Your Azure Migration Project Is Doomed To FAIL!

This session will explain the difference between "cloud adoption" and "cloud migration". Too many organisations mix up the two and jump straight to migration. As a result, they forget to make the necessary changes to people, processes, and tools. The migration might succeed - but adoption is doomed to fail. Once we get over the doom and gloom we'll talk about how to succeed, focusing on what is necessary to drive adoption and innovation with The Cloud in your organisation.

Azure Firewall: The Legacy Firewall Killer

I'm a fan of Azure Firewall. Having something that runs in the platform, focuses my attention on the security features and rules, enables DevSecOps by being 100% manageable as code, and being really simple to learn, makes it quite interesting. It's also why I am undefeated when putting up Azure Firewall against the legacy vendors in this space. Come to this session to learn why Azure Firewall should be at the heart of your security design and digital transformation.

Avoiding Sticker Shock in Azure

Cost management becomes one of the biggest concerns of cloud customers after they have completed their deployment/migration. "How much does thing cost now, why does the price keep changing, and what will it cost me?".

A critical component that should be dealt with early is "FinOps", the merge of Finance and Operations. This post will explain what you should do in your Cloud Adoption Framework journey and how to minimise those dreaded calls from Accounting.

Azure Route Server Is My Best Buddy

Have you met Azure Route Server? This session will introduce you to this often overlooked but impactful feature in Azure networking. You'll learn what Azure Route Server can do, how to set it up, and see some fun ways to architect it to solve challenging issues.

Terrafying Azure​ - A Tale From The Dark Side​

Have you struggled to create Terraform code? Are you learning a new resource or solution type? Could you need to document or audit an existing workload? Maybe you need to create code for a previously created workload? Or maybe you are new to Terraform?

Microsoft Azure Export for Terraform, previously called Azure Terrafy, is a handy and free open-source tool that will produce Terraform from existing Azure resources. In this session, you will learn why & why not to use this tool, how to use this tool, and what some interesting use cases are.

Preventing A Tsunami With Azure DDoS Protection

Distributed Denial of Service attacks are not limited to angry teens targeting some media organisation. DDoS attacks can be professional, be a form of ransom attack, target organisations of all sizes, and even be used as a distraction for something else.

In this session, you will learn about DoS attacks and what Azure can do to help you. You will learn about the different solutions that Azure offers, compare and contrast their features, and learn how to implement them.

Routing - The Virtual Cabling of Secure Azure Networking

Few people understand how important a role routing plays in a secure Azure network. And fewer still understand how routing works in Azure. In this session, I will explain the 3 types of routing and how they work - not just user-defined routes. I will share how you can take control of routing to control the flow of traffic through your firewalls. And you will also learn how to troubleshoot when things don't work as expected.

Azure ExpressRoute - Can Someone Please Explain It?!?!

Have you been told that Azure ExpressRoute could be could for your organisation? Have you then browsed Microsoft's documentation or watched videos and felt like you had more questions than answers? You are not alone! In this session, I will introduce you to Azure ExpressRoute, explain the terminology, and walk you through the confusing array of tiers, performance options, features, and connectivity choices.

This is a level 200-300 session. You do not need to be a networking guru to understand the content delivered in this session.

Using Azure Image Builder To Automate VM Builds

Are you preparing a virtual machine disk? Maybe it's for Citrix, Azure Virtual Desktop, a VM Scale Set or HPC? Or maybe it's some stateless app server that needs a regular update? Azure Image Builder takes Packer and makes it a part of the platform. You can turn the traditionally painful process of OS disk (including software and settings) preparation and turn it into an automated factory process, use Shared Image Gallery to share that disk in necessary regions, and build your VMs from the image. Updates are easy to integrate and you can just sit back and let Azure do all the work ... in the platform! Come to this session to learn how to prepare Azure Image Builder, use the tools, and get some real-world tricks to smooth out the learning curve.

Delivering Better Technical Presentations

Whether you are wondering if you can deliver a presentation to an audience or if you are already presenting, this session is for you. Delivering presentations can literally change your career path so this is something that you should consider. And even if you are a veteran, everyone can use a little tune-up. This session will talk about what to speak about, how to prepare, the process of presenting, and dealing with scenarios based on real-world experience.