Recently I was a guest on another podcast! This one is RunAsRadio.com.
Had a great time chatting with Richard Campbell about Infrastructure As Code and comparing Terraform with Azure ARM Templates & the new Bicep language. Check it out here:
IT Career
My AZ-900 course broke into the top 100 on Pluralsight
I am very excited that today my AZ-900 course broke into the top 100 on
Pluralsight!
The topic on my course is: “Microsoft Azure Pricing and Support Options”.
If you are studying for the AZ-900 exam or getting started with Azure check it out here:
Featured on BITTechTalk Episode #127 – PC Tech to Microsoft MVP
I have been waiting for this one to release! I was a guest on Blacks In Technology ‘s renowned podcast BITTechTalk.
On this episode we talk about; the pros and cons of having a coding background vs infra, what it’s like coming from infrastructure into DevOps, the importance of networking skills in DevOps.
We get into the fact that many folks in the tech industry have to jump ship to get the promotion & better pay, being in consulting vs internal tech, what it’s like being a Microsoft MVP, changing the narrative of blacks in tech, tech salaries and much more!
Check out the podcast episode with the BIT founder Greg Greenlee & me here:
https://www.blacksintechnology.net/bittechtalk-ep-127-steve-buchanan-pc-tech-to-microsoft-mvp/
Featured on Black Tech Talent Podcast
I was honored to be a guest on a #podcast by a new startup named Black Tech Talent.
The founder & me discuss some tough topics such as: breaking into tech, finding black tech talent, black employee retention, racism, colorism & more.
Check out the podcast here:
https://www.blacktechtalent.org/btt-discussions-ep-3-ft-steve-buchanan/
Featured on AzureCrazy.com
Thanks to AzureCrazy.com for featuring me in an interview.
In the article we discussed being a Microsoft MVP, getting certified in Azure, the positive impact PowerShell can have on ones IT Career, getting started with Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Stack Hub & more. Check it out here:
Two new Pluralsight Courses: Heroku & Cloud Computing Fundamentals
Over the past couple of months I have been hard at work on some more Pluralsight courses. I am excited to announce that today I released 2 new courses on Pluralsight! These are both cloud related courses. One course is more DevOps focused and the other is focused more on cloud security. One of the courses is intermediate while the other is for those beginning with cloud. It’s pretty cool to have two courses listed on Pluralsight’s new releases!
Here are the courses:
Heroku: The Big Picture
This course will teach you the basics of Heroku from; architecture components, developer and operational tooling, along with limitations and benefits of using the platform.
Heroku is a cloud PaaS service that enables companies to speed up the application lifecycle; building, delivering, monitoring, and scaling applications without the headaches of standing up infrastructure to support the application.
Some of the major topics covered in this Cloud Computing course are:
- Learn about the components of the Heroku platform and how it works including the architecture, idea to running app, the runtime, Dynos and the various Heroku services.
- Gain an understanding about the benefits and limitations of the Heroku platform such as pricing, language support, and ecosystem.
- Insight into the developer and operational experience on Heroku.
- And you will also see demos on the Heroku Dashboard, Using the Heroku Estimators, and deployment of an application to the Heroku platform.
By the end of this course, you will gain a better understanding of the Heroku platform all up including how to build and operate an application on it.
Check out the course here: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/heroku-big-picture
Cloud Computing Fundamentals: Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Security
This course will teach you the fundamental knowledge needed to understand the essentials of cloud Governance, Risk, Compliance, and Security.
Some of the major topics covered in this Cloud Computing course are:
- Identifying the importance and impacts of compliance in the cloud
- Understanding cloud policies or procedures
- Recognizing risk management concepts related to cloud services
- Security concerns, measures, or concepts of cloud operations
This Cloud Computing course will help you prepare for the CompTIA Cloud Essentials+ exam. This course is also useful if you don’t plan to take the CompTIA exam and just need to ramp up on cloud security.
Take this course if you want to learn cloud essentials, what it takes to successfully adopt cloud, the impact of cloud on IT service management, how security, and risks apply to cloud as well as consequences. This course is for someone with some exposure to cloud technologies and a general background in Information Technology at the minimum of a business analyst level.
