Kurt Shintaku's Blog

We recently published a FREE special 31-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-500 Azure Security Technologies”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course provides IT Security Professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to implement security controls, maintain an organization’s security posture, and identify and remediate security vulnerabilities. This course includes security for identity and access, platform protection, data and applications, and security operations.

Audience Profile

This course is for Azure Security Engineers who are planning to take the associated certification exam, or who are performing security tasks in their day-to-day job. This course would also be helpful to an engineer that wants to specialize in providing security for Azure-based digital platforms and play an integral role in protecting an organization’s data. 

All video recorded modules for “AZ-500 Azure Security Technologies” are available below:

• AZ-500 Course Introduction (1 of 17)
• AZ-500 Secure Azure Solutions With Azure Active Directory (2 of 17)
• AZ-500 Deploy Azure AD Identity Protection (3 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure Azure AD Privliged Identity Management (4 of 17)
• AZ-500 Design An Enterprise Governance Strategy (5 of 17)
• AZ-500 Implement Hybrid Identity (6 of 17)
• AZ-500 Implement Perimeter Security (7 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure Network Security (8 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure And Manage Host Security (9 of 17)
• AZ-500 Enable Containers Security (10 of 17)
• AZ-500 Deploy And Secure Azure Key Vault (11 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure Application Security Features (12 of 17)
• AZ-500 Implement Storage Security (13 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure And Manage SL Database Security (14 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure And Manage Azure Monitor (15 of 17)
• AZ-500 Enable And Manage Microsoft Defender For Cloud (16 of 17)
• AZ-500 Configure And Monitor Microsoft Sentinel (17 of 17)

A written, non-video recorded version of this course, AZ-500 Azure Security Technologies, is available on-demand at:

• Course AZ-500T00-A: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies

We recently published a FREE special 31-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-305 Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course teaches Azure Solution Architects how to design infrastructure solutions. Course topics cover governance, compute, application architecture, storage, data integration, authentication, networks, business continuity, and migrations. The course combines lecture with case studies to demonstrate basic architect design principles.

Audience Profile

Successful students have experience and knowledge in IT operations, including networking, virtualization, identity, security, business continuity, disaster recovery, data platforms, and governance. Students also have experience designing and architecting solutions. Before attending this course, students must have previous experience deploying or administering Azure resources and strong conceptual knowledge of:

• Azure compute technologies such as VMs, containers and serverless solutions
• Azure virtual networking to include load balancers
• Azure Storage technologies (unstructured and databases)
• General application design concepts such as messaging and high availability

All video recorded modules for “AZ-305 Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions” are available below:

• AZ-305 Course Introduction (1 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design For Governance Case Study (2 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design Governance – Part 1 (3 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design Governance – Part 2 (4 of 29)
• AZ-305 Compute Solutions Case Study (5 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design For A Compute Solution – Part 1 (6 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design For A Compute Solution – Part 2 (7 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Non-relational Data Storage Case Study (8 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Non-relational Data Storage Solution – Part 1 (9 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Non-relational Data Storage Solution – Part 2 (10 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Relational Storage Solution Case Study (11 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Relational Storage Solution – Part 1 (12 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Relational Storage Solution – Part 2 (13 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Data Integration Solution (14 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Data Integration Solution Case Study (15 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design An Application Architecture Solution (16 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design An Application Architecture Solution Case Study (17 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design Authentication And Authorization Solutions (18 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design Authentication And Authorization Solutions Case Study (19 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Solution To Log And Monitor Azure Resources (20 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Solution To Log And Monitor Azure Resources Case Study (21 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Network Infrastructure Solution Case Study (22 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Network Infrastructure Solution: Network Hybrid (23 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Network Infrastructure Solution: Routing Topology (24 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Network Infrastructure Solution: Delivery And Protection (25 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Business Continuity Solution (26 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Business Continuity Solution Case Study (27 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Migration Solution (28 of 29)
• AZ-305 Design A Migration Solution Case Study (29 of 29)

A written, non-video recorded version of this course, AZ-305 Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions, is available on-demand at:

• Course AZ-305T00-A: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions

We recently published a FREE special 21-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-400 Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course provides the knowledge and skills to design and implement DevOps processes and practices. Students will learn how to plan for DevOps, use source control, scale Git for an enterprise, consolidate artifacts, design a dependency management strategy, manage secrets, implement continuous integration, implement a container build strategy, design a release strategy, set up a release management workflow, implement a deployment pattern, and optimize feedback mechanisms

All video recorded modules for “AZ-400 Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions” are available below:

