Let's Talk Azure!

Alan and Sam dive into Microsoft's Security Exposure Management platform. Alan takes us through the various components and the benefits on using this platform. Here are a few things we covered: What is Microsoft Security Exposure Management? What components make up the platform? Who benefits from the platform? What integrations does the platform have? 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 discuss Azure Container Storage which is a volume management service built natively for containers, which enables cost-effective performance scaling and simplified management of volumes for stateful container applications. What are containers and their storage requirements? Why Azure Container Storage is useful How do you create storage? What are the configuration options? How much does the service cost? 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 talk about External Attack Surface Management (EASM) and how Microsoft's Defender EASM helps discover and monitor your digital assets. Here are a few things we covered: What is External Attack Surface Management? What is Defender EASM and how can it help identify your risks? How do you setup Defender EASM? how much does it cost? 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 discuss Azure Storage Accounts which provide scalable, secure, and highly available cloud storage for various data types, including blobs, files, queues, and tables. It serves as a foundational service in Microsoft Azure, enabling applications to store and retrieve data efficiently across multiple redundancy options and access tiers, here is what we covered: What is Azure Storage accounts and why are they useful? What types of data do they support? How do you create them? What are the configuration options? How much do they cost? 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 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 dive into Microsoft's Unified Security Operations Platform and how it can benefit SOC analysts in their day to day. Here are a few things we covered: What is a Security Operations Centre (SOC)? What is the new Microsoft Unified Security Operations Platform? What are the benefits of the new platform? 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 discuss Azure Storage Actions a serverless framework currently in preview that allows users to perform common data operations on millions of objects across multiple Azure Storage accounts without needing additional compute resources. It involves creating storage tasks with defined conditions, operations, and assignments. Users can monitor and manage these tasks, which run asynchronously, via metrics and reports. Azure Storage Actions is integrated with Azure Event Grid for event handling, and is supported in several regions, here is what we covered: What is Azure Storage Actions and why are they useful? How do you create them? What are the configuration options? How much does it cost? 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 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 talk about the use of Managed Identities for Azure resources. Alan takes us through the methods used for programmatic access to Azure resources and the risks of some of the options. Here are a few things we covered: What is programmatic access? What methods are usually used to gain programmatic access? What are Managed Identities for Azure resources, and how they can be used. 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 discuss Data API builder. It is a powerful tool designed to streamline the process of creating and deploying APIs for data-driven applications. It facilitates the rapid development of secure, scalable, and high-performance APIs that can seamlessly interact with various data sources, including databases, file systems, and third-party services. By automating much of the setup and configuration, Data API builder reduces the complexity and time required to bring data APIs to production, allowing developers to focus on building features and functionality rather than managing infrastructure. This tool is particularly beneficial for organizations looking to enhance their data accessibility and integration capabilities while ensuring robust security and performance standards. _What are CRUD APIs? Why are they important? How do you use it? What are some of the use cases for the solution? How much does it cost? 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: Build + RSA Updates key Microsoft Entra 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 talk about why it is important to monitor your network for connected devices. Alan runs us through the benefits of doing it with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Here are a few areas we covered: Why is it important to monitor your network? How can you find devices using Microsoft solutions? What are the benefits of devices being discovered and searchable in the Defender XDR Portal 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 discuss Azure AI Search. It is a robust, cloud-based search service provided by Microsoft that leverages artificial intelligence to enhance search functionalities within applications. It allows developers to create rich, full-text search experiences with features like natural language processing, semantic search, and cognitive search capabilities, which can extract insights from various data sources. The service is scalable, ensuring efficient handling of large volumes of data and queries, and integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, providing a comprehensive solution for building intelligent and responsive search-driven applications. What problems is Azure AI search aiming to solve? What does it integrate with? What are some of the use cases for the solution? How much does it cost? Read transcript

