Let's Talk Azure!

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam discuss the importance of monitoring identities across all systems. Alan goes through wat ITDR is, why it is important and the benefit. Here are a few areas we covered:Why is it important to monitory your identitieswhat is Identity Threat Detect and Response (ITDR)How does Microsoft provide ITDRHow is it licensedWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam dive into configuration drift with M365 and assessment against security baselines. Here are a few things we covered:What is configuration drift, and why a security baseline is important.Microsoft’s new Unified Tenant Configuration Management APIs for managing drifts.How to get it set up and advice for authentication.What’s covered, the limitations and how it works.What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam dive into the next level of self-service for Entra accounts. Alan takes us through what Entra Account Recovery is and how it is different to Self-Service Password Reset. Here are a few things we covered:Impacts on helpdesks when users have to call in to get their account recovered.What Self-Service Password Reset itWhat Entra Account RecoveryHow to setup Entra Account RecoveryWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This week, Alan and Sam Introduce season 7 and talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

In this episode, we wrap up the season, where we explore our favorite episodes of the season. We also talk about the what happened in 2025, and how the podcast has grown in terms of listenership and engagement. As we bid farewell to the season, we also reveal our future plans for the next season, which will start in January 2026. This episode is a great way to end the season and to look forward to the next one. We thank our listeners for their support and feedback, and invite you to stay tuned for more updates and announcements. We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season, and promise to return with more amazing content in the new year. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

This week, Alan and Sam talk about last weeks Microsoft Ignite event and the announcements that came out of it. Alan dives into the in-person experience in San Francisco. They dive into a couple of the announcements that peaked their interest. Some of the Microsoft product features and updates we covered: M365 Copilot Purview Microsoft Defender for Cloud Defender XDR Azure What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

In this episode, we dive into Microsoft’s Zero Trust Assessment - an open-source, automated tool that scans hundreds of Entra ID and Intune settings against NIST, CISA, CIS, and Microsoft’s own internal baselines. Discover how it aligns with the Secure Future Initiative, delivers actionable remediation, and turns Zero Trust from theory into measurable reality. Perfect for CISOs, SecOps teams, and anyone tired of spreadsheet audits.Key Takeaways:The Pain of Manual Zero Trust AuditsWhat the Zero Trust Assessment Actually DoesWhy automate your security assessmentsWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest. Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered: Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updates Lots of Azure changes and new features What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

In this episode, Alan and Sam drive into the importance of classifying data in an organisation. Alan goes through the capability in Purview to tag files and encrypt them. Here are a few things we covered in this episode: Why is it important to classify data in an organisation How can Purview help with the applying labels to data How to get started and the process for getting users to adopt the process How is the Purview capability licensed What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

In this episode, we dive into three key Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP) offerings within Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Defender for Resource Manager, Defender for Key Vault, and Defender for APIs. Our Q&A format explores how these tools safeguard Azure environments against sophisticated threats, from management layer exploits to API vulnerabilities. Key Takeaways: Defender for Resource Manager monitors and protects against suspicious operations in Azure's management layer. Defender for Key Vault adds native threat protection to detect anomalous access to secrets and credentials. Defender for APIs provides full lifecycle security for APIs in Azure API Management, including inventory, posture recommendations, and runtime threat detection. These plans integrate seamlessly into Defender for Cloud's broader CNAPP framework for multi-cloud and hybrid protection. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest. Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered: Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updates Lots of Azure changes and new features What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Alan and Sam discuss the topic of DLP and how Purview can help audit policy matches and provide preventions. Aland goes though the range of capability and data sources that can be integrated with Purview DLP and some of the preventative actions. Some of the areas we also covered: What is Data Loss Prevention and why is it important? What capability does Purview DLP have? How do you get started with DLP How is it licensed? What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest. Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered: Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updates Lots of Azure changes and new features What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

In this episode, we dive into Microsoft Defender for Storage, a key component of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. We break down its features for threat detection and malware scanning, discuss real-world benefits, and touch on pricing considerations. We cover: Introduction to Defender for Storage: Overview of its role in Microsoft Defender for Cloud and its importance for securing Azure storage workloads. The Threat Landscape: Discussion of current threats to cloud storage, including malware uploads, unauthorized access, and data breaches. Core Features of Defender for Storage: Activity Monitoring: Analyzing access patterns to detect suspicious activities without performance impact. Malware Scanning: Real-time file scanning using Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Sensitive Data Threat Detection: Using Microsoft Purview to identify and protect sensitive information. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Alan and Sam discuss the integration of Microsoft Sentinel into the Defender XDR portal. Alan goes through the benefits of the integration and thing to watch out for when starting the migration. Here are a few things we covered: What is Microsoft’s Unified SecOps Platform? What are the announcements around Microsoft Sentinel’s interface moving? What are the benefits of the integration of Microsoft Sentinel? What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript