RunAs Radio

Integrated communication is everywhere! While at Build in Seattle, Richard talked with Bob Serr, the VP of Azure Communication Services (ACS) at Microsoft. Bob discusses how ACS provides tooling to integrate voice, text, and video into any application through Azure. This leads to a broader conversation about the power of deeper communication, especially for difficult discussions like tech support. Can adding video make it easier to diagnose a problem? And what is the role of the new large language model technologies coming from OpenAI in providing automated communications? There are a lot of possibilities available today!Links:Azure Communication ServicesAzure OpenAI ServiceRecorded May 25, 2023

How do you secure the sprawling array of services your organization depends on? Richard talks to Karinne Bessette about her experiences working with companies with virtually no internal infrastructure - using Software-as-a-Service products from various providers and finding their glue to keep multiple bits working together. Karinne talks about putting together teams to understand how workflows function first - then trying to put some governance around it. Single sign-on is a great place to start, but the solutions depend on what tools you're using. This is the new reality we're working in - we must find a way to secure it!Links:Azure Single Sign OnOktaZero TrustData Loss PreventionAzure PurviewMicrosoft SyntexRecorded June 5, 2023

Windows 11 is coming to your organization - do you know how to deploy it? Richard talks to Johan Arwidmark about the need to get to work testing the deployment of Windows 11: Microsoft isn't giving us much of a choice about moving to it! Johan discusses the available deployment strategies, including Configuration Manager, Intune/Autopilot, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and more. Odds are, you will have to make some changes to how you deploy Windows to make things go smoothly with Windows 11, so it's a good time to get testing!Links:Windows 11Support for Windows 11 in Configuration ManagerMicrosoft Deployment ToolkitWindows AutopilotMicrosoft IntunePowerShell DeploymentPSAppDeployToolkitRecorded May 30, 2023

Whether you know it or not, Power Platform apps are proliferating! While at Techorama in Antwerp, Richard chatted with Luise Freese about her work with companies discovering that users are building Power Apps at alarming rates. Luise talks about the ability of users to find solutions in the Power Platform tools, often because they have enough security privileges (or demand them) to get access to data and systems... without many controls in place to ensure those resources are used correctly or securely! This leads to a conversation around providing guide rails for Power Platform developers, using security and governance. Get your telemetry cranked up - likely, you already have Power App proliferating!Links:Create Reusable Custom FunctionsComponent LibrariesDynamics 365Microsoft DataverseMicrosoft Power Platform Center of Excellence Starter KitRecorded May 16, 2023

It's 2023 - are you able to keep your systems patched? Richard talks to Sami Laiho about the emerging patching crisis. Sami talks about how MFA and user security have improved enough that they are no longer the primary path of exploitation for ransomware. Today, the main way to get breached is through unpatched computers. But patches are risky and can occasionally cause downtime - so we control when patches are installed and (hopefully) test extensively. Is it worth it? Is it better to be down for an hour due to a lousy patch versus down for months due to a breach? It's time to talk to leadership about a change of tone around patches - and get moving faster!Links:Microsoft AuthenticatorWindows AutopatchCenter for Internet SecuritySami Laiho WebsiteRecorded May 10, 2023

Should you use Windows Server Update Services or Windows Update for Business? Richard talks to Aria Carley about the different update mechanisms available today - and some new ones that are coming! Aria talks about how Windows is evolving to routine, incremental feature updates - but that can be challenging for managed workstations. The conversation explores the roles of Configuration Manager, WSUS, WSUB, Group Policy, Intune, and the new Azure Update Management tools. Plus, a hint of what is to come - could there be an Update Copilot in our future?Links:Configuration ManagerAzure Update ManagementMicrosoft IntuneWindows Server Update ServicesWindows Update for BusinessWidows Client Roadmap UpdateWindows AutopatchRecording May 4. 2023

What does high availability look like in 2023? Richard chats with Allan Hirt about his work with high-availability solutions today - not just on-premises but also in the cloud. Allan talks about the frustration folks had with moving workloads in the cloud during the pandemic panic, lift-and-shifting workloads focusing on getting things working quickly rather than cost-effectively. The results can be costly, to the point where some folks considering moving back off the cloud again - but does that make sense? Allan talks about creating high availability efficiently wherever you want to run your workloads!Links:Always On on SQL Server with Azure VMsSQL Server 2022Azure Regions and Availability ZonesOperations ManagerRecorded May 11, 2023

Richard talks to Sarah Young, Cloud Security Advocate for Microsoft, about Microsoft Sentinel, the company's SIEM solution. They discuss tools that feed into Sentinel, processing raw logs, and billing for the service. They highlight the importance of a SIEM in incident response and the need to assume breach. They also explore the hacker mindset, good security hygiene, and concerns around false positives in security systems.

Are your finance people suffering from Azure sticker shock? Richard talks to Aidan Finn about his experiences with organizations discovering they spend far more on Azure than expected. Aidan talks about designing systems based on on-premises requirements where hardware is over-provisioned, and new features in Azure are added without a thought to cost. Getting finance involved in an Azure migration from the beginning can help mitigate the shock and balance features and costs. Plus, there are great tools for cost management in Azure that can allow for budget projections, catch unusual spending early, and point out opportunities to save money with specific services available today!Links:Azure Firewall PremiumAzure AdvisorCloud Adoption FrameworkAzure Pricing CalculatorMicrosoft Cost ManagementAzure MonitorAzure ReservationsAzure Hybrid BenefitRecorded April 6, 2023

Is your organization ready to respond to a security incident? Richard talks to Paula Januszkiewicz about her experience helping organizations respond effectively when a security incident occurs. Paula talks about detection - attackers often have breached your infrastructure months before their attacks become visible. Once you've detected a potential breach, the next steps are to determine where the breach comes from, or as Paula says, who is patient zero? And what are the indicators of compromise? It's not enough to slam the door shut on an attack - how do you keep it from happening again? The conversation explores the idea of threat hunting, of understanding what the black hats are doing by being able to respond effectively to isolate exploited machines but not necessarily shut them down. An attack is an opportunity - seize it!Links:CqureAttack Surface Reduction RulesLocal Administrator Password SolutionSecurity Information and Event ManagementAzure SentinelRecorded April 4, 2023