Ctrl+Alt+Azure

Tobias Zimmergren, Jussi Roine

Weekly conversations for cloud architects, developers, CIOs, and CISOs navigating Microsoft Azure, cloud adoption strategy, security governance, identity, and agentic AI. Hosted by industry experts Tobias Zimmergren and Jussi Roine.

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23 episodes
weekly
Avg 34 min
English

Episodes 23

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Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

#357
Wednesday · 32 min
357 - Microsoft 365 E7 – let there be agents and security
This week we focus on licensing with Microsoft 365 E7. What's included in the bundle, and which ones are relevant and when? We reflect on the upgrade path from Microsoft 365 E5, as well as E3 + Defender Suite, and reflect on the options and pricing. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (02:50) - Show content starts. Show links - Microsoft 365 E7 announcement - Microsoft Agent 365 overview - Microsoft licensing FAQ, Agent 365 - Purview data security and compliance for Agent 365 - Independent E7 licensing analysis (SAMexpert) - Our earlier take on Agent 365 and Entra Agent ID: Episode 336 - Give us feedback!
#356
August 19 · 34 min
356 - Renewing our understanding of Microsoft Global Secure Access
This week we take a look at Microsoft Global Secure Access (GSA). It's been a few years since it was announced, and it's time to refresh our thinking on what GSA is today, how companies can use it, and what a rollout in 2026 would look like. Join us in discussing GPUs, VPNs, and what a delivery project would include! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:56) - Show content starts. Show links - Global Secure Access deployment guide - Private Access deployment plan - Global Secure Access operations guide - Enable Intelligent Local Access - Configure Private Access for Active Directory domain controllers (preview) - What is Global Secure Access (licensing overview) - Break-glass script for compliant network policies - Our previous take: Episode 201 - Give us feedback!
#355
August 12 · 28 min
355 - Microsoft Tech Updates
In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (02:18) - Show content starts. Show links - Microsoft Entra Backup and Recovery - Agent identities in Conditional Access policies - Project Perception and Microsoft Learn documentation - Azure Firewall Explicit Proxy - Microsoft Agent Framework – multi-agent orchestration SDK (GA) - Public Preview: AI Gateway in APIM - Public Preview: Protect sensitive generative AI telemetry in Application Insights - Foundational CSPM becomes opt-in for new subscriptions - Give us feedback!
#354
August 5 · 30 min
354 - A look at the new Azure Front Door edge actions
Azure Front Door just got programmable. Edge actions run your own JavaScript at Microsoft's edge, so A/B splits, token checks and origin routing happen before requests hit your backend. We cover what they do, where static rules run out, how they compare to Cloudflare Workers, and how to try them. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:56) - Show content starts. Show links - Edge Actions - Azure Front Door | Microsoft Learn - Introducing Azure Front Door edge actions | Microsoft Community Hub - Give us feedback!
#353
July 29 · 30 min
353 - The Microsoft AD Tier Model explained
Microsoft has put the Active Directory Tier Model on GitHub, MIT-licensed, with a deployment engine, a drift auditor, and around 1,700 tests. This used to be consulting material that Microsoft deployed to you as a paid engagement, so the obvious question is: why now? We start with that question, and also consider whether Active Directory is still worth your attention. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:55) - Show content starts. Show links - Repository - FAQ - What's new in Windows Server 2025 (the AD DS section) - Microsoft Learn - Enterprise access model - Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025 - Give us feedback!
#352
July 22 · 34 min
352 - So long, SMS and voice authentication
Microsoft is retiring natively provided SMS and voice authentication in Entra ID, and the clock is ticking: passkeys become the default experience on September 1, 2026, and Microsoft-provided telecom delivery is fully retired on February 1, 2027. We walk through the timeline, what admins should do now to find and migrate affected users, and when the new Security Store telecom providers make sense. We also cover the everyday struggle: moving Microsoft Authenticator to a new phone without locking yourself out. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (05:00) - Show content starts. Show links - Passkeys by default | MS Learn - Transfer Authenticator to a new phone - SMS/voice usage analyzer script - Plan a passkey deployment - End-user communication templates - Give us feedback!
