Cloudforce’s Post

Today, Microsoft honored Cloudforce as the "2024 Showstopper of the Year: Commitment to Community" in its annual Supplier Prestige Awards from over 50,000 global suppliers! 🌟 🤝   Showstopping Prestige … Yep, that’s Cloudforce!   A wise chap once said, “if you’re gonna win, win all the time.” Well, not really… but that’s what we do at Cloudforce🏅. Stick with us here…   🏆Take this week, for example. Fresh off our 4th win as a Fastest Growing Mid-Atlantic business on the 2024 Inc. Magazine Regionals on Tuesday, we turn around to nab a Microsoft Supplier Prestige Award two days later. To top it off, these honors are not only gratifying they are also validating—and vibing on a theme close to our heart. Stay with us…   📈See, not only did we ascend from #124 to #88 on the Inc. list this year, but we were also the only tech biz in our home county of Prince George’s, #Maryland to repeat this honor for the second consecutive year. This means a lot because we believe “success is sweeter when it’s shared.” And making an impact in our community is driven by one of our core values: giving back. Which brings us to our Microsoft Supplier Prestige kudos for “Showstopper of the Year – Commitment to Community”. See what we mean?   🏡🤍So not only are we giving back to the hometown we love—through efforts to identify possibilities and foster opportunities in education, employment and economic development—we’re also being recognized for all we do. It’s like winning, with purpose. And the week’s not even over yet. So…   All we can say is thank you, Inc. Thank you, Microsoft. And thank you to our incredible clients, partners, community, our amazing #eliteforce, and you for following us on our incredible winning journey! Together, we can prove once and for all that winning and corporate citizenship can and should be complimentary traits in business—and that’s the kind of business we can all feel good about winning all the time… 🥂 🚀

Honoring Earth Day with Action! 🌍 ✨ At Cloudforce, we're not just about business—we're about community, and we’re proud to call National Harbor our home. 🏢💙 Last Friday, our #eliteforce rolled up our sleeves and hit the shores of the harbor to give back to the beautiful space that inspires us every day. 🌊♻️ Together, we picked up trash, demonstrating our commitment to keeping our surroundings pristine. 🚮🌿 We believe that by caring for the environment, we're investing in a brighter future for everyone. Thank you Peterson Companies and Christopher J. Borgal, CSM, CMCA for your invaluable partnership and support, which helped make this initiative a reality. Together, we're making a tangible difference for our community and our planet.🌍✨ Here’s looking at you, Mother Earth! #EarthDay #Givingback #GoCloudforce

🔥 🧑💻Igniting Innovation: Students' Trailblazing Solution at HoyaHacks & Bitcamp! This January, at Georgetown University’s Hoya Hacks—powered by Cloudforce—a team of three gifted hackers embarked on a journey to revolutionize Salisbury University's admissions process with their AI creation: gullGPT. 💡🎓 This tech-savvy trio of James Montebell, Brian Bowers, and Isaac Dugan first showcased their talent using #Langchain, #Azure, and #OpenAI, to craft gullGPT to streamline Salisbury’s admission process. Even though they didn’t clinch the Xbox prize, their passion fired on. They fine-tuned gullGPT, made it mobile-friendly, optimized costs, and even integrated web scraping for comprehensive info. 🌐And their quest continued three months later at University of Maryland’s Bitcamp, another epic Cloudforce-sponsored hackathon, where they shared their progress and discussed the next chapter of gullGPT's evolution. 📖 The result? A game-changer! gullGPT now resides on Isaac's website, attracting over a quarter-million visitors! From prospective students to Dean meetings, gullGPT has become the go-to for all things Salisbury admissions. 🏫 Cloudforce is proud to offer the platform, tools, and support for students like James, Brian, and Isaac to unleash their creativity and tackle real-world challenges head-on. From providing access to cutting-edge technologies, to fostering a collaborative environment where ideas flourish, Cloudforce is most gratified to help empower our next generation of tech innovators and leaders. 💡🎓 It’s exactly why we do what we do! 🙌 🚀 

