Taswar Bhatti
The synonyms of software simplicity
Linkedin Newsletter

5 Highlights Thursday | 7th December 2023

Taswar Bhatti December 7, 2023 No Comments

Hi everyone,

Your weekly dose of 5 Highlights Thursday is here, a list of information and links that you may find helpful in your Azurejourney. Feel free to forward this along to anyone who you think may enjoy such sharing.

1. Watch .NET Conf 2023 on demand

Sessions from .NET Conf are now available to watch on demand. Find out how to create a full stack web UI with Blazor in .NET 8, build intelligent apps, learn #GitHub #Copilot tips for #dotNET developers, explore C# 12 features, and much more. #dotNETConf

.NET Conf

.

2. Build intelligent apps with .NET and Azure

Start building intelligent apps with #dotNET and #Azure. Check out this .NET Conf session on demand and discover how you can use #AI to create apps that transform productivity, automate processes, and uncover key insights. #dotNETConf

3. Global AI Conference

The Global AI Conference on December 12 is a digital event for developers, professionals, beginners, and everyone else interested in AI. Join the developer track to explore advanced #AI topics or the beginner track if you’re just getting started with AI.

Global AI

Global AI

4. GitHub Copilot and AI for developers: Potential and pitfalls with Scott Hanselman

Explore possible pitfalls of #AI in development. Hear how AI can bend or break rules and learn about new techniques that improve AI responsibility. And find out how to make #GitHub #Copilot a more useful tool in your developer toolbox. #MSIgnite

5. MVP TechBytes – The Zero Trust Adoption Framework with Nicolas Blank

Here is a new video I did with Nicolas Blank, a MVP from South Africa. Where we talked about Zero Trust Adoption Framework. If you are into security then you don’t want to miss out to this great conversation, we talked about how to sell your security ideas to business.

You can complement this edition of 5 Highlights Thursday with our MEA Developer Channel on YouTube where we have weekly interviews and learning material on Microsoft Azure, and much more.

And, as always, please give me feedback on LinkedIn. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Last by not least, know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Share it with them.

Subscribe on LinkedIn

Have a wonderful Thursday 🙂

Taswar

Azure, Newsletter
MVP TechBytes

MVP TechBytes – Predictable Security costs, using the Zero Trust Adoption Framework with Nicolas Blank

Taswar Bhatti December 5, 2023 No Comments

Join me and my guest speaker Nicolas Blank, an MVP in Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365, talks about security and zero trust. 🎙️👨‍💼🔒 Nicolas discusses the principles of zero trust, the Microsoft Zero Trust Adoption Guide, and the importance of speaking the language of risk to align security goals with business objectives. 💼💬🛡️

Summary: How to Adopt Zero Trust with Microsoft Technologies

If you are interested in learning more about zero trust, a new way of doing security that is gaining popularity in the IT world, you might want to check out the latest episode of MVP Tech Bytes, a podcast that features Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) who share their insights and expertise on various topics.

In this episode, I interviews Nicolas Blank, an MVP from South Africa who specializes in Microsoft Azure and M365 apps and services. Nicolas is also the author of the Microsoft Zero Trust Adoption Guide, a document that provides practical guidance on how to implement zero trust using Microsoft technologies for different business scenarios.

What is Zero Trust?

Zero trust is a way of doing security that assumes breach, uses least privileged access, and verifies explicitly. It is not a framework, a compliance, or a product, but a mindset that can be applied to any IT scenario, whether it is cloud, hybrid, or on-premises.

The main idea behind zero trust is to reduce the attack surface and prevent lateral movement by applying granular controls and policies to every request, device, user, and resource. Zero trust also requires continuous monitoring and verification of the security posture and compliance of the environment.

How to Implement Zero Trust with Microsoft Technologies?

The Microsoft Zero Trust Adoption Guide is a document that provides step-by-step instructions on how to implement zero trust using Microsoft technologies for different business scenarios, such as identity and access management, device management, data protection, network security, and workload protection.

The guide also explains the responsibilities of different roles in the organization for security, such as the executive sponsor, the security champion, the security architect, the security analyst, and the security administrator.

The guide is based on the Microsoft Zero Trust Maturity Model, which defines six stages of zero trust adoption: traditional, initiate, experiment, enable, scale, and optimize. The guide helps the organization to assess its current maturity level and identify the gaps and opportunities for improvement.

What are the Challenges and Benefits of Zero Trust?

Zero trust requires a change in mindset and culture, as well as a clear communication of the risks and the solutions to the business. It also requires a holistic and integrated approach that involves multiple teams and stakeholders.

