Hello , welcome to Microsoft Community Insights Podcast , where we share insights from community experts to save the state in Microsoft . My name is Nicholas and I'll be your host today In this podcast .
We will dive into Agile administration , but before we get started , I want to remind you to follow us on social media so you help us reach more amazing people like yourself . Today we have a special guest called Susheeta Kaldi . Can you please introduce yourself please ?
Sure , and thank you so much , nick , for having me . I am delighted to be a part of your Microsoft community forecast and I am thrilled to talk about the significance of Azure administration . So I am Sucheta Goved . I am a Microsoft MVP in Intune and Azure . So in my current day-to-day work I really focus more on Azure and endpoint administration .
So leveraging those you know , those tools and technologies basically and that's why you know that gave me the interest that brought interest in me to you know , become an MVP in these technologies .
Okay , yeah . So before we get started , can you just explain how does Azure administration fit into your day-to-day work ?
Yes , definitely , and , like I mentioned . So , I manage an endpoint engineering team currently in a healthcare organization in the US . But apart from managing the endpoint and the device aspects , which is my primary responsibility , I also am involved in tasks related to Azure , such as the architecture and planning focused on Azure administration in the environment .
So , as an Azure admin , my role would involve a mix of the planning , operational monitoring , maybe problem solving , and everything that comprises of the administrator aspects of Azure .
Okay , so would your role involve like designing aspects or the architect ?
Yes , yes , because you know , as an Azure administrator , you know you're involved into ensuring the smooth functioning of the infrastructure , right ? So you're supposed to be , or you act , as an infrastructure architect , because a well-architected Azure environment can be better managed .
And so , yes , the answer is you know the admin role does do a lot of architecture , as well as the design and engineering for Azure environments .
Okay , so , based on your current role , what kind of what do you think is some of the duties that make a good Azure administration going forward ?
some of the duties that make a good Azure administration going forward .
Yeah , I think you know it really thinks around , you know , cost and security or even performance resources and you might want to bring up that slide that we have that really talks about yes , yes , that one that really talks about the yes , yes , that one that really talks about the different aspects of Azure administration .
So it starts , right , from managing resources , like the core services . Right , because as an Azure administrator , you would be overseeing the deployment , configuration and management of the VMs or storage accounts or databases . So that's mainly about managing resources and core services .
Then we have security management , where it's more about , you know , security governance , compliance management and securing the cloud is a top priority , right ? So Azure administrators would implement identity and access management policies , enforce compliance standards and monitor for those vulnerabilities that may surface .
And , again , they use tools like the Azure Key Vault or Azure Log Analytics policy blueprints . That all comes in handy when it comes to securing your Azure environments . Third up here , we have performance monitoring , which is performance as well as monitoring of your Azure environments .
So , as an Azure admin , I would ensure that the performance of the Azure environment is good and healthy , that the performance of the Azure environment is good and healthy .
It needs constant monitoring because continuous performance tuning is essential to maintain that operational efficiency Monitoring system , health troubleshooting , bottlenecks , ensuring that workloads run smoothly Again , we can make use of Azure Monitor application insights , things like that . The fourth one is cost optimization .
So basically cost management and cost optimization , because effective cost management is critical and crucial , specifically because in Azure mostly we have the pay-as-you-go model . So Azure administrators they analyze resource utilization , optimize workloads , implement policies to control unnecessary expenditures .
Again , we can really leverage the cost management and billing Azure Advisor . You can use budgets and tags so that all comes in very effective for cost management . The last aspect here , again , these are just the key aspects , but the last aspect I wanted to talk about is automation .
Automation and tools , because automation in Azure , it refers to the use of tools and processes to perform those repetitive , time-consuming or complex tasks automatically , reducing the need of manual intervention , right .
So , using Azure PowerShell or even IAC , for that matter and I know , nick , you work in platform engineering , so you probably make a lot of use of infrastructure as code and ARM templates , or maybe Bicep and Terraform , that really helps with bringing in that automation in Azure environments .
So I think , yes , these are the key factors that Azure admins need to work upon , or this is what they really manage and monitor in their day-to-day work .
