MD-100 Training Links and Resources

The Microsoft MD-100 is a test for Deploying, Managing, Configuring, and Maintaining Windows devices. The purpose of this post is to consolidate relevant information to help others pass this test.

by Jack Bumgarner Jun 24, 2019

Top 10 Ways to Secure your Azure Environment – Part 1 of 2

Recently I finished off a 10-part series on the top mistakes to avoid when getting started in Azure. I’d like to complement that content with a follow-up pair of posts focused specifically on security. My objective here is to provide a quick-reference checklist you can use to maximize security benefits from the beginning.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jun 13, 2019

Identity within the Azure Cloud #5 Securing User objects in the Cloud

Securing users within the Azure Cloud.

by Steve Lazzara May 23, 2019

Identity within the Azure Cloud #4 Managing and protecting Roles

The management and protection around Cloud based Roles.

by Steve Lazzara May 23, 2019

Identity within the Azure Cloud #3 Using Groups and Roles

Using Groups and Roles to grant access rights.

by Steve Lazzara May 14, 2019

Identity within the Azure Cloud #2 Roles vs. Groups

The differences in what roles and groups are and how they are used.

by Steve Lazzara May 14, 2019

Identity within the Azure Cloud #1 What is a user’s identity?

With more companies extending their environments to include Cloud Services and Cloud functions it is important to recognize how the users and privileges are defined and managed within these extensions. 

by Steve Lazzara May 10, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #1—Ignoring a Cost Management and Tagging Strategy

The last mistake to avoid when getting started with Azure is failing to establish solid cost-management and tagging strategies. Without these, your IT costs can quickly get out of control, and the finance department will start knocking on your door looking for explanations.

by Nathan Lasnoski Apr 16, 2019

Reverse Engineering the Azure DevOps REST API

How to reverse engineer the JSON formatting required for REST API interactions with Azure DevOps

by Matt Sidwell Apr 3, 2019

Reasons to avoid third party portal in front of Azure

I often am asked, “should I put a third party portal in front of my Azure or multi-cloud environment?” They ask for a good reason, they want to achieve control of their cloud environment and help their organization to make good decisions. It often comes from organizations who have a self-service portal in their on-premise environment and want to achieve the same ‘efficiencies’ in their cloud environment. There are a lot of reasons why people go down this route, but it is NOT a good idea. In fact, deploying a portal in front of your public cloud is a common anti-pattern that companies should avoid. Here are some of the reasons to avoid this approach.

by Nathan Lasnoski Apr 2, 2019

10 Ways Manufacturers Can Do More with Less in 2023 - Part 1

As we enter the new year, manufacturers are assertively focusing on how they optimize their business during uncertain economic conditions.  The goal of most manufacturers is to do more with less, or at minimum optimize their ability to execute their mission for their customers.  Working with many manufacturers, I am seeing a variety of ways that companies can leverage technology to do more with less year. 

Part 1 of this series outlines the first five ways that manufacturers can do more with less.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 17, 2023

10 Ways Manufacturers Can Do More with Less in 2023 - Part 2

As we enter the new year, manufacturers are assertively focusing on how they optimize their business during uncertain economic conditions.  The goal of most manufacturers is to do more with less, or at minimum optimize their ability to execute their mission for their customers.  Working with many manufacturers, I am seeing a variety of ways that companies can leverage technology to do more with less year. 

Part 2 of this series outlines the second five ways that manufacturers can do more with less.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 25, 2023

Driving Efficiency from Cloud Investments

I’m asked frequently, “how do I know if there is waste in my cloud environment?” or “how do I know if my cloud environment is following best practices?”.  In response, I have six initial tests to evaluate the state of an already deployed cloud environment.  These tests can also be used in reverse to think about the critical tests for a cloud environment you are deploying new.  In this article I’ll walk through each of those six tests and how to evaluate them. 

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 22, 2023

10 Optimizations for Your Azure Environment - Part 1

As we enter the new year, I’d like to challenge every company with an Azure environment to “do more with less” by raising the operational maturity of their cloud environment.  Successful companies look at the cloud as a financial advantage to their businesses because of the opportunity to apply optimizations across each spending area.  The unsuccessful companies deploy services and are ineffective at applying spend to improvement, likely leaving it as they initially provisioned it.   

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 8, 2023

Cost Savings Ideas for Your Azure Environment

I’ve seen that 20% – 40% of cloud spend is waste!  In this post I’ll cover cost savings ideas for your Azure environment that will help you “get more with less” from your cloud spend.  

by Nathan Lasnoski Mar 14, 2023

10 Optimizations for Your Azure Environment - Part 2

As we enter the new year, I’d like to challenge every company with an Azure environment to “do more with less” by raising the operational maturity of their cloud environment.  Successful companies look at the cloud as a financial advantage to their businesses because of the opportunity to apply optimizations across each spending area.  The unsuccessful companies deploy services and are ineffective at applying spend to improvement, likely leaving it as they initially provisioned it.   

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 10, 2023