Alan and Sam discuss the management of macOS and how it is a little different to other operating systems. Alan guides through what can be configured and the reasons why. Here are a few things we covered: How is macOS different to other operating systems to manage? What Microsoft tooling can you use to manage them What licences do you need 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 discuss Azure Data Box. It is a ruggedised appliance designed to simplify the process of transferring large volumes of data to Azure cloud storage, offering high-speed data transfer and secure encryption. It enables organisations to overcome bandwidth limitations and easily migrate large datasets, ensuring efficient and reliable data transfer. What is Azure Data Box? What can you back up with it? How does the process work? How much does it cost? 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: FIDO2 authentication & Keypass Security group provisioning to Active Directory using cloud sync Unified security operations platform New API Manager v2 App Service v1 and v2 environments retirement 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 Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access. A identity-centric Security Service Edge (SSE) solution that helps secure user's internet and on-premises access. Here are a few things we covered: What is a Security Service Edge ? What is Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access? How does Entra Internet access for Microsoft 365 help secure and prevent data leakage? What is Entra Internet Access and Private Access? 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 discuss Azure Backup. It is a comprehensive solution offered by Microsoft Azure for safeguarding data across cloud and on-premises environments, providing seamless backup and recovery capabilities. It enables users to protect critical workloads, applications, and files with automated backups and flexible retention policies. What is Azure backup? What can you back up with it? How can you secure your backups? How much does it cost? 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 Microsoft's new Cloud PKI service, which enables the management and deployment of device and user certificates through Intune. Below are some key points we addressed: What are user and device certificates and how are they used How would you normally manage PKI services What is Microsoft’s Cloud PKI How much does it cost? 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: Copilot for Security and M365 Syslog and CEF AMA connector for Microsoft Sentinel Lots of Azure changes, new features and retirements! 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 Azure Key Vault, it is a centralized cloud service designed for securely storing and managing cryptographic keys, certificates, and secrets used by cloud applications and services. It offers robust access control, encryption, and auditing capabilities to safeguard sensitive information and streamline key management processes. What is Azure Key Vault? What are the common use cases for Azure Key Vault? What does it integrate with? How much does it cost? 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 talk about the Microsoft Connection Program (CCP). A Community of Technical professional from Customers, to Partners and MVPs that interacts with Microsoft Product groups around new features.. Here are a few things we covered: What is the Customer Connection Program? What are the benefits of being in the CCP? What is my experience being in the various CCPs? How do you get involved? 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: Dark Mode in Defender XDR Cloud PKI Improvements in Azure Key Vault Configuration-as-code customizations in Microsoft Dev Box 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 Azure Event Grid. It simplifies event-driven architectures by providing a fully managed service for routing events from various sources to multiple destinations in near real-time, enhancing agility and scalability in cloud-based applications. It enables seamless communication between Azure services, custom applications, and external sources while offering features like event filtering, routing, and dead-lettering for reliable event handling at scale. What is Azure Event Grid? What are the common use cases for Azure Event Grid? How can you get started? What are the licensing options? 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 what vulnerability management is, and why it is important to an organisation. Alan dives into how Microsoft security solutions help identify weaknesses and monitor their remediation. Here are a few areas we covered: What are vulnerabilities? why should you monitoring, priorities and resolve them? How can Microsoft Solutions help manage your vulnerabilities? What Microsoft licenses do you need to get started? 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

Azure AI Studio is an all-in-one AI platform that simplifies the development, evaluation, and deployment of generative AI solutions and custom copilots1. It provides a unified hub for building, managing, and fine-tuning AI models, making it easier for developers of all skill levels to create and deploy intelligent applications. Whether you’re working on natural language processing, computer vision, or other AI tasks, Azure AI Studio streamlines the process and offers a comprehensive suite of tools and services to support your AI projects. Sam takes the lead covering: What is AI and what do organizations use large language models for? What is Azure AI studio, and what problems is it solving? Sam's initial impressions of using Azure AI studio for the first time 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: Microsoft Defender XDR MDA / MDI / Defender for Cloud Azure API Center Azure Containers Apps Multiple Ports Azure API Management Azure Gen1 to Gen 2 Migration Azure Arc Visual Studio Code Extension 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 all things Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE). Alan goes through the history of MDE, what its capabilities are, and the platforms it covers. Here are a few other areas we cover: What capabilities does MDE provide. How is it different from other AV and EDR solutions. 