Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #2—Building Your Architecture Like a Rube Goldberg Machine

As with most things, simplicity is a virtue when it comes to computing environments. How you establish your systems architecture in Azure is a structural foundation you’ll continue to build on for years. Keep it simple!

by Nathan Lasnoski Apr 1, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #3—Assuming Your Cloud Environment Needs to Function Like On-Premises

The last several posts in this series have zeroed in on specific structural and technical pitfalls to avoid when getting started with Azure. In this post, let’s zoom out a bit and consider a mistake that’s more conceptual than it is technical—namely, that switching from an on-premises environment to the cloud will not exactly replicate functions.

by Nathan Lasnoski Mar 20, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #4—Not Following Naming Conventions for Resources

The next pitfall to avoid in setting up your Azure environment is one that trips up many organizations. If you fail to establish clear naming conventions, you will limit your team’s ability to know what’s going on, find things, and understand and manage them. So don’t start naming things “Nathan’s test” or “Bob’s system!”

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 28, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #5— Ignoring a Recovery and Release Strategy

Our last posts covered structuring, securing, and controlling deployment of your Azure environment. In the realm of safety and security measures, what comes next is developing a recovery and release strategy for cloud-based applications and servers.

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 15, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #6— Over-Intermediating the Cloud UX to Control Deployment

Our last posts covered structuring and securing your Azure environment. Now, we’ll focus on a topic important for its actual use: how strictly to control deployment.
 
What people often do is create a portal between developers and Azure itself. This isn’t surprising, as it’s probably what they have on-premises: a portal that exists between developers and the servers that run the applications.
 

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 30, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #7— Ignoring Identity, RBAC and Conditional Access

Now that your Azure Environment is effectively and properly structured, as noted in our previous post, we come across a slippery slope that must be avoided. Now that it has been created, it needs to be secured. It has become second nature to use a seatbelt, lock doors and assure the area is clear when entering or exiting a vehicle, and we must direct that line of thinking when it comes to employing technology.
 

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 17, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #8— Not Structuring the Azure Environment Properly

In our previous post, we discussed the challenges that surface when you do not retrain or restructure existing employees before starting your Azure implementation journey. Now that you have your team on board and organized correctly, the next step is to create an effective structure in the Azure environment.

by Nathan Lasnoski Jan 3, 2019

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #9— Not retraining or restructuring existing employees

Last time, we covered the need for a company adoption strategy in your Azure implementation journey. Here’s another roadblock you have to get past: your employees’ familiarity with your prior ways of doing things. Implementing changes without taking into consideration the need to retrain and restructure your current work dynamics can easily lead to trouble—or, at the very least, inefficiencies.

by Nathan Lasnoski Dec 20, 2018

Top 10 Mistakes Companies Make Getting Started with Azure: #10—Failing to Define a Company Adoption Strategy

In this new blog series, I will take you through a test drive of the Microsoft Azure environment and discuss routes that have put companies in the ditch during navigation and implementation—and, more importantly, how to avoid them.
 

by Nathan Lasnoski Dec 6, 2018

Beer Kegerator with IoT Part 2 - How a Beer to the Face is a Good Thing

Normally, getting splashed in the face with beer is not a good thing. I am going to show you how using your face with beer can be a good thing. This blog is a continuation of my previous blog on using IoT with a Beer Kegerator (link).

by John Adali Nov 4, 2018

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