RunAs Radio

Service Fabric is not just for Azure! While at Connect in New York, Richard sat down with Mikkel Mork Hegnhoj to talk about what Service Fabric can do for your applications. Mikkel talks about the ability to host both Windows and Ubuntu VMs in Service Fabric, on Azure and on-premises. Think of Service Fabric as software to facilitate the architecture of cloud as much as the product - you can configure failover rules, scaling settings and more. And it will run on pretty much anything!

Have you looked into CosmosDB? While at Connect in New York, Richard sat down with Kirill Gavrylyuk of the CosmosDB team to talk about the latest features. CosmosDB an update to Azure DocumentDB that focuses on global distribution and ultra-high performance. On top of that, CosmosDB has different API layers you can call through, including MongoDB and now the Apache Cassandra API. Kirill talks about being a drop-in replacement for these existing data stores, typically when confronted with an application that needs to scale substantially. And you only pay for what you use!

How do you do your business intelligence? While at DevIntersection in Las Vegas, Richard sat down with Jason Himmelstein to talk about PowerBI, the latest reporting and analytics tool from Microsoft. Jason talks about how PowerBI fits into Azure and Office365, but today there is also the PowerBI Reporting Server, which is an advanced version of SQL Server Reporting Services that runs on-premises. This leads to a discussion about how you build a hybrid reporting solution between the cloud and your own data services. Lots of good thinking around business intelligence!

Fall in Vegas - time for a SQL Server Questions and Answer panel! Richard hosts a panel of Kim Tripp, Paul Randal, Aaron Bertrand, Jes Borland, David Pless and Tim Radney to answer the questions that the SQL Intersection attendees have. The conversation ranges over SQL 2017, containers, partitioning, mirroring and what the modern DBA will be doing in the future. SQL continues to evolve and there's a lot to explore!

Are you using SysInternals? Richard chats with Aaron Margosis about the venerable SysInternals tools originally developed by Mark Russinovich. But first, a discussion about Aaron's main job at Microsoft, developing security baseline guidance for operating systems. Aaron talks about the recommended security configurations for operating systems and how you can check the workstations you're responsible for to put those configurations in place. SysInternals also has a role in security, understanding exactly what is running on workstations and more. Aaron talks about a session he did at Ignite on using SysInternal to be better at your job - check it out!

Hybrid Cloud is the new normal! Richard chats with Scott Hoag about his experiences migrating organizations onto Office 365 and embracing the reality that no one is ever 'pure' cloud - on-premises hardware is here to stay and necessary. Scott talks about what services make more sense in the cloud and what works best on-premises, and how to connect the different elements together. The key part of the equation is identity, whether you're using Active Directory or not, working with mobile devices - it's all about identity!

What IT certifications do you hold? Richard chats with Greg Shields about the value proposition behind various IT certifications. In the fast moving software industries, it's pretty difficult to effectively measure the capabilities of someone. The conversation digs into the purpose behind an IT exam, and the dangers of focusing purely on an exam, rather than the body of work the exam represents. Greg discusses Microsoft certifications and the latest software for helping to talk broadly about your skills - and what it means for your work and opportunities!

In May 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation laws take effect. Are you ready? Richard chats with Seb Matthews about what IT Pros can do to get ready for the GDPR. The regulations are broad, covering personally identifiable information, data breaches, the right to be forgotten and more. Whether you're an EU company or just do business with EU residents, the GDPR can affect you. Seb talks about the six Ps to compliance: Placement, Process, People, Products, Privacy and Protection. And he also digs into how Microsoft can help with a number of great tools as part of Azure, Office 365 and more. Yet another reason to get to the cloud!

What's next for SharePoint? While at Ignite in Orlando, Richard sat down with Todd Klindt to talk about the next version of SharePoint - announced at Ignite as Office 2019. Todd talks about the recurring nightmare of the end of on-premises versions of SharePoint, and the ever-increasing call of the cloud - Office 365 just gets more compelling every month. What form of SharePoint makes sense for you? There's still a ton of choices to make!

Microsoft has a DevOps practice too! While at Ignite in Orlando, Richard sat down with Donovan Brown and Martin Woodward to talk about their experiences helping various Microsoft teams move along the DevOps journey. The conversation starts out on Visual Studio Team System (VSTS), Microsoft's source and project management software running in Azure, that also builds Azure, as well as many other Microsoft products, including Windows! Donovan and Martin talk about pressing against the edges of what their tools can do - so that you know when you get there, they will be ready!