🎉 🧑💻Cloudforce and Microsoft bring the power of AI to Student Hackers at Bitcamp 2024! 🔥🧠Cloudforce and Microsoft teamed up to ignite young minds at the 2024 Annual Bitcamp Hackathon hosted by University of Maryland (UMD). The largest collegiate #hackathon on the East Coast, Bitcamp 2024 attracted a record 2,000+ registered hackers from all levels of proficiency, for an immersive 36-hour experience challenging students to create cutting-edge projects across websites, apps, and hardware. 🌐 🤖💡Proudly sponsoring the Machine Learning Track, our Cloudforce hackathon ninjas focused on "Best use of AI/ML Innovation for the Francis Scott Key Bridge Recovery Efforts". Our team, including Microsoft Chief Innovation Officer of Education, Michael J. Jabbour, offered hands-on mentorship and showcased industry-leading #AI and #machinelearning (ML) services such as the #Azure #OpenAI Service and #Copilot for #Microsoft365. PLUS--for the first time ever--we hosted the branded mini-game "Microsoft x Cloudforce Copilot Prompt-a-Thon." With 7 incredible teams in our prize track, the competition was fierce! 🥇💻Cloudforce’s 1st place winner Kaushik Reddy Kanumuru earned a #MicrosoftSurfaceGo3 for his project, “BuildKey AI,” using custom #GPT-based tech to aid emergency responders. Kaushik gratefully acknowledged  Cloudforce Senior Cloud Solutions Engineer Ryland DeGregory and Technical Trainer Garrett Broady for patiently guiding him through #MicrosoftAzure AI services saying, “Their warmth and assistance were truly appreciated. This certainly reflects their company's culture and talent.” 🏆 👏Cloudforce also congratulates 2nd place winning team Anuraag Tripathy, Preethi Narayanan, Swastik Agrawal and Priyadarshan Narayanasamy; and 3rd place winners, Arman Mahjoor and Joshua Cancio. We also gratefully acknowledge UMD President Darryll J. Pines; and Bitcamp Sponsorship Director Veda Singireddy, Sponsorship Organizer Beatrice Chung, and Finance Director Anjali Samavedam. Shoutout to Nicholas Christine from Microsoft for sharing this amazing opportunity with Cloudforce. And huge thanks to our #eliteforce volunteers whose dedication and support made this event a success! 🙌 🤝 #Bitcamp 2024 marks the 10th anniversary for this incredible effort to challenge and inspire young minds on their journey to become tomorrow’s technology innovators and leaders.🎉🚀

As April ends, Cloudforce celebrates some special team milestones. Happy Work-Versary to our incredible #eliteforce members, Jonathon Segars and Tan Le! 🌟🎉   ☁️Jonathon, as our esteemed Cloud Solutions Engineer, you've spent another year pushing boundaries and driving innovation in everything you do. Your passion for exploring new possibilities in cloud technology has been a driving force behind our progress. 🖥️Happy 2nd Work-Versary!   🚀 Tan, as our diligent Cloud Solutions Associate, your steadfast commitment to excellence has been the backbone of our operations. Your growth and dedication are truly commendable! 🌐⚙️Cheers to you on your First Work-Versary!   Together, you both exemplify the spirit of teamwork and passion that defines our company culture. Here's to more collaboration, growth, and success together! 🚀🎊 #WorkVersary #TeamAppreciation #MilestoneCelebration #GoCloudforce

AI-gniting Education Excellence🚀📚    Last Thursday, Cloudforce was honored to attend and participate as a Gold Sponsor at the 2024 Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium (MEEC) Member Conference and Vendor Showcase. 🎉    🎙️ Our CEO and Founder Husein Sharaf and Principal Cloud Architect Daniel Ruberg teamed up to present "Data Governance in the Age of AI and Copilot." In this insightful session, attendees took a deep dive into the crucial intersection of #AI productivity tools such as #MicrosoftCopilot and the imperative need for robust #datagovernance practices via #Purview.    From understanding the mechanics behind generative AI productivity tools to implementing strategies for managing #dataestates, our session equipped education administrators with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape. MEEC offers an incredible opportunity for our #eliteforce to engage with the passionate educators, administrators, and innovators from across Maryland dedicated to shaping the future of education. 📚✨ As our Assistant VP of Growth, Damien Robinson, aptly summarized, "An awesome day! Every year we get a chance to take a moment to connect and reconnect. We had an opportunity to present on Data Governance and Microsoft Purview—the precursors to a great AI strategy. Huge thanks to Daniel and Husein—but I do think our Cake Pops were the star of the show.” 🍰    Thank you to our partners at MEEC, Tamara Petronka and Conor Mulvey, for inviting Cloudforce and for organizing such a successful event! We're grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an important conversation, and we look forward to continuing our work in empowering educational institutions with innovative solutions. 🚀💫