• AZ-400 Course Introduction ( 1 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Getting started on a DevOps transformation Journey – Part 1 ( 2 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Getting started on a DevOps transformation Journey – Part 2 ( 3 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Getting started on a DevOps transformation Journey – Part 3 ( 4 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Development for Enterprise DevOps – Part 1 ( 5 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Development for Enterprise DevOps – Part 2 ( 6 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions – Part 1 ( 7 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions – Part 2 ( 8 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement CI with Azure Pipelines and GitHub Actions – Part 3 ( 9 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Design and implement a release strategy – Part 1 ( 10 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Design and implement a release strategy – Part 2 ( 11 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement a secure continuous deployment using Azure Pipelines – Part 1 ( 12 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement a secure continuous deployment using Azure Pipelines – Part 2 ( 13 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Manage infrastructure as code using Azure and DSC – Part 1 ( 14 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Manage infrastructure as code using Azure and DSC – Part 2 ( 15 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement security and validate code bases for compliance – Part 1 ( 16 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement security and validate code bases for compliance – Part 2 ( 17 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Design and implement a dependency management strategy – Part 1 ( 18 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Design and implement a dependency management strategy – Part 2 ( 19 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement continuous feedback – Part 1 ( 20 of 21 )
• AZ-400 Implement continuous feedback – Part 2 ( 21 of 21 )

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at: Course AZ-400T00-A: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps solutions – Training | Microsoft Learn

We are excited to announce that Microsoft has been named a Leader for the fifth year in a row in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud AI Developer Services and are especially proud to be placed furthest for our Completeness of Vision. 

Look to Microsoft’s Cloud AI Developer Services in 3 differentiated areas:

• Cutting-edge APIs and models 
• Fully integrated tooling 
• Unified AI development platform 

Read more at:

• Microsoft is a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud AI Developer Services
  https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-is-a-leader-in-the-2024-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-cloud-ai-developer-services/

Discover resources for your AI journey

• Learn more about the Microsoft Azure AI portfolio.
• Register for Microsoft Build 2024 and check out the upcoming AI-focused sessions.
• Request access for Azure OpenAI Service.

We recently published a FREE special 20-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course teaches IT Professionals how to manage core Windows Server workloads and services using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. The course teaches IT Professionals how to implement and manage on-premises and hybrid solutions such as identity, management, compute, networking, and storage in a Windows Server hybrid environment.

All video recorded modules for “AZ-800 Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure” are available below:

• AZ-800 Course Introduction ( 1 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Introduction to AD DS ( 2 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Manage AD DS domain controllers and FSMO roles ( 3 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement Group Policy Objects ( 4 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Manage advanced features of AD DS ( 5 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement hybrid identify with Windows Server and Deploy and manage Azure IaaS Active Directory domain controllers in Azure ( 6 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Perform Windows Server secure administration and Describe Windows Server administration tools ( 7 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Perform post-installation configuration of Windows Server and introduction to Just Enough Administration in Windows Server ( 8 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Administer and manage Windows Server Iaas Virtual Machine remotely and manage hybrid workloads with Azure ARC ( 9 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Configure and manage Hyper-V and secure Hyper-V workloads ( 10 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Run containers on Windows Server and orchestrate containers on Windows Server using Kubernetes ( 11 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Plan and deploy Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines ( 12 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Customize Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machine images and automate the configuration of Windows Server IaaS Virtual Machines ( 13 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Deploy and manage DHCP and implement Windows Server DNS ( 14 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement IP Address Management and remote access ( 15 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement hybrid network infrastructure ( 16 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement DNS for Windows Server IaaS VMs and implement Windows Server IaaS VM IP addressing and routing ( 17 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Manage Windows Server file servers and implement Storage Spaces and Storage Spaces Direct ( 18 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Implement Windows Server Data Deduplication, Windows Server iSCSI?, and Windows Server Storage Replica ( 19 of 20 )
• AZ-800 Overview of Azure file services and implementing Azure File Sync ( 20 of 20 )

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/courses/az-800t00

We recently published a FREE special 31-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-801 Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course teaches IT Professionals to configure advanced Windows Server services using on-premises, hybrid, and cloud technologies. The course teaches IT Professionals how to leverage the hybrid capabilities of Azure, how to migrate virtual and physical server workloads to Azure IaaS, and how to secure Azure VMs running Windows Server. The course also teaches IT Professionals how to perform tasks related to high availability, troubleshooting, and disaster recovery. The course highlights administrative tools and technologies including Windows Admin Center, PowerShell, Azure Arc, Azure Automation Update Management, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Azure Security Center, Azure Migrate, and Azure Monitor.

All video recorded modules for “AZ-801 Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services” are available below:

• AZ-801 Course Introduction ( 1 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Secure Windows Server on-premises and hybrid infrastructure – Part 1 ( 2 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Secure Windows Server on-premises and hybrid infrastructure – Part 2 ( 3 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Secure Windows Server on-premises and hybrid infrastructure – Part 3 ( 4 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Secure Windows Server on-premises and hybrid infrastructure – Part 4 ( 5 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Implementing Windows Server high availability – Part 1 ( 6 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Implementing Windows Server high availability – Part 2 ( 7 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Implement disaster recovery in Windows Server on-premises and hybrid environments – Part 1 ( 8 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Implement disaster recovery in Windows Server on-premises and hybrid environments – Part 2 ( 9 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Migrate servers and workloads in on-premises and hybrid environment – Part 1 ( 10 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Migrate servers and workloads in on-premises and hybrid environment – Part 2 ( 11 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environment – Part 1 ( 12 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environment – Part 2 ( 13 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environment – Part 3 ( 14 of 15 )
• AZ-801 Monitor and troubleshoot Windows Server environment – Part 4 ( 15 of 15 )

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at: Course AZ-801T00-A: Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Services – Training | Microsoft Learn

Did you know there is a native solution to import and convert your existing Word or PDF forms on your local hard drive directly into Microsoft Forms. You can also review and edit the form in Microsoft Forms before you send it out.

