Let's Talk Azure!

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This week, Alan and Sam Introduce season 7 and talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam discuss the integration of Microsoft Sentinel into the Defender XDR portal. Alan goes through the benefits of the integration and thing to watch out for when starting the migration. Here are a few things we covered: What is Microsoft’s Unified SecOps Platform? What are the announcements around Microsoft Sentinel’s interface moving? What are the benefits of the integration of Microsoft Sentinel? What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

In this episode, we explore Azure Bastion, Microsoft’s fully managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution designed to provide secure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) access to Azure virtual machines (VMs). This Q&A-style episode dives deep into how Azure Bastion strengthens cloud security by eliminating the need for public IP addresses on VMs, reducing exposure to external threats like port scanning or protocol exploits. Alan poses critical questions about Azure Bastion’s functionality, architecture, deployment options, and integration with Azure’s security ecosystem, while our consultant delivers actionable insights tailored for IT administrators, security professionals, and cloud architects. We cover: Core Functionality: How Azure Bastion enables secure, clientless RDP/SSH access via the Azure portal or native clients, protecting VMs by removing public IP dependencies. Architecture Breakdown: The role of the dedicated AzureBastionSubnet, private IP connectivity, and TLS-based sessions, including support for zonal deployments for high availability. SKU Options: A detailed look at Developer, Basic, Standard, and Premium SKUs, highlighting features like session recording, Private Link integration, and host scaling for different organizational needs. Security Integrations: How Azure Bastion works with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Entra ID (with MFA and conditional access), Azure Private Link, and Azure Monitor to enforce Zero Trust principles and ensure compliance. Real-World Use Cases: Practical scenarios, such as secure admin access for global teams, compliance for regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, finance), and streamlined dev/test environments, with examples like Metinvest’s global VM management. Best Practices: Tips for deployment (e.g., subnet sizing, VNet peering), security (e.g., MFA, NSG configuration), monitoring (e.g., Azure Monitor logs), and cost management (e.g., SKU selection, scaling strategies). Limitations and Considerations: Key factors like SKU constraints, regional availability for zonal deployments, performance considerations, and cost implications, with guidance on mitigating challenges. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Alan and Sam dive into Defender for Cloud's Protective workload for server. Alan goes through the different plans available and the features that are available. Here are a few things we covered: What is the Defender for Server Protective workload What features does it provide How easy is it to enable How much does it cost What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Alan and Sam talk about the use of Managed Identities for Azure resources. Alan takes us through the methods used for programmatic access to Azure resources and the risks of some of the options. Here are a few things we covered: What is programmatic access? What methods are usually used to gain programmatic access? What are Managed Identities for Azure resources, and how they can be used. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Alan and Sam the concept discuss cloud identities and how cloud identity providers like Microsoft Entra ID can help manage and secure those identities. Here are a few things we covered: What is a cloud Identity? What capabilities does Microsoft Entra ID have? Can you bring your on-premises ID up to the cloud? How can it integrate into SaaS application? What security features are available? How is it licensed. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam discuss how Season 2 has gone. They discuss their best episodes, the podcast stats and what the plans are for Season 3 in the new year. We would like to say thank all their listeners of this season and look forward to providing content in the next season. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam discuss how Microsoft Purview Information Protection can help label, classify and protect your data in Office 365 . Alan takes the role of the 'Expert' and explains how you can easily start labelling document, as well as encrypt them to protect data leaving your organisation. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Alan and Sam discuss how Azure AD, part of the Microsoft Entra family can secure your identity in the cloud. Alan takes the role of the 'Expert' and explains his viewpoint of the product and why we should consider the premium features within Azure AD to secure and manage cloud identity. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

This episode we have a deep dive looking at Zero Trust, the principles, components and tools that enable us to be more secure in the modern workplace. Alan lives and breathes security day to day, so he gives us his insights into how Zero Trust is implemented in Azure/o365 and why you should be aware of this concept, regardless of your role in your workplace. What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.