However, zero trust also brings many benefits, such as:

  • Raising the level of security and reducing the risk of breaches and data loss
  • Making security more predictable and manageable by simplifying the policies and processes
  • Improving the user experience and productivity by enabling seamless and secure access to resources
  • Enhancing the visibility and compliance of the environment by leveraging data and analytics

What is the Role of MVPs in Zero Trust?

Nicolas Blank is one of the MVPs who has contributed to the development and promotion of the Microsoft Zero Trust Adoption Guide. He also hosts a webinar series called Zero Trust Unplugged, where he discusses various aspects of zero trust with other MVPs and Microsoft experts.

If you want to learn more about zero trust and how to implement it with Microsoft technologies, you can download the Microsoft Zero Trust Adoption Guide from this link: https://aka.ms/zerotrustadoptionguide

I hope you enjoyed this blog post and found it useful. Please let me know what you think in the comments section below. Thank you for reading.

Azure, Security
,
MVP TechBytes

MVP TechBytes – Learn Bicep to Create Your IaC Solutions in Azure with Elkhan Yusubov

Taswar Bhatti November 22, 2023 No Comments

👋 Hello everyone! In this awesome video, me & Elkhan Yusubov will show you everything you need to know about Azure Bicep. 🚀

You will learn what Bicep is, how it works, and how to use it to create amazing cloud resources. 💯

You will also see how Bicep is updated, how to install the vscode plugin for Bicep, and how to write Bicep code like a pro. 🙌

This video is packed with demos and examples that will help you master Azure Bicep in no time. 😎

Don’t miss this opportunity to level up your cloud skills and become a Bicep expert. 🙋‍♂️

Watch the full tutorial now and get ready to bicep your way to the cloud. 🌥️

Azure
,
Azure Takeoff Show

Azure Takeoff Show – Logic Apps

Taswar Bhatti November 12, 2023 No Comments

👋 Hi everyone! Here is another amazing video from me & Hatim Nagarwala where will introduce you to Azure Logic Apps, a cloud platform that lets you create workflows and integrate legacy systems with low code or no code. 🙌

You will discover the benefits, features, and scenarios of using Logic Apps, such as trigger based programming, business process automation, and sending status reports. 🚀

You will also see a demo of how to use Logic App to test the simple Http code and learn where to find more resources to explore Logic Apps. 💯

This video is full of tips and tricks that will help you get started with Azure Logic Apps in a snap. 😎

Don’t miss this chance to boost your cloud productivity and creativity with Logic Apps. 🙋‍♂️

Watch the full tutorial now and get ready to logic your way to the cloud. 🌥️

Azure
,
Azure Takeoff Show

Azure Takeoff Show: Azure Virtual Machines

Taswar Bhatti October 9, 2023 No Comments

👋 Hi everyone! In this awesome video, we will go back to basics and talk about Azure Virtual Machine. 🙌

You will learn how to launch Virtual machines, what is Azure Marketplace and how you can use it to launch a VM of your choice. 🚀

You will also see a demo of launching a Windows 11 Virtual machine, with RDP access and what is being created inside of Azure when you create a VM with your Azure resources. 💯

You will also find out where the ip is created and how to configure network security and more. 😎

Don’t miss this opportunity to master Azure Virtual Machine and create your own cloud environment. 🙋‍♂️

Watch the full video now and get ready to virtualize your way to the cloud. 🌥️

Azure
,
MVP TechBytes

MVP TechBytes – Microsoft Azure learning with Hamid Sadeghpour Saleh

Taswar Bhatti September 27, 2023 No Comments

If you’re exploring the idea of pursuing a career path with Microsoft but feeling uncertain about where to begin, we’ve got you covered. Watch our MVP’s video on Microsoft Azure learning, certifications, and career growth. Learn about role-based certs, Microsoft Learning Rooms, and cultivating a growth mindset for success. 🧑‍💻 To learn more: 🔗 Microsoft Learn Learning Rooms: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t…

🔗Twitter Handle: Twitter:   / sadeghpour_h  

🔗 Blog: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t…

🔗Microsoft Learn: https://learn.microsoft.com

Azure, Learn Series
,
MVP TechBytes

MVP TechBytes – Vector Search with Azure AI Vision and PostgreSQL with Foteini Savvidou

Taswar Bhatti September 4, 2023 No Comments

MVP TechBytes – Vector Search and Azure AI Vision with Postgres. Learn about what vector similarities search is, we deep dive into cosine distance used in Vector Search, with a live demo on how to enable it in Azure using Vision Studio. 🧑‍💻 To learn more about vector similarity search with Azure Computer Vision Image Retrieval APIs:

🔗 https://sfoteini.github.io/blog/image…

🔗 Twitter Handle:   / savvidoufoteini  

🔗 Blog: https://sfoteini.github.io/

Summary

This response is based on the document:

Exploring Vector Similarities Search and Image Retrieval with Azure AI Vision

In today’s world, technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, and one of the most exciting developments is in the field of artificial intelligence. One of the most popular topics in AI is vector similarities search, which allows us to explore the image retrieval functionality of the newest Azure computer vision service, now renamed to Azure AI Vision.

