The Cloud Architects Podcast

In this episode we're joined by long-time friend Robby Pedrica as we talk about Open-source software. We asked Robby about Open-source technologies in the enterprise and discussed the history, ins and outs of using Open-source projects in your environment. Robby Pedrica is a IT & Network Security Consultant and Owner of XStore. Robby has been in the IT industry for 33 years, and has focused on the data storage, network security and Linux for the last 23 years. Robby have specializes in firewalling across numerous products, storage virtualization solutions and Linux administration with load-balancing, cluster storage environments and databases amongst others. You can connect with Robby on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbypedrica/) Be sure to check out Robby's Blog (https://www.xstore.co.za/stuff/)

What is insider risk and how does it differ from an insider threat? Did you know that these are not always bad actors or malicious acts? We were curios about insider risk management, insider threat detection and everything that goes along with it, so we asked Zach Luze to unpack this vast topic for us. Zach Luze is the Microsoft Cloud and Data Security Advisory Lead at Kudelski Security. Zach is an experienced information security professional with a passion for data security and insider risk management. You can connect with Zach on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachluze/)

If you were to open your Twitter/LinkedIn/Mastodon feed at the moment, it is undoubtedly filled with AI posts - while some of these might be interesting or even somewhat useful, the majority likely include the words "RIP" and some profession or job function. There is so much AI FUD around right now and we wanted to find out if the hype was worth listening to. Is Skynet going to take over and put us all out of a job? We thought we'd ask an expert and that's exactly what we did when we recently talked to AI MVP Akanksha Malik. Akanksha Malik is a Data Consultant, a Microsoft AI MVP and an international speaker. After studying Financial Maths and Actuarial Science at UCC, Ireland, she realised she wanted to work with people as well as numbers. As a consultant, she works with clients to help them solve problems by making more informed decisions with data. Akanksha is a firm believer of diversity and inclusivity. She loves machine learning, and that it is becoming more accessible to everyone. She is an avid advocate for women in STEM and is currently the network director of Women Who Code Melbourne and advisory board member for Tech Diversity Lab. You can follow Akanksha on Twitter (https://twitter.com/akankshamalik96) Be sure to check out some of her projects here: Paths Uncovered - (https://www.pathsuncovered.com) Global AI - The Podcast - (https://twitter.com/GlobalAIPodcast) Women Who Code Melbourne - (https://www.womenwhocode.com/melbourne)

In this episode we geek out about home automation, Azure and training cognitive services to recognize llamas. Wait.. sound weird? Maybe, but we had a blast talking to MVP Lars Klint about life on his farm in the high country of Victoria in Australia and how he uses technology to automate (and amuse) Be sure to check out the following links: * Follow the Llama Drama here (https://llamacam.com.au) * LarsKlintTech YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@LarsKlintTech) * Microsoft Azure in Action (https://www.manning.com/books/microsoft-azure-in-action) Lars Klint is a Senior Developer Advocate at Pluralsight and an Azure instructor with A Cloud Guru. In addition to being a Microsoft MVP and community leader, Lars is a published author, aspiring Microsoft Azure expert and part time classic car collector. You can connect with Lars on Twitter (https://twitter.com/larsklint)

Exchange Server 2013 officially reached its end of support on April 11, 2023. What exactly does end of support mean? What should you do if your organization still relies on Exchange 2013 for email? In this episode I'm joined by Microsoft MVP Jeff Guillet, and we attempt to answer these questions and more. We also discuss the recent Microsoft announcement to throttle and block email from persistently vulnerable Exchange servers to Exchange Online (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/throttling-and-blocking-email-from-persistently-vulnerable/ba-p/3762078?WT.mc_id=M365-MVP-9501) Be sure to check out the following resources: Exchange 2013 end of support roadmap (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/exchange-2013-end-of-support?view=o365-worldwide) How to Setup Exchange Management Tools in Environments without Exchange Server (https://blog.expta.com/2022/10/how-to-setup-exchange-management-tools.html) A New Tool to Manage Exchange-related Attributes Without Exchange Server (https://practical365.com/a-new-tool-to-manage-exchange-related-attributes-without-exchange-server/) Jeff Guillet is a Microsoft Exchange Certified Solutions Master (MCSM), Office Apps & Services MVP and the founder and CEO of EXPTA Consulting. He works primarily with Microsoft products (Exchange, Office 365, Lync Server, Windows Server, Active Directory, Hyper-V, etc.) for mid-large customers (5,000+ users) and is a published author, speaker and technical editor. You can connect with Jeff on Twitter (https://twitter.com/expta) and check out his blog (https://blog.expta.com)

We're Back! Happy 2023 to all - and yes, I realize that it's February. We often talk on this podcast about cyber readiness and the important of having a plan but, felt it would be important to unpack that a talk about what is means in practical terms. In this episode we welcome back our friend Fran Donoso to explain what cyber readiness entails and provide some great advice to help you and your organization get ready for when you have to deal with an incident. Francisco Donoso is the Vice President of Global Security Strategy at Kudelski Security, a global pure-play security services provider. His passion and hobby is researching and understanding Nation-State hacking or “APT” capabilities and tools. He has been on the forefront of research into the Equation Group’s post-exploitation tools and capabilities since their release by the Shadow Brokers and has spoken about this research at Derbycon, Thotcon, Microsoft Bluehat, and other conferences. You can connect with Fran on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Francisckrs) Be sure to check out our blog: https://thearchitects.cloud/2023/02/01/episode-72-cyber-readiness/

A CISO, or chief information security officer, is a senior-level executive who oversees an organization's information, cyber, and technology security. We recently had a fun conversation with our friend and CISO Sachin Surajbali about what is means to be a CISO. Sachin gave us a glimpse into a day in the life of a CISO, how to delicately balance all the technical and non-technical aspects of the role and why it is important to not be a hindrance to the business. Sachin also offers some great advice for any aspiring CISOs. Sachin Surajbali is an experienced Chief Information Security Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the financial industry. Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Information Security System Professional & Certified Cloud Security Professional. Strong information technology professional with a Management Advancement Programme accreditation from Witwatersrand Graduate School of Business. You can find Sachin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachin-surajbali-54108023/)

We recently had a great time talking to fellow Microsoft MVP Tom Arbuthnot about all things Microsoft Teams - covered some of the great community work Tom is involved with and discussed Teams call quality, meeting etiquette and how work from home has brought about a massive increase in meetings for many of us. Warren also gives some interesting financial advice *(Not intended to be taken as real financial advice..). Tom Arbuthnot is the Co-Founder of Empowering.Cloud and Solutions Director at Pure IP. A Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Master, Tom stays up to date with industry news and developments and has the opportunity to share information and opinions on TomTalks.blog, the UCToday.com Microsoft Podcast and his TomTalks.email list. He regularly speaks at events around the world. He is highly engaged with the Microsoft community in person and online. You can find Tom on Twitter - https://twitter.com/tomarbuthnot Be sure to check out: * Tom Talks - https://tomtalks.blog * empowering.cloud - https://empowering.cloud

We love Exchange Server! No, really - I've personally been working with Exchange Server in some form or fashion since Exchange Server 5.5 in the late '90s and in some circles that makes me a late bloomer. It is difficult to ignore what seems like an endless list of day-zero vulnerabilities that have plagued our old friend over the last 12 - 18 months. These vulnerabilities have seen security researchers pointing the finger and the tech press calling Exchange Server a security liability. It's 2022, should you really still be hosting your own email? In this episode, Nic and I discuss the relevance of Exchange Server and attempt to answer this question. During this episode we refer to a couple of recent articles, here are the links: Your Microsoft Exchange Server Is a Security Liability - https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-exchange-server-vulnerabilities/It Really is Time to Say Goodbye to On-Premises Exchange - https://practical365.com/time-to-dump-exchange-server/

We apologize for the poor audio at the beginning of this episode - we're not sure what happened, but it does improve as the episode progresses. What is DevOps? The answer will often differ depending on who you ask. In this episode we asked Prashanth from Chef that question. He shares some great insights with us, including how DevOps practices can be used in an infrastructure and IT operations context. We also delve into Infrastructure as code (IaC) and its usefulness for provisioning and configuration management. Prashanth Nanjundappa is the VP, Product Management at chef.io. He is a Product Leader with 20 years of global experience in building & launching Enterprise and Consumer products with a proven expertise in building B2B SaaS and PaaS products at scale across Healthcare, Cloud Telephony, CRM, Analytics, Video/Metadata domain. You can find Prashanth on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/prashanthhn/)