The Cloud Architects Podcast

We're back for our first episode of 2022! We had so much fun catching up in-person in Cape Town last month to record this one. In this episode we're joined by fellow MVP Alistair Pugin to talk through some of our predictions for 2022. Will 2022 be the year of spend? We talk about hybrid cloud, organizational maturity, in-person conferences and Exchange "bugs". I tried to find a link to the Microsoft product rename site referenced in episode, but I can't figure out where I saved it - if this is your project or you know about it, please let us know on twitter. Alistair has worked in various capacities in multiple verticals from retail – manufacturing to government, spanning 50 to 50000 users utilizing all aspects of pure Enterprise Information Management. His current role as a Microsoft Azure and Office Apps and Services MVP in South Africa, provides him with a mechanism to assist companies with designing their Cloud collaboration environment using “best of breed”, proven methodologies to foster innovation and growth through an Content Services framework while incorporating a Knowledge Management strategy. You can connect with Alistair on Twitter (https://twitter.com/AlistairPugin)

I really miss in-person conferences and I'm sure I'm not the only one. We've always enjoyed being able to connect with new and old friends and peers, not to mention how incredibly enjoyable it is for us to record our episodes in person. In this episode we talk to Microsoft's Laurent Bugnion about conferences and events - we cover everything from imposter syndrome, why in-person events may never be the same again and how they have worked tirelessly to scale and make virtual events more engaging for everyone. During the episode, Laurent talks about the following resources: * Laurent's Website - https://galasoft.ch * Learn Live - http://aka.ms/learnlive Laurent Bugnion works as Senior Cloud Developer Advocate for Microsoft after almost 10 years spent working for IdentityMine and Valorem, two leading firms in Microsoft technologies. He is one of the foremost experts for XAML and C# based development. He codes in Windows, WPF, Xamarin (iOS and Android), Unity, ASP.NET. During his free time, Laurent writes for technical publications such as MSDN Magazine, and his blog is on blog.galasoft.ch. He is a frequent speaker at conferences such as Microsoft MIX, Build, TechEd, VSLive, TechDays and many other international events. You can connect with Laurent on Twitter - https://twitter.com/LBugnion

Data Security is top of mind for many organizations at the moment with so many of them transitioning to a permanent work from home or hybrid working model. There is however so much more to protecting your data than encrypting it or implementing a DLP tool. In this episode we have a great conversation with Ernie Anderson about Data Security - what it is, where to start, what to consider and why you shouldn't just run out and buy a tool right away. Ernie Anderson has over 20 years of professional experience in Information Technology, of which 19 have been focused on cybersecurity consulting. He has a proven track record of working with cross-industry Chief Information Security Officers (“CISOs”) and Chief Information Officers (“CIOs”) to define cybersecurity strategies and establish risk-driven cybersecurity programs that are both enablers of the business and a value proposition to customers. Ernie’s technical foundation enables him to translate strategic vision into tactical solutions and implementation projects. He currently leads Kudelski Security's Services practice, which includes strategic leadership and the development of capabilities, staff planning, opportunity identification and capture, and the delivery of projects. You can connect with Ernie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ernieanderson/

Ever wondered what a SIEM is? How about SOAR? In this episode we have a fantastic conversation with ML who helps us understand what these are, how they are different and even how they can work together. We also cover a few other security-related topics and ML shares some great insights and recommendations. Mari-Louise (ML) is the co-founder and director of Port443 (Pty) Ltd. Focusing on platform based cyber security automation and orchestrations, Port443 democratizes security across all industries across MEA. Prior to starting Port443, she performed multiple functions for over 6 years at Internet Solutions (a Division of Dimension Data), most notably responsible for technical product development across multiple solutions. In 2019 ML took on the role of Head of Product & Technical development for Dimension Data Security (the MEA regions for NTT Security). Responsible for the deployment and development of Managed Security Services across Middle East and Africa. She has keen eye for identifying breakthrough technologies and a mantra that “everything is figoureoutable”, enjoys innovation and the pursuit of efficiency via software based platforms. You can connect with ML on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mari-loui...)

