Azure VM Internet Direct Retiring!

Preparing your Azure Virtual Machine environment for Internet Direct to be retired. We will explore options for providing internet to your virtual machines beyond this retirement.

Modern Azure Egress Patterns and Design Choices

Forced tunneling used to be the default answer for outbound traffic in Azure—but is it still the right one? In this session, we explore modern Azure egress patterns, including NAT Gateway, Azure Firewall, Secure Virtual WAN, and service-specific outbound controls.

We’ll cover when forced tunneling helps, when it hurts, and how newer Azure networking features change the conversation around security, cost, and operational complexity.

Target audience: Azure networking & security professionals
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Duration: 45 minutes
Includes real customer scenarios and decision frameworks

Building Secure Azure Platforms by Default

Buying security tools is easy. Building a secure Azure platform that developers don’t fight is not. This session focuses on platform-level security decisions that quietly improve security outcomes—without slowing teams down.

We’ll cover identity-first design, network security boundaries, policy-driven guardrails, and where tools like Defender for Cloud actually add value (and where they don’t).

Target audience: Platform engineers, architects, security-minded cloud engineers
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 45–60 minutes
No vendor pitch—architecture and principles focused
Strong alignment with Azure Landing Zone discussions

Security Gaps in Private Azure Architectures

“Private endpoints everywhere” doesn’t automatically mean secure. This session highlights the lesser-known security gaps that still exist in so-called private Azure environments.

We’ll explore DNS pitfalls, outbound traffic blind spots, identity assumptions, and why many “locked-down” architectures still leak data or expose risk often unintentionally.

Target audience: Azure security & networking professionals
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Duration: 45 minutes
Includes real-world misconfigurations and lessons learned
Works well for security-focused conferences

AI Doesn’t Forget: Understanding Data Security and AI Consumption

AI changes how data is accessed, processed, and retained but many organisations are applying traditional data security assumptions to entirely new workflows. This session explores what actually happens to your data when using AI services, especially in cloud-hosted and SaaS-based AI platforms.

We’ll break down data boundaries, training vs inference concerns, identity and access controls, network isolation, logging, and common misconceptions around “private” AI services. The goal is to help teams make informed decisions about where AI fits and where it doesn’t, when data sensitivity matters.

Target audience: Security professionals, architects, data owners, platform teams
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 45–60 minutes
Cloud-first, Azure-centric but broadly applicable
Focus on governance, risk, and real-world trade-offs
No ML knowledge required

Let the AI Ask the Questions: Automating SOP Discovery

Most organisations rely on undocumented processes, outdated wikis, or “that one person who knows how it works.” This session explores how agentic AI can be used to actively discover, document, and maintain business Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Rather than treating AI as a chatbot, we’ll look at agent-driven approaches that interview users, observe workflows, validate outputs, and keep documentation current. We’ll also discuss security boundaries, human approval loops, and why governance matters just as much as the technology.

Target audience: Architects, platform engineers, IT leaders, process owners
Level: Introductory to Intermediate
Duration: 45 minutes
Conceptual with practical architecture examples
Covers security, identity, and data access concerns
No coding required

Designing Azure Networks for Change and Growth

Azure networking is rarely “done once and done right.” This session focuses on designing Azure networks that can evolve without painful re-architecture. We’ll look at common design mistakes, real-world trade-offs, and how to plan for growth, security changes, and new Azure features without breaking everything.

Topics include hub-and-spoke realities, IP planning for the unknown, when to use (or avoid) Azure Firewall, NAT Gateway, and how to keep networking flexible in fast-moving environments.

Target audience: Azure engineers, architects, platform teams
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 45–60 minutes
First public delivery: Available
Tech requirements: Slides, optional diagrams
Focus: Real-world design lessons, not reference architectures