The “Quick Import” feature allows you to pull in .PDF files to generate your form. Read more about this process below:

• Learn how to create a Microsoft Forms with only 1-click. Convert from PDF or Word
• Convert a Word or PDF form or quiz to Microsoft Forms – Microsoft Support

The following ebook reviews how your organization should think about how Copilot for Microsoft 365 can impact your organization’s modern working environment. It covers:

• 6 use cases for how Copilot for Microsoft 365 can help users in their day to day work (And more)
• 4 key questions to think about regarding whether your organization is ready to implement Copilot for Microsoft 365
• Testing your organization for Copilot Readiness through an evaluation “checklist”
• 6 tips for how to successfully implement Copilot through strategic planning & execution
• A case study & testimony from an early adopter of Copilot for Microsoft 365

To start your journey with Copilot for Microsoft 365, being with this eBook. Download it below:

• DOWNLOAD: Copilot for Microsoft 365 – Are you ready for the new way of working? (.PDF, 25pgs)
  https://info.microsoft.com/rs/157-GQE-382/images/EN-CNTNT-eBook-SRGCM11924.pdf?version=0

We recently published a FREE special 16-module on-demand video training course, “AI-050 Develop Generative AI Solutions with Azure OpenAI Service”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

Azure OpenAI Service provides access to OpenAI’s powerful large language models such as ChatGPT, GPT, Codex, and Embeddings models. These models enable various natural language processing (NLP) solutions to understand, converse, and generate content. Users can access the service through REST APIs, SDKs, and Azure OpenAI Studio.

Before starting this learning path, you should already have:

• Familiarity with Azure and the Azure portal.
• Experience programming with C# or Python. If you have no previous programming experience, we recommend you complete the Take your first steps with C# or Take your first steps with Python learning path before starting this one.

All video recorded modules for “AI-050 Develop Generative AI Solutions with Azure OpenAI Service” are available below:

• AI-050 Speaker & Course Introduction (1 of 16)
• AI-050 Get started with the Azure OpenAI Service (2 of 16)
• AI-050 Deploy and interact with generative AI models by using prompts (3 of 16)
• AI-050 Knowledge Check (4 of 16)
• AI-050 Build natural language solutions with Azure OpenAI Service (5 of 16)
• AI-050 Knowledge Check (6 of 16)
• AI-050 Prompt Engineering: Part 1 Write more effective prompts (7 of 16)
• AI-050 Prompt Engineering: Part 2 Provide context to improve result accuracy (8 of 16)
• AI-050 Prompt Engineering: Knowledge Check (9 of 16)
• AI-050 Generate code with the Azure OpenAI Service (10 of 16)
• AI-050 Knowledge Check (11 of 16)
• AI-050 Generate images with Azure OpenAI Service (12 of 16)
• AI-050 Knowledge Check (13 of 16)
• AI-050 Use your own data with the Azure OpenAI Service (14 of 16)
• AI-050 Knowledge Check (15 of 16)
• AI-050 Course Summary (16 of 16)

A written, non-video recorded version of this course, AI-050 Develop Generative AI Solutions with Azure OpenAI Service, is available in a scaled down format, on-demand at:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/develop-ai-solutions-azure-openai

For individuals with Azure Commercial cloud instances:
If you are interested in using Azure OpenAI Service, the Azure subscription administrator will need to request approval to access Azure OpenAI Service by completing the following request form:

• Request Access to Azure OpenAI Service
  https://aka.ms/AOAIcommaccess
• Subscribe to the Azure AI Newsletter for updates on AI for Commercial users
  https://aka.ms/AINewsletter

Approval can take 2 days or more. Couple notes:

1. You will need to know the “Azure Subscription ID” of the Azure subscription to be enabled for Azure OpenAI to complete the form.  Instructions on how to obtain this if you don’t have it readily available are available in the form.
2. Request access to “GPT-3.5, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and/or Embeddings Models”.  There are other AI models available such as GPT-4 Turbo Vision, Whisper, etc. however unless explicitly required, most people only need “GPT-3.5, GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and/or Embeddings Models”. Requesting additional models may delay your approval.

For individuals with Azure Government cloud instances:

• Request access to Azure OpenAI Service in Azure Government
  https://aka.ms/AOAIgovaccess
• Subscribe for the latest news and announcements on AI for government:
  https://aka.ms/AIforGovUpdates

Approval can take more than 4 days for Azure Government requests. Again, the notes above about requiring an Azure Government Subscription ID apply.