RunAs Radio

What can Chocolatey do for you? Richard talks to Gary Ewan Park about the latest version of Chocolatey, including Chocolatey for Business. Originally a free, open-source product for application management primarily targeted at software developers, Chocolatey has evolved into a modern software automation product for managing software deployment on workstations and servers. Gary talks about keeping deployments self-contained and straightforward - use the Internet if you want to, but you can also do all deployments from a local package manager as well. With self-service and central management tools, you should look at the latest version of Chocolatey for Business!Links:ChocolateyChocolatey for BusinessPuppetChefBoxstarterChocolatey Community RepositoryWindows AutopilotRecording February 17, 2022

Is Azure Arc a crucial part of bringing the cloud into your organization? Richard talks with Microsoft CVP Erin Chapple about how Arc helps with digital transformation. Erin discusses the challenges of adding the cloud into an organization from a governance, regulatory, and security perspective, how Azure Arc provides oversight and control for those issues, and more. The conversation also gets into a survey done by Harris Polls for Microsoft that showed how the digital transformation process continues in most organizations, with hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure being a common outcome. All the more reason to use Azure Arc to manage it all!Links:Arc at FergusonArc at NokiaArc at Siemens HealthineersHybrid & Multicloud Perceptions SurveyMultiCloud and Hybrid Using Azure Arc with Jeremy WinterInside Azure for ITRecorded February 17, 2022

How do you secure your email transport? Richard talks to Gareth Gudger about the various additional protocols and approaches essential to transporting email. Gareth reminds us that SMTP, like the Internet, was not designed with security in mind, so we have to add layers to try and improve things. It is an acronym soup of SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MTA-STS, and DANE - but every acronym gets a definition! Sure, there is more to email security than just transport, but arguably, this is the place to start. And after that - focus on identity security!Links:Office 365 for IT ProsHAFNIUM ExploitMTA-STS for Exchange OnlineEmail Encryption in M365Advanced Message EncryptionM365 MapsSPF in M365Gareth's BlogRecorded February 15, 2022

Windows Virtual Desktop is now Azure Virtual Desktop! Richard chats with Jen Sheerin about how Windows Virtual Desktop has evolved to become Azure Virtual Desktop - it's much more than a name change! Jen talks about how AVD is fully integrated into Azure, using ARM for configuration, tied in with Insights, and all the other Azure products you count on to manage, monitor, and maintain infrastructure. The conversation also dives into the Azure Fast Track program to help you get started with AVD and the kind of proof-of-concept projects you can build. There are many choices, but the best time to start is now!Links:Windows Virtual Desktop QuickStartAutoscale Preview for Azure Virtual Desktop Host PoolsWhat is Azure Virtual Desktop?Windows Enterprise Multi-session Remote DesktopAzure Virtual desktop for on-premises Azure StackFastTrack for AzureAzure Active Directory Domain ServicesUS Azure Virtual Desktop User GroupAzure MigrateAzure ExpressRouteAzure Data BoxRecorded February 15, 2022

It's 2022, time for a new version of SQL Server! Richard chats with Bob Ward about Microsoft's latest release of their ubiquitous database. The conversation starts out with a little bit of history of how SQL Server has evolved over the decades - and how there's still a need for a database in organizations, but the feature set has changed. Bob talks about making hybrid really work, whether it's an on-premises database that backs up and fails over to the cloud, or how tools like Azure Purview can live in the cloud and help monitor and govern on-premises databases. And if you do choose to migrate to the cloud, these hybrid options make life easier - especially with SQL 2022!Links:Azure SQL RevealedSQL Server 2022Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure Synapse AnalyticsSQL Query Store with Erin StellatoAzure PurviewAzure ArcRecorded January 13, 2022

How does Microsoft Viva work alongside your Intranet? Richard talks to Tracy van der Schyff about her recent projects integrating Viva into existing intranet infrastructures. Tracy explains that Viva, specifically Viva Connections, does not change your Intranet but does assist in organizing access to various aspects of your Intranet with dashboards and the SharePoint App Bar. This leads to a conversation about managing both curation and customization of views of an organization to its employees. A single view doesn't work for everyone, and uncontrolled customization leads to chaos - where is the balance? The new tools in Viva can help!Links:Microsoft VivaViva ConnectionsViva LearningSharePoint App BarMicrosoft YammerMicrosoft Viva in DocsMicrosoft Viva Essential TrainingMicrosoft Viva RoadmapMicrosoft Viva BlogMicrosoft Viva at IgniteTracy's BlogRecorded January 17, 2022

The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application retires and goes out of support on June 15, 2022. Are you ready? Richard talks to Joel Hawks about what retirement actually means - the IE11 icon disappears, and only the Edge browser remains. But IE is not gone, it runs inside of Edge instead. Joel talks about getting away from depending on IE at all, by going through an evaluation process of web applications to see whether or not they actually depend on IE, or can run properly using the Edge rendering engine. There are a number of tools to help with this migration, including the Microsoft FastTrack service - give them a call!Links:Enterprise Mode Site ListSite Discovery with SCOMDisable Internet Explorer 11 PolicyCloud Site ListAzure AD Application ProxyEdge Setup GuideEdge PoliciesMicrosoft FastTrackRecorded January 13, 2022

It's 2022, how do you manage your client machines? Richard chats with Julie Andreacola about modern client management. Julie talks about how the pandemic accelerated the need for modern client technologies, including being able to provision and configure computers that will never be in the office. The conversation digs into Windows Autopilot and Microsoft Intune compared with more traditional deployment and configuration approaches. While the new approaches are broader and don't have as many detailed options as the old approaches, security is a key strength in modern client architecture - and that could be the key driver to change up your client management approach!Links:Microsoft FastTrackWindows AutopilotMicrosoft IntuneAzure AD Joined DevicesWindows 11DFCI on Surface DevicesDeploying Win32 Apps via IntuneWindows 365 Cloud PCAzure Virtual DesktopM365 Data Loss PreventionRecorded December 27, 2021

Back in Las Vegas and in person, this is the Q&A session from the SQL Server & Azure SQL Conference in December 2021.Bob Ward, Anna Hoffman, Buck Woody, Bradley Ball, Tim Chapman, Pedro Lopes, and a host of other great SQL speakers fielded questions from an audience of database professionals and developers - and the questions are wide-ranging! Links:SQL Server and Azure SQL Conference

What's a security audit, and why do you need one? Richard talks to Paula Januszkiewicz about auditing security, technical reviews, and so-called penetration testing. Paula talks about needing outside experts who focus on the scope of exploits out in the world today to help make sure all aspects of your company's systems are reasonably secure - there is no such thing as perfect security! The conversation gets into the details around finding a good auditor, what to expect from them, and what they will expect from you - a good security audit takes time, and is a conversation!Recorded December 21, 2021