Microsoft WPC 2014: Where everybody knows his name...

In congratulating Microsoft's German contingent on a World Cup job well done, Satya Nadella's first words at Worldwide Partner Conference 2014 were typical of where the company is heading.

On-the-ball, quite literally, was Nadella's opening address, that his words represented a freshness which transcended through some 16,000 attendees.

He was always the man everybody wanted to see, he was always the man which provoked the most excitement, intrigue and interest - and in his first Vision Keynote as CEO, he was always going to excel.

Forget Lincoln, Satya has been the most spoken name around the streets of Washington D.C. this week.

For the veterans of WPC will even admit, the bouncing bravado of Steve Ballmer was as predictable as it was out-dated - while the modern poise of Nadella signifies Microsoft's transformation as a company.

Long gone are the days when fist-pumping rally cries motivate, the technology industry now takes inspiration from knowledge, not sales; of which Nadella has in abundance.

Wrapped up tight in a genuine love of technology, Nadella's first 50 minutes in front of partners will no doubt be deemed a success by the Redmond hierarchy - who appear fully justified in their decision to appoint the former Cloud executive VP as their new main man.

First impressions show a leader who is crystal clear in his vision for the new modern-day Microsoft.

Yes it was the an extension of Nadella's cloud-first, mobile-first memo to staff last week, and why wouldn't it? Such is Microsoft's renewed level of consistency across its partner network.

Don't be fooled of course because employees by their very nature are programmed, at least on the surface, to declare love and support for the big boss.

But the only thing this week, in America's capital, is that it seems like they genuinely mean it...