Cale Teeter, who was in Prague for DevCon 4, gives us a first-hand update on the latest that Microsoft is bringing to the Blockchain space in Azure.

Microsoft @ DevCon4
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/devcon4/

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode254.mp3

Other updates:

Automating SAP deployments in Microsoft Azure using Terraform and Ansible
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/automating-sap-deployments-in-microsoft-azure-using-terraform-and-ansible/

Announcing the general availability of Azure Event Hubs for Apache Kafka®
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-general-availability-of-azure-event-hubs-for-apache-kafka/

Azure SQL Data Warehouse introduces new productivity and security capabilities
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-sql-data-warehouse-taking-scalability-security-and-manageability-to-new-heights/

Gautam Shah, an Azure Architect with Applied Information Sciences, talks to us about how Azure Automation can be used in Enterprises to automate almost anything.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode240.mp3

My go to source for Azure Automation is none other than Azure Docs.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/automation/

For folks just starting out on Azure Automation
https://www.edx.org/course/infrastructure-as-code-0

https://www.appliedis.com/

Other updates:

General availability: Start/Stop VMs during off-hours in Azure Automation

From <https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/general-availability-start-stop-vms-during-off-hours-in-azure-automation/>

Top feature requests added with Azure Blockchain Workbench 1.2.0
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/top-feature-requests-added-with-azure-blockchain-workbench-1-2-0/

R3 on Azure: Launch of Corda Enterprise v3.1
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/corda-enterprise-launch-on-azure/

Orchestrating production-grade workloads with Azure Kubernetes Service
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/orchestrating-production-grade-workloads-with-azure-kubernetes-service/

Ansible 2.6: What’s new for Azure
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/ansible-2-6-what-s-new-for-azure/

Cale and Sujit talk about the new style of applications that leverage AI, Blockchain and Big Data services in Azure.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode235.mp3

Other updates:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/log-analytics-solutions-network-security-goup-analytics-and-azure-web-apps-analytics-now-available-in-azure-quickstart-template-gallery/

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-storage-static-web-hosting-public-preview/

Microsoft from GeekWire Cloud Tech Summit: New Azure innovations will advance the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-from-geekwire-cloud-tech-summit-new-azure-innovations-will-advance-the-intelligent-cloud-and-intelligent-edge/

The emerging big data architectural pattern
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/the-emerging-big-data-architectural-pattern/

Reasons why retail and consumer goods brands should address Artificial Intelligence today
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/reasons-why-retail-and-consumer-goods-brands-should-address-artificial-intelligence-today/

Azure Data Factory new capabilities are now generally available
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-data-factory-new-capabilities-are-now-generally-available/

Cynthia, Cale and Sujit chat about the plethora of IaaS VMs available and things to watch for when selecting the right VM SKU/Size.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode231.mp3

Other updates:

3 reasons why Azure’s infrastructure is secure
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/3-reasons-why-azure-s-infrastructure-is-secure/

Azure Security Center can identify attacks targeting Azure App Service applications
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-security-center-can-identify-attacks-targeting-azure-app-service-applications/

VNet service endpoints for Azure database services for MySQL and PostgreSQL in preview
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/vnet-service-endpoints-for-azure-database-services-for-mysql-and-postgresql-in-preview/

Receiving and handling HTTP requests anywhere with the Azure Relay
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/receiving-and-handling-http-requests-anywhere-with-the-azure-relay/

New capabilities to enable robust GDPR compliance
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-capabilities-to-enable-robust-gdpr-compliance/

VSTS Visualize Progress
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/vsts/release-notes/2018/may-30-vsts#visualize-release-progress

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode229.mp3

The first of many episodes recorded live at BUILD 2018.

Audio file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode228.mp3

Kendall, Cynthia, Evan and Cale discuss a fundamental feature of Azure - Storage! They talk about the various possibilities to store data in Azure and break down the use-cases for each of those options.

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode223.mp3

Indexed audio: https://www.videoindexer.ai/media/f5cfe87096/

Resources:

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/storage/databox/

https://www.microsoft.com/handsonlabs/

Other updates:

Public preview: Event Hubs for Go

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/event-hubs-go-preview

Microsoft peering on ExpressRoute Standard SKU now available

Microsoft peering with route filters is now available for Azure ExpressRoute Standard SKU. You can access Azure PaaS services, such as Azure SQL Database and Azure Storage, that are offered on a public IP address within the geopolitical zone of your ExpressRoute circuit. See more information about geopolitical zones.
As a result of this new functionality, can no longer create new Azure public peering configurations. Existing Azure public peering configurations will continue to be supported, though we recommend moving to Microsoft peering with route filters. 
For more information on this new functionality, see the documentation. 

