RunAs Radio

April Dunnam, a Principal Cloud Advocate at Microsoft and MVP alumni, shares her expertise on integrating AI into organizations. She discusses Copilot Studio's role in creating generative AI agents, emphasizing low-code solutions that enhance productivity. The conversation highlights the differences between agentic AI and traditional automation, the importance of user-friendly tools, and the challenges of scaling. April also touches on optimizing costs with Microsoft's token model and the significance of thorough testing for effective AI implementation.

In this engaging discussion, Arun Ulag, who leads product management for Azure Data, dives into the exciting advancements of Fabric as it evolves into a comprehensive data solution. He highlights its expansion into real-time intelligence and how it's designed to streamline data management for AI workloads. Arun also showcases the power of conversational interfaces that enable quicker access to data insights, helping organizations make informed decisions swiftly. The conversation underscores the importance of integrating tools like Power BI for enhanced analytics and collaboration.

Luise Freese, a software solution architect and blogger at m365princess.com, dives into the transformation of PowerApps into full-fledged applications. She shares insights on managing the application lifecycle, emphasizing the importance of requirement engineering and governance. Luise discusses the pitfalls of using free data sources like SharePoint, which can hurt performance. Collaborative strategies between developers and business users are highlighted, showcasing how structured onboarding processes improve security and reliability in software development.

In this discussion, Mark Russinovich, the Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Azure, dives into the latest advancements in cloud computing and AI. He reveals innovative collaborations with hardware manufacturers to optimize server performance for various workloads. The conversation shifts to the rise of AI in coding, discussing tools like GitHub Copilot. Mark also explores the future of quantum computing and its integration into Azure, showcasing breakthroughs in generative AI. This vibrant chat intertwines technology and the evolving landscape of cloud solutions.

April Yoho, a Senior Developer Advocate at GitHub, discusses how sysadmins can enhance their workflow using GitHub features. She highlights the power of GitHub Copilot for script quality and mastering branching and merging. The conversation explores ways to utilize Copilot’s custom instructions and agentic mode for generating scripts and turning them into actionable GitHub issues. April also touches on the evolving role of AI in software development, emphasizing its potential to boost productivity and collaboration within teams.

Here comes SQL Server 2025! While at Build, Richard chatted with Bob Ward about releasing a preview version of SQL Server 2025. Bob discusses SQL Server 2025 as an AI-ready enterprise database with numerous capabilities specifically tailored to your organization's AI needs, including a new vector data type. This includes making REST API calls to Azure OpenAI, Ollama, or OpenAI. This is also the version of SQL Server designed to integrate with Microsoft Fabric through mirroring. There are many more features, even a new icon!LinksSQL Server 2025 AnnouncementJSON Data TypeOllamaRecorded May 20, 2025

Liz Fong-Jones, a seasoned Developer Advocate at Honeycomb, shares her insights into modern telemetry solutions and their pivotal role in enhancing system reliability. She discusses strategies for educating leadership on effective telemetry practices and the cultural shift towards embracing failure as a learning opportunity. The conversation also touches on overcoming resistance to change in tech environments, boosting developer confidence during deployments, and the importance of meaningful insights from observability tools, ultimately advocating for a balanced approach to technology adoption.

Why would a security vulnerability take more than two years to fix? Richard chats with Steve Syfuhs about the evolution of the response to KB5015754. Originally published in 2022, the issue involved vulnerabilities in the on-premises certificate authority for Active Directory. Pushing a fix to force the immediate replacement of the certificates could have left users unable to log into Active Directory entirely. Steve explains how the gradual rollout of the fix allowed folks concerned (and paying attention!) to fix it immediately. At the same time, for everyone else, the fix happened as the existing certificates expired. But not every scenario is automatic - some require sysadmin intervention. So, how do you get their attention? The story leads to the February 11, 2025 update that could knock some users off Active Directory, but had an easy and quick fix. The final phase should be September 2025; hopefully, the last stragglers will be ready!LinksKB5014754Microsoft Security Response CenterCreate and Assign SCEP Certificate Profiles in IntuneRecorded April 10, 2025

How do you talk to security? While at NDC Melbourne, Richard chatted with Sarah Young about her approaches to helping folks work with the security team. Often seen as an impediment to business, Sarah talks about what motivates security teams, how to use language to help them understand that you are taking security seriously, and how to get more things done! Ultimately, the DevOps mantra of providing value to the customer still works - working with people to improve the processes that lead to secure systems helps everyone!LinksDaniel Pink's DriveManaged Identities for AzureTenerife Airport DisasterRecorded April 30, 2025

Join Jason Helmick, a 30-year IT veteran and Microsoft’s PowerShell product manager, as he dives into the exciting updates of PowerShell 7.5. He shares insights on community contributions driving development and introduces Desired State Configuration 3.0, which enhances cross-platform capabilities. Jason reflects on the evolution of PowerShell, the transition from VBScript, and its application in modern cloud environments. Discover how these innovations can streamline IT practices and improve collaboration in tech teams.