Speaker

Thomas Vochten

Thomas Vochten

Technology evangelist Microsoft 365 & Security | Microsoft MVP | Platform architect | Speaker | Trainer 👨‍💻 🏃‍♂️ 🎹

Antwerpen, Belgium

I am a technology evangelist helping companies to implement Microsoft cloud technologies such as Microsoft 365, and Azure. As Microsoft MVP, I also travel the world to speak at events, conferences and user groups to talk about technology and to make sure people do not make the same expensive mistakes that I made.

Area of Expertise

  • Information & Communications Technology

Topics

  • Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Azure
  • GitHub

Getting started with git and Github for the reluctant IT Pro

For many years, PowerShell ISE was your editor of choice, source control was something only developers cared about, and keeping your meticulously crafted scripts to yourself was not yet frowned upon. Fast forward to 2022: Dark-themed editors and console applications are a thing again and everyone are putting their scripts online for anyone to see and contribute. It all seems so cool! Not sure where to start? In this introductory session, we’ll teach you just enough git and GitHub to be dangerous - and to not embarrass yourself. Contributing to open source is easier than you think, even if you're not a developer.

Microsoft 365 Configuration-as-Code

Many cloud professionals are acquainted with the concepts of Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and Configuration-as-Code (CaC). They both provide a descriptive model to deploy or manage a cloud environment and focus on the outcome, rather than the actual procedure to get there. This session will apply these constructs to the wonderful world of Microsoft 365. We will look at the technologies involved, such as PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) and the potential drawbacks, such as the dreaded “configuration drift”. Can we really create repeatable configurations and deploy them in multiple tenants? Can we export and import settings at will or compare configurations over time? Join this session to find out!

Developing secure software with GitHub

DevSecOps! Shift left and fail fast! Unfortunately, it takes more than some buzzword bingo to establish a truly secure software development lifecycle. Today, it is not enough that the application works according to the functional requirements; we should also heavily protect it against cybercriminals. This session will demonstrate how to leverage the GitHub platform to create automated security checks such as static application security testing and software composition analysis to get you well on your way to securing your application with minimal effort. In addition, you'll learn what different tools we have available for spotting security issues and how to analyze and act on the potential vulnerabilities to improve the security posture of your source code repository.

Co-presented with Laura Kokkarinen

Making sense of Microsoft 365 Guest & External access

Microsoft 365 lets you work with external users in different apps and services. But managing these users can be hard, especially if you want to comply with your security and governance policies. In this session, you will see how to set up and control guest and external access in Microsoft 365. You will find out how to automate and track guest and external access scenarios, such as adding, deleting, or changing guests, applying conditional access and multi-factor authentication, and auditing guest actions and permissions. You will also learn how to fix common problems and how to use the newest features and updates for guest and external access.

Managing Microsoft 365 through the command-line

Microsoft 365 has many admin centers that let you adjust various settings, but sometimes you just need to work with the command line. There are a lot of options these days: PowerShell for the Microsoft Graph, and different CLIs - or Command Line Interfaces. You use these not because they are cool, but because they help you with a specific problem. In this session we will explore the different tools that you can use, which problems they address and how to use them in an automation scenario. The goal is to manage your tenant more efficiently. Whether you are new to these tools or an experienced user, you will learn practical tips and tricks that will save you time and effort.

Microsoft 365 tenant setup & configuration. Been there, done that?

One of the most important steps in your Microsoft 365 journey is setting up and configuring your tenant. It’s just next, next, finish - right? Look again! In this session, Thomas will guide you through some essential tasks and decisions you need to make as well as the foundational technologies you might want to revisit (DNS anyone?). You will learn about some hidden gems and good practices that will help you optimize your tenant performance and security. Additionally, we will cover some more advanced scenarios, such as multi-geo and multi-tenant deployments. Whether you are a new or an existing Microsoft 365 IT professional, this session will provide you with valuable insights and tips from the field.

Thomas Vochten

Technology evangelist Microsoft 365 & Security | Microsoft MVP | Platform architect | Speaker | Trainer 👨‍💻 🏃‍♂️ 🎹

Antwerpen, Belgium