RunAs Radio

Episode 800! Richard chats about making 800 episodes of RunAs with Microsoft Technical Fellow Jeffrey Snover. The conversation digs into the state of the IT business today, with the huge role of the cloud and digital transformation, and how it impacts the nature of work. Jeffrey talks about how the artificial intelligence in M365 is emerging as a tool to help people be more productive, by watching what they're working on and helping them to organize their information and efforts better. This leads to a discussion about privacy, understanding objectives and key results, and the ultimate goal of any system - better outcomes. Could this actually be the next generation of Microsoft technology? Hopefully it won't take another 800 shows to find out!Links:The Strength of Weak Ties Recorded October 11, 2021

Is ransomware getting worse? Richard talks to Microsoft VP of Cybersecurity Ann Johnson about the state ransomware today. Ann quotes Sutton's law: "Why do criminals rob banks? Because that's where the money is." An increasing number of cybercriminals have successfully extorted money from companies using ransomware. So yes, ransomware is becoming more popular amongst criminals and will continue to do so until it doesn't pay. Ann explains that the Zero Trust Security Model is essential - as are data backups that you know how to restore! Beyond our efforts at the IT level, Ann talks about ongoing relationships with organizations like the FBI to go after cybercriminals at a higher level, shutting down infrastructure and charging the criminals with crimes. Ransomware is getting worse, and it's up to us to fight back!Links:Cybersecurity During the PandemicRiskIQAfternoon Cyber Tea with Microsoft's Ann JohnsonRecorded August 23, 2021

What's the right way to have virtual desktops in the cloud? Richard talks to Aidan Finn about a virtualization project he was involved with that started with Citrix Cloud, which runs in Azure. Aidan talks about the number of virtual machines involved in a large-scale VDI implementation, many of which are infrastructure and plumbing. Why own the plumbing when you can get it as a service? The conversation then digs into Azure Virtual Desktop, which doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Citrix Cloud, but does simplify implementation a great deal. No virtualization implementation is ever simple, but working at the platform level can make it easier!Links:Citrix CloudRemote Desktop ServicesAzure Virtual DesktopPackerAzure MonitorAzure VM Image BuilderMSIXRecorded September 9, 2021

How do you add custom audio, video, and text communications into your organization? Richard chats with Mary Anne Noskowski about Azure Communications Services (ACS), a set of APIs and tooling that brings the features of Teams communications into custom applications and more. Mary Anne talks about Teams integration, providing a means to customize the guest access features into Teams via ACS. The conversation also digs into a few different scenarios for optimizing customer, vendor, and employee experience in communications. It's early days for ACS, but they are taking the reins from the Skype for Business APIs - and it's the same APIs that Teams depend on, so you know they will scale!Links:Azure Communication ServicesAzure Active DirectoryACS on Microsoft MechanicsACS Health Care Demo AppACS Retail Demo AppRecorded August 5, 2021

Are you stuck in the print nightmare? Richard talks to Jeremy Moskowitz about the ongoing battle over potential exploits through the point-and-print system in Windows. Jeremy talks about the discovery of the vulnerability in July 2021 and how it has led to a series of patches and registry key changes to resist a potential exploit. Meantime, people need to print! There are several workarounds with Group Policy, and Jeremy's own PolicyPak has some practical solutions. If you put some time into thinking through how your organization prints, you can find a solution that works and is secure!Links:July Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityAugust Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityRestrictDriverInstallationToAdministratorGroup Policy Settings for Controlling PrintersUltimate Guide to PrintNightmarePDQ DeployRecorded September 9, 2021

Making mistakes with reporting or analytics can lead to mistakes in business and a loss of trust - now what? Richard chats with Melissa Coates about building mechanisms in tools like PowerBI to make it easier to get correct results. Melissa talks about having a diligent core of analytics and a flexible edge - making sure the expert data stewards and building data flows and repositories for accurate analytics, allowing the self-service PowerBI users to explore. Sure, everyone needs some guard rails, but over-governance leads to tools going unused. Let them experiment and find value, then look at how to keep things under control!Links:Coates Data StrategiesPowerBIAzure PurviewAzure Data CatalogPowerBI Adoption RoadmapRecorded August 5, 2021

How does your organization work with files in Microsoft 365? Richard chats with Jason Moore about the role of OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, and the many tools available for files, folders, and lists in the M365 world. Jason talks about how under the hood, every file ends up in some pretty standard spots, like Azure Blob Storage - so you know that compliance, governance, and policy are consistent. The conversation also ranges over how different organizations come to different solutions based on their past experiences and skill sets - there's a lot of choice for a reason!Links:One Drive for BusinessM365 To Do AppM365 ListsRansomware Detection and Recovery in OneDriveM365 and Microsoft DefenderOneDrive Personal VaultOneDrive Photo StorageSharing OneDrive Files and FoldersRecorded August 6, 2021

Does Windows need a package manager? Richard talks to Sarah Lean about Windows Package Manager, aka winget. Of course, there have been package managers for Windows before winget, and Sarah talks about her favorite, Chocolatey. But winget is destined to be a part of Windows itself and opens the door to some great deployment automation. The conversation also dives into exporting - making a copy of the manifest of applications currently on a workstation. Could we get to full local workstation localization, where you could build and re-build workstations on demand? Maybe some next-level hot-desk workstations are possible!Links:Windows Package Manager on GitHubChocolateyInTune, aka Microsoft Endpoint ManagerAZCopyTechielass - Blog of Sarah LeanRecorded August 13, 2021

It's a hybrid and multi-cloud world - how do you manage it? Richard talks to Microsoft VP Jeremy Winter about Azure Arc and its ability to work across on-premises and multiple clouds to give you a view of your whole infrastructure - and ways to govern, manage and secure it! Jeremy talks about the role that Kubernetes plays in the hybrid world to help manage applications and how Azure Arc helps you manage Kubernetes itself with consistent security and implementation policies. It takes some training, but Azure Arc can play a key role in your infrastructure and application modernization!Links:Azure ArcAzure Arc Enabled Data ServicesAzure Kubernetes ServiceAzure FastTrackContainerizing Java ApplicationsAzure StackAzure Security Center Azure Stack HCIRecorded August 5, 2021

There's value in the data your organization has gathered - do you know how to use it to help your company succeed? Richard chats with Jen Stirrup about the new tools and techniques for data analytics. Jen talks about how cloud-based tools like PowerBI and Power Automate open the door to rapid interaction of analytics so that folks can get value in a short amount of time, and you can bring new capabilities quickly. The conversation digs into getting beyond data-driven reporting into more insight-inspired: That good analytics can help you understand the true value of different customers, even to the point of recognizing that some customers are actually costing you money!Links:Power AutomateMicrosoft Forms/a>PowerBIJen's Blog Recorded July 8, 2021