So do you think a typical Azure admin or engineer will need to balance like security and performance before other factors like cost , automation or everything has to split between evenly ? You do these .
I think it depends on the environment also , and then again , from organization to organization , the admin role may be different . There may be one admin in smaller environments or there may be more than one tiered admin roles in a larger environment . So it depends .
But I think , yes , that balance is definitely needed , and balance is not just between you know , one or two of these , but I think it's all together . Maybe some companies really are focused on ensuring cost optimization and everyone today is focused on security , so perhaps security and cost is the main thing .
But I think , you know , overall it's a balance in between all these key parameters .
Yeah . So , going back on , like automation , like infrastructure , as code , what do you normally use to automate your like , your agile , like intunes management ?
you use bicep , terraform or arm so I haven't used it for intune specifically , but we have done some deployments in like the azure environment itself and a good example will be , you know , deploying like the azure virtual desktop environment . So for that , you know , the preferred method would be using either Bicep or Terraform .
The ARM templates are good , you know those JSON templates but I think Bicep is more preferable for , like the declarative method and , you know , makes it more easy when you want to change your configurations . So , yes , I would lean more on the Bicep part of IAC to do any automation in Azure .
Yeah , because Bicep is more suited for a Microsoft environment , right , because I'm a Terraform house , so we're like a hybrid between AWS and Azure , so we have to use Bicep Terraform because it's more suited for our workload .
Okay , so , in terms of what are some of the interesting projects that you've been involved with in your current work that involve all these aspects ?
Yeah , I mean any new implementations in Azure . Say , we want to deploy a new application or deploy an application that is built in-house . Those have been projects of interest to me because then it touches so many aspects within the Azure environment . So that is one .
The other thing , like I just mentioned , deploying that Azure Virtual Desktop environment that has been another exciting project . Then , over the past few months I think it's mostly been about , you know , ensuring that there's security implemented properly within the environment , as well as keeping an eye on those cost aspect of things .
So , yes , it's all interesting and challenging at the same time , I would say .
Do you have any interesting use case or like projects that you've been involved with in Azure or Intuit ? Yeah , I feel we were going into details like what are some of the interesting aspects in Azure administration of the project that you like ?
Yeah , sure , I really have been heavily involved in the security aspect .
So when it comes to security , you know doing the compliance-related automation , you know checking compliance of different things within the environment or setting conditional access policies , because we have , you know , in organizations where there are geographically spread out offices or people working , you know , all over the world , you really need that compliance and
conditional access in place so that you can better secure your environment . So the conditional access aspect has been really interesting to me in implementing that , really interesting to me in implementing that . And then MFA as well , you know multifactor authentication . Implementation of that in large and complex environments is , you know , critical .
So , yes , those have been the interesting things for me off late .
And that's brilliant . So , in terms of if someone wanted to go into an Azure admin role , how can someone get started ?
So that's a very good question and I think if someone is just starting their Azure journey , or maybe even starting on the Azure administration part of it , the best approach really is to build that strong foundation and then gradually explore advanced concepts .
So my advice would be start with the basics , learn the cloud fundamentals , understand cloud computing concepts and understand the Azure code services , because once you understand how they interact with each other and how they work with each other , then it would be easy to delve more into Azure as such .
So , yes , doing the AZ-900 certification is a great way to start Azure Fundamentals and then , once that is done , then we have the AZ-104 , which is the Azure Administrator Associate certification , and I think if you are studying for that certification learning path from Microsoft , then that will really teach you how to configure and manage various compute , network and
storage aspects of Azure , demonstrate key skills to configure , manage and secure those key functions which are important for Azure admins to work through . So , yes , I would say , learn through those learning paths and also do some hands-on experience .
You could sign up for a free Azure account and once you do that hands-on practical , once you build certain things within Azure yourself , you'll understand things better . So that's my advice .
Okay , so , based on your experience and the role of Azure admin , do you think it will evolve over time , given the like AIs in the market ? Like everything will will be like in terms of Azure admin role . It will involve AI .