#351
July 15 · 32 min
351 - Building and hosting a static site in 2026
In this week's episode, we talk about recent experience in moving away from Ghost and WordPress for blogs, and building a static site with Astro. Since it will be hosted in Azure, we will talk about the experience, the AI-assisted build, and the overall experience. Join us to learn how many mistakes we made, and learn from our failures! :) (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:00) - Show content starts. Show links - 046 - Azure Static Web Apps with Elio Struyf | Ctrl+Alt+Azure - Astro - Azure Static Web Apps hosting plans - Tobi’s blog - Jussi’s blog - Give us feedback!
#350
July 8 · 28 min
350 - Microsoft Tech Updates
In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (01:55) - Show content starts. Show links - Retirement: Azure Blueprints - Public Preview: Document PII playground sample in Microsoft Foundry NextGen - GA: Document PII NextGen Playground in Azure AI Language - Public Preview: Azure Migrate with GitHub Copilot modernization integration for code assessments - GA: Client-side data integrity protections in Azure Blog Storage - GA: ICMP support for Azure Standard V2 NAT Gateway - GA: Log Analytics Summary Rules experience - Microsoft certification updates - Give us feedback!
#349
July 1 · 40 min
349 - Back to basics: Managed identities vs. Service Principals vs. App Registrations
In this week's episode, we go back to basics to discuss ways to access resources secured by an Entra tenant. This is the bread and butter of Azure, and it's a good time to revisit these basics to understand why they are more relevant than ever in 2026. Join us in refreshing your knowledge on App Registrations, Service Principals, and Managed Identities! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:20) - Show content starts. Show links - Application and service principal objects in Microsoft Entra ID - What are managed identities for Azure resources? - Managed identities FAQ (system vs user-assigned, no app object) - Give us feedback!
#348
June 24 · 30 min
348 - Updates to Azure Files in 2026
In this week's episode, we look into what's new with Azure Files in 2026. We touch on the usefulness of Azure Files, the past limitations and challenges in deploying it, and how things have evolved since the latest preview capabilities, all the way to the new general availability. Join us in modernizing your on-premises file shares for a cloud-first future! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:58) - Show content starts. Show links - Entra-only identities GA announcement - Secure, modern access to Azure Files on macOS with Entra ID - Enable Entra Kerberos for Azure Files on macOS with Platform SSO, preview - FSLogix containers on Azure Files using Entra ID - Give us feedback!
#347
June 17 · 30 min
347 - Microsoft's Security Adoption Model: a map for security modernization
In this week's episode, we dig into Microsoft's Security Adoption Model, the attempt to pull a decade of scattered security guidance under one roof. It's a role-aware way to plan security modernization across on-prem and multicloud, built on three layers: the business scenarios that explain why, the nine disciplines that define who's accountable, and the technology pillars that cover the how. We talk through what's genuinely new, the single front door and the disciplines framing, versus what's just been folded in like the MCRA and the CISO workshop. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:48) - Show content starts. Show links - Security Adoption Model overview - Business scenarios - Disciplines overview - Technical solutions - Give us feedback!
#346
June 10 · 29 min
346 - Microsoft Tech Updates
In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:18) - Show content starts. Show links - Securing code, agents, and models across the development lifecycle - What's new in Azure API Management at Microsoft Build 2026 - Azure Container Linux on AKS - Azure Managed Redis Entra ID RBAC - Azure NC RTX PRO 6000 - Foundry agent security capabilities transitioning to Agent 365 - Azure Infrastructure Resiliency Manager - Logic Apps MCP Server - Give us feedback!
#345
June 3 · 52 min
345 - Reflections from Microsoft Build 2026
In this episode, we reflect on some of our favorite announcements from Microsoft Build 2026. We touch base on some Windows 11 updates, like Intelligent Terminal, the new Run dialog, and moving the Taskbar again (finally?). We also check out the GitHub Enterprise Local announcement, Azure Logic Apps Automation, Microsoft Scout, Project Solara, some new AI models, and Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC). (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:11) - Show content starts. Show links - Microsoft Build 2026 (News) - Microsoft Build 2026 (Microsoft Blog) - Give us feedback!