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 we cover Azure AI Content Safety provides developers with tools to analyze and moderate user-generated content, utilizing machine learning to detect and filter inappropriate text and images. Customizable rules, scalability, and seamless integration with Azure services empower developers to create applications that maintain a safe and compliant online environment. Sam takes the lead covering: What is content safety and the scenarios it is used. What is Azure AI Content Safety. The products contained within Azure AI Content Safety. What are the SKUs how much does it cost? 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 Microsoft Defender XDR, a unified portal to manage you incidents across your MS Defender suite. Alan dives into the Extended Detect and Response (XDR) concepts and how it's beneficial to have all products in the same system. Here are few other areas we covered: What is XDR? What is Microsoft Defender XDR? What Microsoft solutions feed into Defender XDR? 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 couple of months. We dive into a couple of these updates and peeked our interest. Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered: Microsoft Entra Internet Access Public Preview Defender for Cloud Apps - GenAI categories for cloud discovery Defender for Endpoint Updates (User Contain, Simplified connectivity, WSL plugin) Fee tier manage SQL instance New Chaos Studio faults for service bus DICOM on data lake preview Azure App Configuration Snapshots 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 wrap up the season, where we explore our favourite episode of the season. We also talk about the challenges and successes we faced behind the scenes, and how the podcast has grown in terms of listenership and engagement. As we bid farewell to the season, we also reveal our exciting plans for the next season, which will start on 5th January 2024. We announce that we will move to one season per year, but with at least 48 episodes, covering more topics and look to featuring guests. 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 them 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

Alan and Sam discuss Microsoft's Copilot solutions. Alan talks about Generative AI and how it is being used in the world today. Here are a few things we covered: What Generative AI? What are the various versions of Microsoft Copilot? How can Copilot help users be more productive? How are they licensed? Ignite Keynote on Microsoft Copilot 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 we cover Azure Container Apps. Container Apps is a serverless container service provided by Microsoft Azure, designed to simplify the deployment and scaling of containerized applications using Kubernetes. It offers a seamless and integrated platform for developers to focus on building applications without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure. Sam takes the lead covering: What are containers, and why do organisations use them? What is Azure container apps? And how do they compare to other services in Azure? Which types of apps can be deployed and hosted? What are the SKUs how much does it cost? 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 talk all things Microsoft Ignite 2023! Microsoft Ignite is an annual conference hosted by Microsoft, centred around technology trends, product innovations, and announcements concerning Microsoft's cloud services, enterprise solutions, and developer tools. The event usually gathers IT professionals, developers, business leaders, and technology enthusiasts in one place. Alan is out at Ignite in person, we covered: The latest announcements at Ignite Alan and Sam’s favourite announcements The in person Ignite experience What MVP related activities has Alan been up to? 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 have a discussion around Microsoft accreditations and how they have recently changes. Here are a few things we covered: What are Microsoft accreditations? What has change recently around the exams for certifications? What are the new applied skills accreditation? Where do you start your Microsoft skills accreditation journey? 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 we discuss Azure App Service. Azure App Service is a robust, cloud-based platform that streamlines web app and API development. It simplifies deployment, auto-scaling, and management, supporting diverse programming languages and frameworks. Developers benefit from a fully managed, productive environment, enabling rapid development and easy integration with Azure services. With built-in security and compliance features, Azure App Service ensures a reliable and efficient solution for building, deploying, and scaling web applications and APIs, ultimately enhancing productivity and user experience. Sam takes the lead providing insights such as: Modern approaches to application hosting The features and benefits of Azure App Service How to deploy and manage applications on App Service How is scaling, performance and billing handled 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 the concept discuss cloud identities and how cloud identity providers like Microsoft Entra ID can help manage and secure those identities. Here are a few things we covered: What is a cloud Identity? What capabilities does Microsoft Entra ID have? Can you bring your on-premises ID up to the cloud? How can it integrate into SaaS application? What security features are available? 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.

