MEC 2012 is now drawing to an end, following a mysterious 10-year hiatus that no one can quite explain, including Microsoft itself.

Last week we mentioned that SherWeb’s Simon Poirier (Sys Admin) and Samuel Nadeau (IT Infrastructure Leader) would be there, eager to finally meet their many Exchange peers face-to-face and to get the latest Microsoft Exchange 2013 news straight from the horse’s mouth.

So what new and exciting news came out of this event that wraps up today in Orlando, Florida? Microsoft promoted the event as the “Lost MEC”, and “a conference like no other”. Did MEC 2012 live up to the hype? Were there any major surprises? And did Simon win the Exchange arena? Find out right here…

Day 1: Getting to Know Exchange 2013

As pretty much everyone guessed, Day 1 of MEC focused heavily on promoting the soon-to-be-released Microsoft Exchange 2013: new architecture and management perks for IT pros, as well as key improvements for end-users, starting with a keynote speech by Microsoft’s director of product management, Michael Atalla.

Atalla describes Exchange 2013 as a “huge leap forward” for organizations who want to manage their transition to the cloud or their cloud services infrastructure.

The crowd then broke out into a day-long series of sessions and events that looked at all things Exchange in great detail.

Day 2: Exchange 2013, Exchange 2010, Exchange Online & Even More Exchange

Day 2 got started with a Geek Talk with the Director of Software Development for Exchange, Perry Clarke (of the well-known “Geek Out With Perry” blog/video series).

Simon and Samuel liked the Q&A approach, but were hoping for a more insightful debate. Fortunately, they found more juice during the whiteboard and interactive sessions later in the day. They were surprised that a few sessions—mostly related to Office 365—were cancelled without much warning or explanation.

Were they unpopular, too sales oriented or did the speaker simply come down with a last-minute stomach blog? We hope Microsoft takes note and makes the necessary adjustments for next year’s MEC.

Day 3: Even More Exchange and Simon’s Chance for Glory

Topics slated for the final day of the event include Load Balancing in Exchange 2010, Developing Mobile Applications with Exchange Web Services, Exchange Unified Messaging, Personal Archive and Retention Policies, On-premise vs. Cloud. And more Exchange 2013, of course.

Today’s also the big day for Simon, who will be battling it out with other Exchange experts in the Exchange arena for a chance to win bragging rights and a brand-new Emperor Scorpion chair.

Overall Impressions of MEC 2012

So what do our Sys Admin and IT Infrastructure Leader think of MEC 2012 so far?

Simon and Samuel rate MEC 2012 as “interesting but conservative.” But they also point out that because they are in such close contact with Microsoft on a regular basis they have already been privy to a lot of the information that many in the Exchange community are now only hearing for the first time.

But like I mentioned, day 3 is still underway. Maybe Microsoft is saving the best for last?

For some companies, the decision to move towards a cloud solution for email is easy. But for those with specialized requirements it’s not always so clear-cut. Tell us what’s stopping you from taking email to the cloud and we’ll try to come up with a SherWeb solution.