#344
May 27 · 43 min
344 - Insights on using applied AI with Rick Van Rousselt
This week, we sit down with Rick Van Rousselt, Microsoft 365 MVP and managing partner at Advantive Belgium, for an honest look at what's actually working with applied AI in customer environments and what's quietly failing. We dig into the agentic shift across Agent 365, Entra Agent ID, Microsoft Agent Framework, and AI Foundry; the build-versus-buy line now that Microsoft is shipping agents into every product; and why the wave of Copilot rollouts is finally winding down. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (00:29) - Show content starts. Show links - Find Rick van Rousselt on LinkedIn - Give us feedback!
#343
May 20 · 39 min
343 - Essential MCP servers for working with Azure
In this episode, we explore MCP servers - the open Model Context Protocol that allows AI assistants like GitHub Copilot, Claude, and ChatGPT to connect to live tools and data instead of relying on outdated training data. We discuss what MCP servers are, why they are important, and review our favorite MCP servers for working with Azure. We'll also share some personal favorites! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:48) - Show content starts. Show links - Microsoft Learn MCP Server - Azure DevOps MCP Server - Azure Resource Manager MCP Server - Spotify MCP Server - Give us feedback!
#342
May 13 · 33 min
342 - Expectations on Microsoft Build 2026
Microsoft Build 2026 marks the biggest format shift in nearly a decade - moving out of Seattle to a 2,500-seat Fort Mason venue in San Francisco with a deliberate "no fluff" pivot toward AI developers, technical leaders, and enterprise architects. In this episode, we unpack what to expect across the six confirmed tracks - plus where we think Microsoft will double down on Foundry, GitHub Copilot, and agent governance. Whether you're flying to San Francisco or planning your livestream strategy from the couch, this is the episode for you! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (04:44) - Show content starts. Show links - Build 2026 session catalog - GitHub Copilot Token-based billing - Give us feedback!
#341
May 6 · 30 min
341 - Foundry Toolkit goes GA: Building agents with code
The Foundry Toolkit for Visual Studio Code - formerly the AI Toolkit - is Microsoft's answer to fragmented AI development workflows, bringing model selection, prompt iteration, agent building, evaluation, and production tracing into a single VS Code extension. In this episode, we walk through the full feature surface. Whether you're picking your first frontier model or shipping a hosted agent to Microsoft Foundry, this is the episode for you! (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:55) - Show content starts. Show links - Foundry Toolkit overview - Give us feedback!
#340
April 29 · 38 min
340 - From outsourcing to AI-first: the rebuild that 8x'd our delivery
In this episode, we unpack nine months of lessons from Pons.io's full rebuild around agentic AI - cutting engineering outsourcing entirely, replacing HubSpot and Salesforce with an internal CRM built in seven days, and shipping dramatically more product on roughly half the staffing cost. We dig into what worked, what bit them along the way, and the practical mechanics of steering an agentic workforce with AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and Copilot instructions. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (03:20) - Show content starts. Show links - AGENTS.MD - Claude.md - Give us feedback!
#339
April 22 · 34 min
339 - Microsoft Tech Updates
In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (06:14) - Show content starts. Show links - ALZ for SMB - GA: Smart Tier for Azure Blob and Data Lake Storage - Public Preview: Assessment of file shares hosted on servers to Azure Files - GA: Azure available in Denmark cloud region - GA: Azure DevOps March 2026 updates - Copilot Cowork available in Microsoft 365 Copilot - Give us feedback!
#338
April 15 · 40 min
338 - Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0 is GA – why does it matter?
In this week's episode, we take a look at Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0, which has been generally available since early April. What is it, and why and how can you use it? We reflect on previous SDKs for building agents, how they relate to Copilot Studio-based and Foundry agents, and how to get started with them. Also, we share experiences using this for a real-agent solution. (00:00) - Intro and catching up. (05:10) - Show content starts. Show links - microsoft/agent-framework (GitHub) - The agent development journey - DevUI - Give us feedback!

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes