Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast Episode 413 – Simplifying Azure Files with a new file share-centric management model
Oct 23, 2025
Will Gries, a Principal Program Manager at Microsoft with extensive experience in storage and Azure Files, discusses the new file share-centric management model for Azure Files. He explains how this model simplifies management by making file shares top-level resources, enhancing automation and access control. The conversation dives into scaling benefits, transparent pricing, and how it reduces confusion between Blob and Files protocols. Will also touches on future enhancements like SMB integration and customer-managed keys, making Azure Files easier for IT teams to handle.
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Will's Storage Career Origin
- Will Gries started at Microsoft fresh out of college and joined the Windows Server file server team.
- He helped build Azure File Sync and has focused his career on storage and file shares.
File Share Becomes First-Class Resource
- Azure introduced a file share–centric model that makes file shares top-level Azure resources instead of requiring storage accounts first.
- This removes an intermediate object and gives each share its own lifecycle and simpler deployment experience.
Independent Per-Share Scaling
- Each new file share can scale independently to full share limits for capacity, IOPS, and throughput instead of sharing a storage account pool.
- This avoids contention between shares and simplifies performance planning.
