What I’ve Learned Teaching Postgres to 200+ field engineers at Microsoft | POSETTE 2026

Hear lessons learned from building PostgreSQL field expertise across a large organization, including misconceptions and anti-patterns. Paula Berenguel (Microsoft) shares insights in her talk “What I’ve Learned Teaching Postgres to 200+ field engineers at Microsoft” at POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2026. Abstract: With a managed Postgres service like Azure Database for PostgreSQL, building the product is only half the job; the other half is making sure our technical field has the context and depth they need to support customers well. As the lead for PostgreSQL upskilling at Microsoft, I maintain the knowledge pipeline for our pre- and post- sales teams who work with some of the world’s most demanding enterprises. The Top 3 Field Friction Points: The most common misconceptions that lead to "anti-patterns" in customer environments, and how to proactively teach the "Postgres way" of solving them. Scaling the "Brown Bag" Culture: A blueprint for running bi-weekly technical deep dives and building a community of Postgres advocates that scales across a global organization. Whether you are a Lead Architect, an SRE Manager, or a Technical Advocate, you’ll walk away with a toolkit for elevating the technical bar and fostering a resilient Postgres culture within your own teams. And if nothing else, we’ll have some fun exploring the quirks of the elephant in the room! Paula Berenguel is a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft. She is a passionate PostgreSQL advocate, tech enthusiast, cat lover, yoga and book enthusiast. ► Video chapters: ⏩ 00:00 – Music & introduction ⏩ 01:48 – Why one-size training never works ⏩ 03:21 – From fixed training to modular learning ⏩ 05:44 – Using scenario bingo to map training ⏩ 06:52 – The challenge of jack-of-all-trades fatigue ⏩ 09:02 – Reframing learning around real customer journeys ⏩ 10:29 – Why storytelling beats slides every time ⏩ 12:56 – How do i know my training is effective? ⏩ 15:58 – Constantly looking for gaps and updating con