Swinging into Spring ⚾🌸   What better way to welcome the vibrant energy of spring than with the sport of the season! 🧢⚾Our #eliteforce soaked in the sights, sounds, and excitement of the ballpark as we cheered for the Washington Nationals in full force. From the comfort of our exclusive VIP suite and with a panoramic view of the ballpark, we enjoyed every moment of the game while indulging in mouthwatering ballpark treats 🌭, ice-cold beverages 🍻, and the most fantastic company around! Our special thanks to everyone who made this night one for the books, and here's to many more victories, on and off the field!⚡👏

Duking It Out with Data: Datathon Delivers Tech Triumphs!🧑💻 At Cloudforce, we believe in the power of technology to transform lives and couldn’t have been more honored to sponsor Duke University’s annual hackathon: Duke Datathon. Duke Datathon is not just any hackathon—it's a platform where students unite to revolutionize healthcare through data-driven solutions. 📊🩺 With the theme "Data Science in Critical Care”, this year’s event was poised to make a tangible impact on the future of healthcare. 🏥 🌐💡As part of our commitment to fostering innovation and empowering future tech leaders, our #eliteforce proudly provided firsthand expertise and resources. Best of all, we gave students the extraordinary advantage of placing the latest #MicrosoftAzure tools into their hands to help them more readily turn their ideas into reality. By leveraging Azure's powerful capabilities, students had the bleeding edge tools they needed to create innovative solutions that could revolutionize critical care—tools typically unavailable in higher ed classrooms. 💻 🏆 ⚙️ Congratulations to Team 1 (Hospital Acquired Infections: Discrepancies and Outcomes) and Team 6 (Mechanical Power in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)) for their outstanding projects focusing on #HealthEquity and #PatientOutcomes. Special kudos to Team 5 for clinching the title of “best #Azure architecture”! 🎉 A huge shoutout to our team of dedicated volunteers, particularly Cloudforce Senior Solutions Architect Don Mann and Cloud Solutions Engineer Michael Ryan who supported the students every step of the way, and Arija Rahman, Aylin A., Garrett Broady, and Kamal Cunningham for all the behind-the-scenes support. 👏 Your guidance and mentorship are invaluable in helping these future tech leaders thrive. And a special thank you to A. Ian Wong, MD, PhD for his outstanding leadership in organizing this incredible event. 🙌 This is just the beginning of a vibrant community of health data science and #AI practitioners. Here's to the future of health data, where every insight brings us closer to better outcomes for all!🚀 💫 #DukeDatathon #TechInnovation #EmpoweringFutureLeaders #MicrosoftAzure #HealthcareRevolution #Hackathon #GoCloudforce

Blossoming Bonds: Cloudforce’s Cherry Blossom Picnic! 🌸✨ As the world-famous Washington, DC cherry blossoms peaked, our team took a break from our screens to bask in the beauty of spring at the National Arboretum. We gathered for a delightful picnic amidst nature's breathtaking canvas. 🧺 Our morning kicked off with a mouthwatering spread of donuts and breakfast burritos, fueling us for a day of bonding and festive relaxation. 🍩🌯 As we savored every bite, we also cherished the opportunity to soak up the sun and each other's company. Like every monthly Cloudforce team outing, our picnic was the perfect way to recharge our spirits, ignite our collective #glee, and strengthen the ties that make us a vibrant team. 🌞 A very special thanks to Christina Kelly for orchestrating this wonderful feast of food, fun, and festivities all set to nature’s beauty. Already looking forward to our next adventure together! 🚀 #eliteforce #GoCloudforce #CompanyCulture #TeamOuting #Teambonding