Foteini Savvidou, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in AI, joined MVP Tech Bytes to discuss this topic in depth. She explained how the image retrieval function is based on the conversion of images into vectors, called vector embeddings. These vectors are high dimensional dense vectors, each dimension of which contains information about the original content. By converting images into vectors, computers can easily understand the similarity between images.

Foteini also discussed the newest version of the Azure Computer Vision service, powered by the Project Florence, which is a state-of-the-art computer vision model developed by Microsoft Research. This model supports both image and natural language tasks and can be used to perform several computer vision tasks such as object detection, classification, background removal, video summarization, and frame rotator. It can also be used for image retrieval, which combines the image and natural language capabilities of the model.

Foteini demon2strated how to use the Vision Studio, the UI interface of the computer vision service, to perform image retrieval. She showed how to use text queries to search an image collection and how to adjust the threshold to show more or fewer images. She also explained how to use a reference image to search for similar images in an image collection.

Foteini also discussed the various databases available in Azure for storing vector embeddings, including Azure Cosmos DB for Postgres SQL, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Redis Database, and Azure Cognitive Search. She demonstrated how to use the vectorized image API to convert images into vectors and store them in the Azure Cosmos DB for Postgres SQL database. She also showed how to use SQL queries to perform vector similarity search.

Overall, the conversation provided a detailed and informative overview of vector similarities search and image retrieval with Azure AI Vision.

AI, Azure
, , ,
MVP TechBytes

MVP TechBytes – Git Branch and Merge Strategy using Azure DevOps with Mohamed Radwan

Taswar Bhatti August 29, 2023 No Comments

MVP TechBytes presents an in-depth guide to Git Branching and Merging Strategies using Azure DevOps. 💥

This session offers a comprehensive breakdown of GitFlow, Git Release branches, and various merge approaches. Gain insights into selecting the most suitable strategy through a live demonstration using Azure DevOps.

🔗 Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/mradwan06
🔗 Blog: https://mohamedradwan.com/
🔗 Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MRadwanMSF
🔗 Addtional resources: https://github.com/MohamedRadwan-DevOps/devops-step-by-step

Summary

Git Branch and Merge Strategy using Azure DevOps

In this videos, I interviewed Mohammed Radwan, a principal DevOps consultant and a 12-year MVP for Azure DevOps and GitHub.

During the interview, Radwan provided an overview of Git, a distributed version control system that is hosted by Azure DevOps and GitHub. Git is the dominant and modern version control tool, allowing developers to collaborate, track changes, and manage releases efficiently.

Radwan also discussed the factors to consider when choosing a branch and merge strategy. The branch and merge strategy depends on the cadence, testing, and release strategies of the teams, as well as the practices and capabilities of the developers. There is no one best strategy, but rather the most suitable one for the context and goals.

One of the branch and merge strategies that Radwan explained and demonstrated is Git Flow. Git Flow is a branch and merge strategy that uses two long-lived branches (main and development) and three short-lived branches (feature, release, and hotfix). The video shows how to create, merge, and delete these branches using Azure DevOps and Git Bash.

There are other branch and merge strategies, such as trunk based development, feature based development, release flow, and GitHub flow. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and requires different levels of maturity and organization from the teams. Radwan recommends looking at all the factors and choosing the most appropriate one.

In conclusion, Radwan provided valuable insights into Git and branch and merge strategies, helping developers to make informed decisions and work more efficiently.

Azure
,
Azure Weekly Digest by Taswar Bhatti

Five Highlights Thursday – 14th April 2023 Edition

Taswar Bhatti April 14, 2023 No Comments

This is my first newsletter on LinkedIn and I wanted to keep this newsletter short and sweet. Thus I only wanted to share 5 Highlights from Microsoft Azure, that I find interesting and insgihtful. Five Highlights Thursday – 14th April 2023 Edition

1. TeknoSA Customer Story

Learn how a retailer in Turkiye – Teknosa detects attacks 18 times faster by using Microsoft Security Solutions.

teknosa

 

2. MEA – 30 Days of Open AI

Want a summary of Week 1 of 30 Days to learn Open AI, then this video is a must watch.

3. Microsoft Security Copilot

Want to learn about how to empower defenders at the speed of AI, then you have to read and watch this post on Microsoft Security Copilot.

SecurityCopilot

4. Connected Learning Experience

Want to boost your data and AI skills, why not try Microsoft Azure CLX.