Yes , yes , I do feel so , and I mean the role of Azure administrators is definitely evolving with the advancements in AI or even automation and cloud native technologies . So I think you know we already have Copilot in Azure , which helps Azure admins to write scripts to troubleshoot issues or to deploy resources , just with natural language commands .
But I think it would be also more helpful where Azure admins will increasingly rely on AI to predict resource needs or identify anomalies or even recommend optimizations automatically , and then we could do AI-driven security . Administrators will leverage AI-powered tools to detect and respond to threats in real time .
So I think that's how the AI will come into picture , along with Azure admin role . Perhaps admins may train and integrate AI assistance to support their internal teams with routine tasks or support with queries . So , yes , I do see a lot of AI coming into picture with Azure administration .
Okay , right , yeah , because do you currently use AI in your work , whether it's through your projects or ?
just learning . Yeah , I mean we don't fully leverage it , but I just use it for my own use case , you know , in in my lab and I know that it really comes in handy . It gives you good insights into things .
Yeah yeah , sure , so I just want to . So before we end the episode , I just want to speak to ask about your journey to tech or stuff . So how do you , how do you get started ? Do you have a pc before ?
when you get young like to get into tech , or you switch career , change career so , um , when I was , um , you know , right after school , um , when I had to actually pick a career , I didn't really have a lot of choices . It was either do medicine or do engineering . And then there was good , there was a good influence of educational institutions where I lived .
So I did engineering and because I studied engineering , that brought the interest in me for tech . And again , fortunately , where I lived there were , you know , good international tech companies coming in , so I got into tech .
That way , you know , I got my first job was in tech , with Dell Technologies , so , you know , and that really interested me to learn and grow further and , you know , try , you know , career in tech . So , yes , that's , that's kind of been my short . Uh , in in a short way .
Yeah , so what was your first , like first role in tech ? And then do you have what like encourage you to stay in tech ?
in a tech industry that's also a good question , because my first role in tech was working with Microsoft Technologies .
I worked on the Windows Installer technology from Microsoft , which is really you know , it's the one you would leverage to create software application packages and then deploy them out using we call it SCCM today , but there was SMS back in the day using we call it SCCM today , but there was SMS back in the day . Again , sccm is not the current name .
Anyway , we have MECM and then we have the Intune , the cloud side , but you know those Microsoft technologies that were used for packaging applications , deploying applications in an automated fashion to end user machines . That's where I started with and it was interesting and you know , working on Microsoft technologies with Windows as the OS . That was intriguing .
So I never really felt boring to me and I just continued in that . You know , I grew in that domain . I expanded into desktop and endpoint from that packaging niche . So , yes , here I am today working more in endpoint engineering . So , yeah , that's kind of how I'm here today .
Okay , so when did you start your first role ? How did you get your first role ? Was it through certifications or was it through hands-on labs and projects ?
That , I would say , is more through projects , because when I graduated I had certain projects done under my belt , so certifications was probably not a huge thing back then . You know it is today , perhaps not at that time several years ago .
So , yes , I , you , I was able to show the projects that I did in computers and then that way I got my first role in tech .
Yeah , so I take it , if someone were to get started now , they will just go to Root with certifications and do projects and combine the both to get a potential job .
And I think you should also have that hands-on learning and be able to showcase some of the things that you build .
You could build smaller utilities and tools and then show that to your potential employer , because that shows that you have put in the effort , you are really interested in the technology and you already have that base or that foundation for the technology . I think that's important as well .
Yeah , that's great . So what do you normally do aside from work ? So I see you quite being active in the community , so can you just speak about , like , do you have any hobbies , or just be like hands-on in community .
Yeah , and that's a very good question . You know , I obviously spend most of my time outside of work to contribute to the Microsoft tech community , but apart from that , I do like to paint in my free time , you know , be a little creative . And then in some other instances I like to get out of the home when the weather allows Currently it is snowing .
Like to get out of the home when the weather allows Currently it is snowing , but whenever I have the chance I do like to go on trails , explore nature and obviously I like to spend time playing with my dog . So , that's another exciting thing for me .