This week we discussed Azure DDoS protection, a managed service from Microsoft in Azure to mitigate against DDoS attacks. DDoS or distributed-denial-of-service attacks are commonly used to overwhelm internet facing resources in the hope of disrupting their operation. Azure DDoS protection is a simple to use managed service which allows organisations to rapidly apply protection to their resources. Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: What are DDoS attacks, and why do we need to mitigate them? What is Azure DDoS protection How do you set up Azure DDoS protection Pricing 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 how Microsoft Entra External ID can help organisations collaborate and provide identity to their services. Alan goes through the B2B and B2C options and their scenarios.Here are a few things we covered:What are B2B and B2C identitiesHow are these identities usedWhat is an Microsoft Entra Multi-tenant organisationHow is Microsoft Entra External ID licencedWhat 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 we discussed Cosmos DB, a No SQL and relational database system hosted and managed by Microsoft. Cosmos DB is a cloud first service from Microsoft on Azure. It’s a modern approach to a database management system, built to achieve global scale and high availability. There are many APIs to pick from: NoSQL MongoDB PostgreSQL Apache Cassandra Apache Gremlin Table Storage Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: What is Cosmos DB and how it’s different to other database management systems What APIs are supported, and how do you decide? Operational considerations of Cosmos DB 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 how Microsoft Intune can help manage your Windows 10/11 estate from anywhere that has an internet connection. Alan goes through the capabilities and how it can help organisations. Here are a few things we covered: How has Windows endpoints traditionally been managed? What is Intune? How can Modern management help an organisation? What is the process to move to Intune to manage your Windows 10/11 endpoints? How is Intune licenced? 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 we discussed Purview Insider Risk Management. Insider Risk Management is a compliance solution that enables organisations to discover, track and manage insider risk. Insider risks can be introduced to an organisation in a multitude of ways, understanding and correlating these activities is complex and needs to be automated, this is where Insider Risk Management shines. Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: What are insider risks and why organisations manage these risks What is insider risk management Which systems can monitored How insider risk management allows organisations to take actions on identified risks 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.

Alan and Sam discuss how Microsoft Defender for Identity monitors and detects unusual behavior's and attacks on Active Directory: Here are a few things we covered: What is Active Directory Why do we need to monitor authentication on-premises What is Microsoft Defender for Identity (MDI) How is MDI licenced How do you deploy MDI 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 we discussed Azure Lighthouse. Lighthouse allow organisations and partners access and manage resources and services in multiple tenants at scale. Lighthouse allows management of access, provides a simplified control plane to reduce operation burden allow your organisation to better collaborate internally at scale over multiple tenants or partners to manage and collaborate multiple customers securely and simply. Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: How multi-tenant management is used How are organisation using Lighthouse internally How partners use Lighthouse with their customers 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 how Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps can help monitor and secure access to your SaaS applications. Here are a few things we covered: What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps How do we discover shadow IT? How to monitor activity and files in SaaS Apps What is App Governance How can we secure sessions to SaaS applications How is it licenced. 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 we discussed Azure Chaos Studio. Chaos Studio allows organisations to run test plans to introduce chaos. Learn how your applications and infrastructure are effected by infrastructure disruption without having to wait for actual disruption. Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: What is Chaos Engineering, and why it may be beneficial to your organisation What is Azure Chaos studio and What operations are supported with Chaos Studio In what scenarios you would use Chaos studio 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 Microsoft Entra ID Global Secure Access. A feature that was announced with the rebrand of Azure AD to Microsoft Entra ID. Here are a few things we covered: What is Microsoft Entra Internet Access What is Microsoft Entra Private Access How do these features help secure access to the internet and to SaaS and internal applications? Do we know how it is licenced yet? How to add MFA and conditional access to legacy applications and protocols that are unable to support it. 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 we discussed Microsoft Dev Box. Dev Box allows development teams to create development environments for their projects in the cloud. This enables development teams to utilise infrastructure in Azure that scales past their local machines to build effectively. Microsoft provides the infrastructure and management plane, developers and platform engineers can work together to build repeatable environments bespoke to each project to give developers the tool they need. Sam takes the lead with providing insights such as: What Microsoft Dev Box is and why teams may want to consider it How Dev Boxes are configured and deployed How developers can access Dev Boxes How Dev Boxes are managed and monitored Costs 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 how Zero-Touch deployments can help organisation reduce the effort needed to build devices. Alan goes through some of the scenarios and the benefits. Here are a few things we covered: What are zero-touch deployments What are the business and it department benefits What is supported in Microsoft Intune How easy is it to get started? 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. Update: A listener pointed out that you can now manually add iOS devices onto ABM via a Mac and iPhone https://support.apple.com/sv-se/guide/apple-configurator/welcome/iosRead transcript