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/microsoft-peering-on-expressroute-standard/

New Microsoft Azure regions available for Australia and New Zealand
Two new Microsoft Azure regions in Australia are available to customers, making Microsoft the only global provider to deliver cloud services specifically designed to address the requirements of the Australian and New Zealand governments and critical national infrastructure, including banks, utilities, transport and telecommunications.

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-microsoft-azure-regions-available-for-australia-and-new-zealand

2018 Global Azure Bootcamp coming up April 21st, 2018
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/globalazure-bootcamp-2018/
Global Azure is an unstoppable force of thirst for knowledge with 244 locations in 68 countries!

SQL Database: Long-term backup retention preview includes major updates
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/sql-database-long-term-backup-retention-preview-includes-major-updates/

A flexible new way to purchase Azure SQL Database
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/a-flexible-new-way-to-purchase-azure-sql-database/

Azure IoT Hub is driving down the cost of IoT
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-iot-hub-is-driving-down-the-cost-of-iot/

Azure DevOps Projects now supports Windows VMs as deployment targets (as opposed to Azure Web App, and Web App for containers) for ASP.NET and ASP.NET core web applications. This addition is the first of several planned expansions to Azure DevOps projects scenarios which allow developers to create full CI/CD pipelines in minutes from the Azure portal powered by Visual Studio Team Services. 

A new Azure DevOps project gives you a git repository with application code, automated CI/CD pipeline that for the written framework (.NET, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python), option to add SQL database, and application insight that monitors the application and helps diagnose issues and understand how the application is currently being used.

Andrew Liu, a Senior PM on the CosmosDB team talks to us about the Graph API and he is obviously very passionate about it! He gives us some great use-cases for Graphs and how we can use the service to build these types of applications quickly.

Media file: http://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode221.mp3

Indexed audio: https://www.videoindexer.ai/media/93f5cd9cc9/

Other updates:

Improved multi-member Blockchain networks now available on Azure
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/improved-multi-member-blockchain-networks-now-available-on-azure/

SONiC, the network innovation powerhouse behind Azure
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/sonic-the-network-innovation-powerhouse-behind-azure/

The next generation of Azure Alerts has arrived
Today, we are announcing the general availability of the next generation of alerts in Azure. With Azure Monitoring Services, you can set up alerts to monitor the metrics and log data for the entire stack across your infrastructure, application, and Azure platform. With the release of the next generation alerts, we are providing a new consolidated alerts experience and offering a new alerts platform that will be faster and leveraged by other Azure services. Some of our customers have already been using the new alerts in preview and provided us feedback.
“The new unified experience dramatically improves our alert management capabilities. As part of our standard client configuration, we deploy and manage a variety of resource monitors to provide comprehensive coverage of a customer environment. These monitors include PaaS Resource Metrics/Logs, Azure Activity Events, and Log Analytics searches. We can now manage all of these monitors and alerts through a single interface and layer standardized action groups across all of them. This new service means we can offer a more consistent approach to our customers while dramatically reducing the management overhead. 
In addition, the performance improvements have allowed us to respond quicker to critical customer issues. With near real time metrics for things like Heart Beat logs, we can be alerted to a downed server event in record time and take swift action to recover the environment.”
From <https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/the-next-generation-of-azure-alerts-has-arrived/>

Columnstore support in Standard tier Azure SQL Databases
We are pleased to announce the general availability of columnstore index features for Standard databases in the S3 and above pricing tiers. These features will enable a number of new and valuable…
Announcing general availability of Azure database services for MySQL and PostgreSQL
Today, I am excited to announce the general availability (GA) of Azure Database for MySQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL. The GA milestone means that, starting today, these services are bringing…

Global performance acceleration with Azure Traffic Manager
Gaining insights to customer traffic is imperative in providing a best in class user experience. With Traffic View, a new capability in Azure Traffic Manager, you can get rich information and…

BACIAD - Build a Company in a Day

Hot off the press is “Build a Company in Azure” a feature packed demonstration taking the audience on a journey through IaaS and PaaS solutions and perfect for those studying Infrastructure Certification.
 
Learn how to navigate the portal and shell, then build Networks and Virtual Machines including Windows and Linux distributions using a variety of deployment methods before diving into the world of Containers and Orchestration.
 
Explore Azure Active Directory as we synchronise accounts with ADConnect before designing DevTest Infrastructures and protecting with BCDR Strategies.
 
