship initiatives such as <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/business/10kwahine/">10K Wahine</a>, <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/business/learn/global-skills-initiative/" target="_blank">Global Skills Training Initiatives</a>, growing <a href="https://tuputoa.org.nz/" target="_blank">Maori and Pacific Leaders</a> through partnering with TupaToa.</p> <p>Vanessa says New Zealand punches way above its weight - but we're not so great at sharing our success stories. With the creation of A/NZ and the soon-to-be-online regional data centre, now is the time to get louder, take more risks and build our industry depth. Take a listen.</p>