Azure CLX

5. Microsoft Build May 23-25 2023

The session catalog is ready for Microsoft Build, there is still time to register for Microsoft Build. It will be a hybrid event.

MS Build

You can complement this edition of 5 Highlights Thursday with our MEA Developer Channel on YouTube where we have weekly interviews and learning material on Microsoft Azure, and much more.
And, as always, please give me feedback on LinkedIn. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Last by not least, know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Share it with them.

Subscribe on LinkedIn
Have a wonderful Thursday :).

Azure, Newsletter
, ,
Microsoft Azure

Azure Resources: What They Are and How They Can Help You Build Better Applications

Taswar Bhatti January 23, 2023 No Comments
Moving on from learning Iaas, PaaS and SaaS, in this article, we’ll explore what Azure Resources are, how they work, and how you can use them to build better applications.

What are Azure Regions

Let’s start with Regions, and what they are in Azure. Azure regions are geographic locations where Azure datacenters are located. Example: UAE Region, India Region, West US region etc etc.

azure_regions

azure_regions

Each region is made up of one or more datacenters that are in close proximity and connected with a low-latency network. Azure regions are grouped into geographies, which are areas of the world that contain two or more regions that are in close proximity and connected by a low-latency network. Azure Regions also consist of something special to Azure called Region pairs. Region pairs are two regions within the same geography that are paired together to provide disaster recovery protection for services that are deployed in those regions.

Think of this way there are usually 2 datacenter 300 miles apart, you as a customer only see’s Canada Central. Techincally there are 2 regions/data center there. When Azure updates any software, they first update on one data center and if everything works well then they update the second data center. The added benefit of this is that your data is automatically replicated to the other data center. Example: if you are running a Virtual Machine and Database they are auto backup to the other region and its free of charge, the customer does not see this. This is an added benefit of using Azure it defintely helps with resiliency of the Azure cloud, but you as a customer must also run your own backup stragedy. You will want to have full control of your backup stragedies e.g backup to the 2nd largest customers you have in another region.

I thought it was Availability Zone not Region Pair

Azure Availability zone should not be confused with Region Pair. Azure Availability Zones are unique physical locations within an Azure region. Each zone is made up of one or more datacenters that are in close proximity and connected with a low-latency network. Availability Zones allow customers to run mission-critical applications with high availability and low-latency replication of data between zones. By using Availability Zones, customers can protect applications and data from datacenter-level failures.

azure availability zone

azure availability zone

While Region Pairs are internal to Azure, Availability zones are for you to design your own system of where you want your data and compute to be. Example: You may want to have your web server run in 2 different AZ (Availablity zone) just in case if something happens you still have one web server running while the other one is coming back online. But before we go future we need to define Azure Resources also.

What Are Azure Resources?

Azure Resources

Azure Resources

Azure resources are pre-built software components that you can use to build Azure-based applications. These resources include virtual machines, storage accounts, databases, and more. With Azure resources, you don’t have to worry about building and deploying these components from scratch. Instead, you can simply use the resources that are already available in Azure to get started quickly and easily. If you think about resources they are basically at the lowest level of items you wish to create VM, Database etc etc.

Some resources are pay-as-you-go, meaning that you only pay for what you use. Others require an Azure subscription, which provides access to a larger range of resources and features.

How Can You Use Azure Resources to Build Better Applications?

In order to build better application, it is subjective to your own interpretation but here are some ways you can use Azure resources to improve your applications:

  • Use Azure App Service to deploy and manage web applications.
  • Use Azure Functions to create serverless applications that can scale automatically.
  • Use Azure Cosmos DB to store and manage data for your applications.
  • Use Azure DevOps to streamline your development process and automate deployment.
  • Use Azure AI services to add intelligence to your applications.
  • Use Azure Kubernetes Service to deploy and manage containerized applications.
  • Use Azure Monitor to monitor the performance and availability of your applications.

By using Azure resources, you can simplify the process of building and deploying applications and focus more on developing the features and functionality that matter most to your users. Whether you’re building a small app for a single user or a complex system for a large organization, Azure resources can help you achieve your goals. Whether you are a seasoned developer or just starting out, Azure resources are a valuable tool that can help you build better applications more quickly and efficiently. Azure resources are a key part of the Azure platform that can greatly simplify the process of building and deploying applications. By using these resources, you’ll be able to focus more on developing the features and functionality that matter most to your users and less on the underlying infrastructure. So if you’re looking to build better applications with more efficiency and flexibility, be sure to take advantage of the available Azure resources.

Conclusion

We learned about Regions, AZ and Resources, in our next section we will go a level up and learn about Resource Groups, Subscription and Resource Managers. You can also watch the youtube video to learn more about Resources.

Azure
, , ,
Newer Posts
Older Posts
UA-4524639-2