Then jump into Social Media, building WebApps, before automating with Logic Apps, Bots and Cognitive Services.
 
Finally learn how to secure your deployments with Azure Security Center, Privileged Identity Management and Just in Time VM Access
 
https://youtu.be/0GvMwCFhk08
 
 
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/azureservicefabric/2018/03/14/service-fabric-is-going-open-source/

Our very own Cale Teeter was in Cancun, Mexico for DevCon3 and he gives us all the Blockchain/Azure updates that were announced there.

DevCon3
https://davidburela.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/devcon-3-report-day-1-core-systems/
https://davidburela.wordpress.com/2017/11/03/devcon-3-report-day-2-core-systems/
https://davidburela.wordpress.com/2017/11/04/devcon-3-report-day-3-dapp-development/
https://davidburela.wordpress.com/2017/11/06/devcon-3-report-day-4-p2p-tech/

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode203.mp3

Other updates:

Azure Government Secret
Taking the next step forward in meeting the mission-critical and data needs of our U.S. Government customers, we are announcing expansion plans to make Azure Government Secret available to support government agencies and partners who have Secret classified data. Azure Government Secret will deliver multi-tenant cloud infrastructure and cloud capabilities to U.S. Federal Civilian, Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and U.S. Government partners working within Secret enclave
 
Blockchain for Azure Government
We have launched Blockchain for Azure Government, which will support a wide array of our Azure blockchain and distributed ledger marketplace solutions. These solutions automate the deployment and configuration of blockchain infrastructure across multiple organizations, allowing our customers to focus on government transformation and application development.
 
Unified security management with Azure Security Center
To help our customers address their security challenges, we’re bringing Azure Security Center to Azure Government. Security Center offers unified security management and advanced threat protection for hybrid cloud workloads, enabling government agencies to take on evolving security threats. Learn more about Security Center.
 
Expanding High Performance Computing in Azure Government
In today’s data-driven government, High Performance Computing (HPC) is increasingly being mainstreamed to apply to a broader range of problems. To address this demand, we’re extending our existing public sector HPC offerings, including the NC-series and Azure Batch, to include the H-series virtual machines. Azure H-series virtual machines, with InfiniBand and Linux RDMA technology, are designed to deliver cutting-edge performance for complex engineering and scientific workloads such as weather prediction and climate modeling, trajectory modeling, and other memory-intensive projects. By the end of the year, customers will be able to take advantage of this expanded offering in Azure Government
 
New Virtual Desktop Infrastructure options in the cloud
To reduce on-premises infrastructure, many government customers are considering moving their Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to the cloud. Today, we’re announcing new options with Azure Government, giving customers more flexibility in handling VDI requirements. With Citrix VDI on Azure Government, customers can now extend existing Citrix environments and deploy Windows 10 desktops into Azure Government from Citrix Cloud. Learn more about new VDI options.

Managed Applications are now Generally Available in the Azure Marketplace
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/managed-applications-are-now-generally-available-in-the-azure-marketplace/

https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/topics/last-week-in-azure/

Cale Teeter gives us the latest scoop on all the things Microsoft is doing in the Blockchain space.

(Cale in Kiev talking about Blockchain)

Media file: https://azpodcast.blob.core.windows.net/episodes/Episode199.mp3

Indexed video: https://www.videoindexer.ai/media/102578ea8b/

Other updates:

 Announcing Azure Files share snapshots public preview
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/announcing-azure-files-share-snapshots-public-preview/

Get alerts faster with near real-time alerting for Azure platform metrics
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/get-alerts-faster-with-near-real-time-alerting-for-azure-platform-metrics/

Embed Stunning Visuals into your Apps with Power BI Embedded- Generally Available
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/blog/embed-stunning-visuals-into-your-apps-with-power-bi-embedded-generally-available/

Today we’re excited and honored to be recognized for three Developer Satisfaction awards from SlashData, a leading analyst firm in the developer community.
https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-s-azure-sql-database-ranked-1-database-as-a-service-for-developer-satisfaction-by-slashdata/

Accelerated Networking is now in an expanded preview.
General availability (Windows) and preview (Linux): Accelerated Networking

Public preview: Azure subscription cost reporting and analysis for enterprise customers
Azure EA users can view and analyze their subscription costs across different pivots in the Azure portal
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cost-reporting-for-enterprise-preview/

Announcing support for X.509 CA on Azure IoT Hub
Announcing support for X.509 Certificates Authorities (X.509 CA) on Azure IoT Hub. Simplifies creation of initial unique IoT device identities enabling IoT at scale. Ready for provisioning using DPS.