If you follow the Microsoft productivity space, you have no doubt seen or heard about the "Autodiscovering the Great Leak" research paper recently published by Amit Serper, a security researcher at Guardicore. The paper details more than five months' research into the Autodiscover service used by Microsoft Exchange. Amit's research was picked up and in many instances misreported by the tech press, which in turn caused a certain degree of panic. We're deeply passionate about Exchange and have been for a very long time, so we thought it would be a good idea to sit down with Amit to talk through his research and better understand his findings. During the episode, Amit talks about the following resources: * https://detectionlab.network * https://autodiscover-vulnerable-tlds.com Amit Serper is a security researcher that spent almost a decade in the Israeli intelligence community where he worked in vulnerability research, exploit development and designed the architectures of uniquely complicated, highly reliable, one-of-a-kind communication systems. During his 9 year tenure in the IDF and Israeli government, he received 4 certificates of excellence and two commendations. During his career he has been on both the red and blue sides, joined an early stage start-up to build EDR products from scratch on various operating systems, conducted low level operating system research, reverse engineered malware, performed countless IR engagements, helped build a global research team and brand, and stopped a few global attacks (NotPetya, BadRabbit, Operation softcell to name a few). Amit is a frequent public speaker at security conferences all over the world and shares his research and knowledge in various blog posts, conferences, and podcasts. You can find Amit on Twitter - https://twitter.com/0xAmit

We've often joked on the show that Microsoft is the world's largest security vendor and when you consider their massive investment in security-related R&D and innovation it really isn't far from the truth. We had a great time sitting down with Microsoft's Stephen Revel recently to talk about the security features and functionality available to customers in Microsoft 365 and hopefully debunk the myth that you can't be secure without having an M365 E5 license or additional investments in third-party solutions. Stephen Revel is a Modern Workplace Senior Technical Specialist for security at Microsoft with almost 18 years’ experience designing, implementing and migrating Microsoft based infrastructures. You can find Stephen on Twitter (https://twitter.com/technical_drunk) or connect with him on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenrevel/)

We've all heard the statement "Fast, Cheap or Good? Pick two" and it seems this continues to ring true. Does the current rate of innovation and change in technology come at the expense of quality? We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with our friends Martina Grom and Tony Redmond to discuss this and hear about what has been keeping them busy lately. Martina Grom is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and Microsoft Regional Director. Martina loves Cloud technologies, social media & security and running. Martina is the co-founder & CEO of https://atwork.at You can connect with Martina on Twitter - https://twitter.com/magrom Tony Redmond has been writing about electronic mail since 1992 and is widely regarded as one of the foremost commentators on Microsoft collaboration technology. Tony has written 15 books and is the lead author of Office 365 for IT Pros which is the most practical and up-to-date guide to everything Office 365 related. I encourage you to follow Tony on Twitter - https://twitter.com/12Knocksinna

We recently had a lot of fun catching up with our old friend and possibly our biggest fan - Stephen L Rose. We talked a little about his passion for really listening to customers and some of the new innovations in Microsoft Teams. Stephen also as passionate about community and sharing knowledge through various platforms, including his own podcast "Inside Microsoft Teams" Stephen Rose works in IT Pro and Security marketing for Teams at Microsoft where he leads their efforts for IT pros worldwide around Microsoft Teams security, privacy, and management. Stephen is also the host of the popular Inside Microsoft Teams podcast - aka.ms/InsideMSTeams. You can connect with Stephen on Twitter - https://twitter.com/stephenlrose

Episode 52: Knowledge has a Price Tag by The Cloud Architects

After our recent 'reflections' episode, we felt it would be a great idea to catch up with our long-time sponsor KEMP to talk about how the load balancing world has changed in recent years. As we find ourselves moving away from the traditional fixed perimeter and rethinking 'castle and moat' principles an inevitable question arises, where does the humble load balancer fit into today's Zero Trust world? In this episode, Nic and Warren connect with KEMP's Jason Dover to talk about their recent Flowmon aquisition and discuss the concept of Zero Trust Network Architecture (ZTNA). Jason shares some great tip for organizations who are looking to embark on their journey to Zero Trust and as always, Warren also talks about Kubernetes. Did you know that KEMP provides free virtual LoadMaster VLM-5000 load balancers to Microsoft certified professionals? Visit https://kemptechnologies.com/microsoft-pros-loadmaster-license-request/ to find out more. Jason Dover is the Vice President of Product Strategy at KEMP Technologies. Jason is responsible for leading the direction of product portfolio, product marketing, user experience and defining KEMP's overarching market strateg. You can connect with Jason on Twitter @jaysdover(https://twitter.com/jaysdover)