337 - Microsoft's certification refresh: what you need to know

In this week's episode, we take a look at Microsoft Agent Framework 1.0, which has been generally available since early April. What is it, and why and how can you use it? We reflect on previous SDKs for building agents, how they relate to Copilot Studio-based and Foundry agents, and how to get started with them. Also, we share experiences using this for a real-agent solution.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(05:10) - Show content starts.Show links- microsoft/agent-framework (GitHub)- The agent development journey- DevUI- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we reflect on Microsoft certifications and what value they provide. It's been a while since we last looked at these, and plenty has happened - what's new, what's retired, and what's useful in 2026? We also reflect on the usefulness of certifications for juniors and seniors.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(03:10) - Show content starts.Show links- Certification Poster- New AI business solutions credentials- Certification updates- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we look at Microsoft Agent 365 and Entra Agent ID. What are these new capabilities, and why should you care? We dissect them both, in contrast with agentic engineering, vibe coding, and the growing needs of governing agents.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(03:52) - Show content starts.Show links- What is Entra Agent ID?- What is Agent 365?- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we take a deeper look at Defender for Cloud and Cloud Security Posture Management. We reflect on what this is all about, what you can do, and how you should approach the capabilities as part of CSPM.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(02:42) - Show content starts.Show links- What is Defender CSPM- Give us feedback!

In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up.(03:43) - Show content starts.Show links- Entra ID-based identities for Azure Blob Storage SFTP- GA: Draft & Deploy on Azure Firewall- Microsoft 365 E7 (and Agent 365)- Azure Skills Plugin- Defender for Cloud release notes- Microsoft Sentinel what's new- Defender XDR what's new- Microsoft Entra releases and announcements- AKS supported Kubernetes versions- AKS security bulletins- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we look at the newly released Microsoft Cloud Security Benchmark v2, which is now in preview. What is it, why should you care - and what changed since v1? We take it for a spin, discuss aspects of governance and regulatory compliance, and how to apply them in practice.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(03:57) - Show content starts.Show links- MCSB v2- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we take a focused look at Startup-Scale Landing Zones. We've previously discussed Enterprise-scale Landing Zones and how the default model from the Cloud Adoption Framework is the usual approach for new deployments. SSLZ is an opinionated approach that is better suited to smaller environments. We talk about the pros, cons, differences, and how to get started.(00:00) - Intro and catching up.(04:51) - Show content starts.Show links- Startup-Scale Landing Zone (GitHub)- Nice intro page for SSLZ- Give us feedback!

In this episode, we're not diving deep into a single feature of Azure - instead, we'll talk and share our insights on how to build a career working with Microsoft security. What should you know? What's relevant? What's less relevant? What are the core skills you should have? (00:00) - Intro and catching up.(04:51) - Show content starts.Show links- No links this week :)- Give us feedback!

 In this episode, we take a look at the transition from "vibe-coding" to shipping verifiable, production-grade AI applications. This is the critical shift from relying on "gut feel" and prompt tinkering to implementing rigorous audit trails, versioning, and security controls. We discuss why many AI pilots fail due to a lack of explainability, the specific risks of privilege expansion and data leakage in agentic workflows, and also outline how to use Microsoft Foundry/Azure AI Studio to operationalize your models like true regulated software. (00:00) - Intro and catching up.(05:30) - Show content starts.Show links- RedAmon (GitHub) for automated agentic offensive security- Give us feedback!

In this week's episode, we look at recent Microsoft Tech updates. By popular request, we're expanding our scope beyond Azure to include Microsoft 365, Power Platform, and related Microsoft platforms and capabilities. What's new? What's interesting? What's retiring? (00:00) - Intro and catching up.(03:30) - Show content starts.Show links- Preview: Virtual Network Routing Appliance- Claude and Codex on Agent HQ (Github Copilot)- Disabling NTLM by default- What's new in Microsoft Sentinel- Give us feedback!