So you love nature and love hiking and outdoors .
Yes , I do .
That's brilliant . So , in terms of community , how do you get started with community , because I saw you being quite active .
Yes , so it's very interesting . Right before this call , we talked about the Festive Tech Calendar , right ? So Festive Tech Calendar has been the first platform where I submitted a session . It got accepted and , thanks to Gregor , I made that video for the Tech Calendar and that , I think , was my breakthrough into the community .
I also did a podcast with Gregor Sati and then from there , I started doing more as part of my contributions to the community . I speak at conferences , I speak at user groups , local meetups , I do blogging , you know , create content .
So that's how I gradually just you know expanded my footprint into the community and I really love being a part of the community today .
That's wonderful , and I really loved being a part of the community today . That's wonderful . Is there any particular advice you give someone , in terms of whether it's public speaking or just if they're like quite shy towards the community and they might not know what it is ?
Yeah , I think , you know , for anyone who is not a part of the community as of now , they should really , you know , start to talk to people in the community , make friends because , like you know , you know everyone is so helpful , everyone is so friendly , it is great to be with , you know , these amazing , talented people , um .
So , yeah , my advice would be , you know , get into the community , talk to people , um , and start talking at the local user groups , local meetups , where there's a smaller audience and the audience which you probably are already well-versed with , you know them , they're probably your friends .
So , if you're a shy speaker , you probably will not have that hesitation and you can freely talk and from there you can expand into , you know , speaking at larger conferences . But at the same time , on the side , you want to keep uplifting your technical aspects as well .
Right , you want to learn and grow and that can align with your career , with what you're currently doing in your role , because if you already are working in a specific technology and if you go speak about it , then you probably are , you know , more confident because you already work in that field , you know what that is and you can be more , uh , effective and
impactful in your um , in your presentations and speaking engagements yeah .
So I just want to say one thing , like in terms of speaking , it's okay to be nervous , and if you're nervous , like talking to a lot of people , the audience is . If you ask a hard question , the audience is always there to help you . Whether it's if you don't know something , just say you don't know . So I just want to point that out .
Yeah , that's great advice so .
I just want to point out yeah , that's great advice . Okay , so , before we finish this episode , so is there anything you like to , any advice you like to give to people when going to start their first Azure admin role or in terms of Azure admin ?
Yeah , I would just say , you know , technology is ever evolving . So even if you learn something today , tomorrow it may be transformed into something different . So never stop exploring . You know , keep an eye on advancements in technology . And that's why the tech community is here , because everyone talks about what's new , everyone talks about what's interesting .
So once you're a part of the community , you'll have more , better insights into things . So never stop learning , never stop exploring . Be a part of the community and hands-on learning is key . So that's my advice to anyone . Yeah , thanks . So before you , my advice to anyone , thanks .
So before you get us started , before we finish with the episode , are you going to any tech events ? Because I know , before we join the episode , we're both going to go to MVP Summit .
So are you ?
going to anything aside from the summit next year .
So the summit is definitely exciting to me . This month I am looking forward to speaking at the FestivTech calendar .
In January I'll be presenting at the Canada and United States MVP monthly spotlight meeting , which is hosted by Betsy Weber and Rochelle Sonnenberg , so I'll be presenting a session there , and then also in January , I will be speaking at a local user group here in person .
But then , yeah , apart from that , really early next year , I'm excited about the summit in March . It's going to be my first in-person summit , so I look forward to meeting you . I look forward to meeting others and getting to interact with Azure and Intune product groups at Microsoft . So I look forward to meeting you .
I look forward to meeting others and , you know , getting to interact with Azure and Intune product groups at Microsoft . I think that's also very interesting and that's exciting for me .
Yeah , I think the aim is this year there's going to be a lot more people than last year , because they still they ran to capacity , so they'll still have people that join late who's on the waiting list . So it should be interesting now what happens yes , I'm definitely excited so thanks for joining this episode , shishetta .
Uh , it's a pleasure to have you and see you next time . Bye , bye , everyone .
All right , thank you all . Bye .