Category: General

Greetings to all Cloud community and Cloud Marathoner friends!

Did you know that the Cyber Back to School 2025 is started on October first?
It is community organized event that you don’t want to miss out.

Cyber Back to School event

Cyber Back to School is an annual community event featuring IT professionals from across the world. This event was started in 2024 by Microsoft MVP and MCT Community Lead, Dwayne Natwick. Microsoft community Leader, Microsoft MCT, blogger, and public speaker, Derek Smith, joined the team as co-organizer in 2025.
In 2025, Cloud Marathoner and Microsoft MVP and MCT, Elkhan Yusubov began assisting with social media and promotion of the event. Community members submit sessions, either videos or blog articles, to provide viewers with actionable knowledge. The event takes place every October, from 01 October to 31 October.

This year I submitted two sessions and look forward to sharing the first one on this blog below.

What is covered in my session?

Strong governance is the foundation of a secure, scalable, and cost-effective cloud environment. In this hands-on session, we’ll explore together how to use Bicep — Azure’s new infrastructure as code language —alongside GitHub Copilot to streamline and strengthen your Azure governance strategy.

You will learn the following in this session:

• ✅ Azure Governance: policies, role-based access control (RBAC), resource locks, and naming conventions
• ✅ Resource Governance rules with Bicep code
• ✅ GitHub Copilot to the rescue of reduce errors and follow best practices in IaC
• ✅ Real-world examples
• ✅ Automating governance at scale
• ✅ Tips for integrating governance into your CI/CD workflows

This session is designed for early-career cloud engineers and architects looking to build confidence in managing Azure environments with automation and AI-assisted development.

Azure Governance

As a cloud engineer or working professional stepping into the world of Microsoft Azure, one of the most important concepts to grasp early is Azure Governance. Think of it as the set of rules and practices that help organizations manage their cloud resources effectively, securely, and in a cost-efficient way. Let’s break down some of the key components of Azure Governance:

🛡️Azure Policies – Enforcing Rules

Azure Policies are like the rulebook for your cloud environment. They help ensure that resources are created and managed in a way that aligns with your organization’s standards. For example: You can create a policy that only allows resources to be deployed in specific regions (e.g., only in West Europe or East US), or that requires all storage accounts to have encryption enabled.

Why it matters?
It helps prevent misconfigurations, ensures compliance, and keeps your environment secure and cost-effective.

👥 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) – Managing Who Can Do What

RBAC is Azure’s way of controlling who has access to what resources and what actions they can perform. For example: You can give a developer access to manage virtual machines in a resource group but not allow them to delete the resource group itself.

Why it matters?
It follows the principle of least privilege, ensuring users only have the permissions they need—nothing more, nothing less.

🔒 Resource Locks – Preventing Accidental Deletion or Changes

Resource Locks are like putting a “Do Not Touch” sign on critical resources. We have following types of locks:

• ReadOnly – Users can read the resource but can’t make changes.
• CanNotDelete – Users can modify the resource but can’t delete it.

As a use case example: You can lock a production database to prevent accidental deletion during maintenance.

Why it matters?
It adds an extra layer of protection for important resources and prevents accidental changes in your important resources.

🏷️ Naming Conventions – Keeping Things Organized

Naming conventions are standardized ways of naming your resources so they’re easy to identify and manage. For example: A virtual machine name like vm-prod-weu-app01 could tell you the following additional information:

• It’s a VM
• Used in production
• Located in West Europe
• It’s an app server

Why it matters?
It improves clarity, helps with automation, and makes managing large environments much easier.

🧩 Bringing It All Together

Imagine you’re building a cloud environment for a company. With Azure Governance you can achieve the following mission:

• Define rules (Policies)
• Control access (RBAC)
• Protect critical resources (Locks)
• Stay organized (Naming Conventions)

Together, these tools ensure your cloud environment is secure, compliant, and manageable—even as it grows. Mastering Azure Governance early will set you up for success as you build scalable, secure, and well-managed cloud solutions.

Resource governance with Bicep Code

Resource governance with Azure Bicep empowers organizations to manage cloud resources consistently and securely through declarative infrastructure-as-code. By defining policies, role assignments, and resource configurations in Bicep templates, teams can enforce compliance, reduce configuration drift, and automate deployments across environments. This approach enhances visibility and control, ensuring that resources adhere to organizational standards from the moment they’re provisioned.

Additionally, Bicep simplifies governance by integrating seamlessly with Azure Policy and management groups, enabling scalable enforcement of rules across subscriptions. Its modular structure promotes reuse and collaboration, allowing teams to build standardized templates for tagging, cost management, and security controls. Ultimately, Bicep streamlines governance workflows, reduces manual overhead, and fosters a culture of accountability and best practices in cloud operations.

GitHub Copilot to the rescue

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Automating governance

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integrating governance into your CI/CD

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Demo and references

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Updates coming soon

Stay tuned for details, as the complete post is in-progress and be available on the week of Oct 7, 2025

Becoming a Microsoft MVP isn’t about chasing a title—it’s about embracing a mission.

As the community lead of Cloud Marathoner, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside cloud engineers, architects, and passionate tech enthusiasts who are building, sharing, and growing together. Many of them ask me: “How do I become a Microsoft MVP?”

The answer is both simple and profound: do what you love and give back.

🧭 What Is a Microsoft MVP?

The Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award recognizes exceptional community leaders who share their expertise, uplift others, and contribute meaningfully to the tech ecosystem. It’s not a certification—it’s a celebration of consistent, authentic impact.

According to the official Microsoft MVP site, the MVPs are selected for their contributions across blogs, talks, open-source projects, user groups, and more. They are the spark that keeps the community thriving.

🛤️ My Journey: From Passion to Purpose

When I started Cloud Marathoner, it was just a blog. But it quickly became a movement—a space where cloud professionals could learn, share, and grow together. I didn’t set out to become an MVP. I set out to help others to succeed in their unique Cloud journey. And that’s the secret.

As Betsy Weber, Microsoft Program Manager beautifully put it:

“Don’t follow the crowd—find your gap and fill it with passion, creativity, and community.”

🎉 Celebrating Microsoft AWARD

This year, I’m incredibly honored to celebrate my 4th consecutive Microsoft MVP award recognition from Microsoft. It’s a meaningful milestone that reflects the many community events, sessions, and contributions I’ve wholeheartedly delivered over the last year. My focus remains strong on Infrastructure as Code and Cloud Optimization, while I continue to explore and share innovations in AI and GitHub Copilot to empower and uplift our community of cloud engineers, architects, and tech enthusiasts.

🧩 Find Your Gap, Fill It with Passion

You don’t need to be the loudest voice. You need to be the most authentic one.

• 🎨 Like MVP Luise Freese, who turned technical content into sketchnotes that even Satya Nadella noticed.
• 🌍 Like Sharon Weaver, who kept her user group alive through the pandemic.
• 🎤 Like Lee Englestone, who built a Visual Studio tips site that led to talks and a book.

Each of them found a unique way to give back. So can you.

🧱 actionable Steps to Becoming a Microsoft MVP

1. Be an Expert
   Master your craft. Stay current. Share what you learn.
2. Be a Leader
   Start a user group. Mentor others. Create inclusive spaces.
3. Be an Advocate
   Provide feedback to Microsoft. Champion tools that help others.
4. Be Consistent
   MVP is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep showing up.
5. Be Visible
   Blog, speak, stream, post—whatever suits your style. Just share.

💬 Final Thoughts: Your Spark ✨ Matters

You don’t need permission to start. You don’t need a title to lead. You just need to care enough to contribute.

Whether you’re streaming your learning journey, launching a user group, or writing your first blog post—you’re already on the path.

So go ahead. Share your knowledge. Be helpful. Look for gaps to fill.
The community is waiting for your spark. ✨

Greetings to all #CloudMarathoner friends!

In the rapidly evolving world of technology, blockchain stands out as a revolutionary force reshaping industries across the globe. As cloud engineers and architects, understanding how to leverage the cloud for blockchain solutions is crucial for staying ahead in this dynamic landscape.

Last week, we had a session with a Blockchain researcher, DevOps and SRE professional – Samule. Our speaker is an experienced engineer with hands-on skills in operating blockchain nodes within cloud environments. This session is aiming to be a deep dive into the intersection of blockchain and cloud technology, offering valuable insights and practical strategies.

The Power of the Cloud in Blockchain

Blockchain technology, with its decentralized nature, demands robust infrastructure to ensure high availability, scalability, and security. The cloud emerges as a critical enabler, providing the necessary resources to support these requirements. Samuel will share his experiences and knowledge on how cloud platforms can effectively power decentralized systems, making them more resilient and efficient.

Real-World Challenges and Solutions

One of the highlights of Samuel’s session will be his exploration of real-world challenges faced when integrating blockchain with cloud environments. From managing the complexities of decentralization to ensuring seamless scalability, Samuel will discuss practical solutions that bridge the gap between centralization and decentralization. His insights will be invaluable for anyone looking to build and deploy blockchain solutions in the cloud.

Building the Next Generation of Web3 Applications

As we move towards a more decentralized web, often referred to as Web3, the role of cloud technology becomes even more significant. Samuel’s session will provide actionable strategies for cloud engineers and architects to design and implement the next generation of Web3 applications. By leveraging the cloud, we can create more robust, scalable, and secure blockchain solutions that drive innovation and transformation.

Feel free to check the recorded session with Samuel and gain the knowledge and tools needed to excel in the world of blockchain and cloud technology. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey, this session is sure to provide valuable insights and inspire you to push the boundaries of what’s possible with blockchain in the cloud.

Recorded Session

If you are intrigued to watch the entire session, then please visit the following YouTube link below on our Cloud Lunch and Learn channel.

Hello my dear #Cloudmarathoners!

This week, we had another interesting session to explore the Modern Data Architecture – Gen AI empowered solutions with a guest speaker Sanchit.

SESSIOn agenda details

Our guest speaker, Sanchit, started with introduction into the Modern Analytics Data Architecture, aka MADA, followed by diving into the core components of MADA. Then our session followed with identifying the best practices of MADA Core Components and how to enable Gen Ai within this architecture.

In addition, he deep dive into common questions on where to start with Gen AI, some products and services to consider, and what pitfalls to avoid.

Thank you, Sanchit!

Sanchit Srivastava is a seasoned data strategist with a distinguished career spanning over 18 years. With a deep understanding of advanced Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Generative AI, Data Observability and modern Data Architecture, he has successfully delivered transformative data solutions across diverse industries, including consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, pharmacy, and retail. His motto, “make data easier, faster and more reliable” encapsulates his belief in the transformative power of data.

Thus, feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn if you have any inquiries.

what is next?

If you would like further to explore this topic then you are encouraged to check with Sanchit on his LinkedIn page.

Recorded Session

If you are intrigued to watch the entire session, then please visit the following YouTube link below on our Cloud Lunch and Learn channel.

Hello dear Cloud Marathoners!

I would like to “Thank You” ALL the community members in the #cloudmarathoner for their support and continued contributions in 2024 🙌 🎉 🎈

Your continued dedication to learning, sharing, and excelling at cloud knowledge has a great impact on everyone.

Our community is growing

Thank you again for your continued feedback and support!
Our community has grown to 1935+ members and we can reach and empower more people now than ever before 💪.

Again and again, “HUGE THANK YOU!” to everyone who has #shared and contributed to the #CloudMarathoner posts on social media.

We are having “GREAT” progress that will continue to provide the power of #knowledge to empower and elevate the people.

IN SUMMARY

Thank you for being a true “trailblazer of the cloud” by being the #cloudmarathoner!

Please, actively check our #CloudMarathoner #tag on LinkedIn. Share and tag information with the community.