Check out the course here: https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/cloud-computing-fundamentals-governance-risk-compliance-security
I hope you find value in each of these courses. These two courses bring me to a total of 5 courses now published on the Pluralsight platform. Be sure to follow my profile on Pluralsight so you will be notified as I release new courses! I will be releasing more courses soon!
Here is the link to my Pluralsight profile to follow me: https://app.pluralsight.com/profile/author/steve-buchanan
Speaking at Microsoft Ignite 2020
I am excited to announce that I am one of the experts in several Ask the Expert sessions during Microsoft Ignite 2020 this week.
I will be a part of a variety of sessions with topics ranging from Linux and PowerShell on Azure, Kubernetes on Azure, Azure Migration, and Transforming Windows Server workloads in Azure.
My Speaker profile:
https://myignite.microsoft.com/speaker/ce1ea0e0-3f42-4986-90ab-aee809e3735d
The sessions are:
- Ask the Expert: Linux and PowerShell on Azure
- Ask the Expert: Enterprise-grade Kubernetes on Azure
- Ask the Expert: Be prepared for what’s next: kick start your cloud journey with Azure Migration Program
- Ask the Expert: Be prepared for what’s next: kick start your cloud migration with Azure tools
- Ask the Expert: Transform your Windows Server workloads in Azure
Here is the link to the Ignite home page myignite.microsoft.com. I hope to see you on the digital Ignite event and in one of the Ask the Expert Sessions!
Update 9/30/2020
Being a part of several Ask the Expert sessions was really fun! My most memorable session was the Ask the Expert: Linux and PowerShell on Azure session.
This session was packed full of superstars from Microsoft product groups and fellow MVPs including; Jeffery Snover, Jason Helmick, Janaka Rangama, and Alexander Nikolić. Here is a screenshot from the session:
After the session, I tweeted about the session and shared some wisdom about PowerShell, and both Jeffery Snover and Jason Helmick retweet my tweet!
2020 is not all bad. It’s pretty cool when the inventor of PowerShell and the PowerShell Program Manager retweet you!
Passed – AWS Cloud Practitioner Exam
I decided it was time to branch out into other clouds. We live in a multi-cloud world and it does not hurt to at a minimum understand what other clouds offer and how they work. I decided to go after the base level AWS certification. On 7/24/2020 I took the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam and passed!
Here is my Acclaim badge for it: https://www.youracclaim.com/badges/309a8223-fd41-4e5a-876a-0066f4d32e23
I am still primarily Azure focused but you might see me working with AWS a little more. I may decide at some point to pursue some more AWS certs and potentially GCP.
Here is what I used to study:
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner course on Pluralsight:
https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/table-of-contents
AWS to Azure services comparison:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/aws-professional/services
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Study Guide blog post by Janeice DelVecchio and Scott Selikoff (includes a PDF):
The test was not super hard. Good luck if you plan to take it!
Speaking at Inside Azure Management Summit
I was recently added to the speaker lineup for the “Inside Azure Management Summit” happening on 7/23/2020. This event is a FREE 1-day virtual event. It features the Microsoft cloud experts from the authoring team of “Inside Azure Management” book, Microsoft MVP’s, and community experts from around the world.
Attendees will get a day full of deep-dive technical sessions across a variety of Microsoft cloud topics including:
- DevOps and Automation
- Cyber Security
- Cloud Governance
- Migration and Monitoring
- Docker and Kubernetes
- AI and Identity
The sessions will span a 13-hr period to allow audiences from around the world to join a portion of the event.
I will be giving a session on Azure Policy. Here is my session info:
Session Title:
Azure Policy Insights & Multi-Tag demo via Azure Policy
Session Abstract:
Azure Policy is a great tool when it comes to auditing and ensuring your cloud governance is met. In this session 9 time Microsoft Azure MVP Steve Buchanan is going to take you on a full-speed ride on the ins and outs of Azure Policy and land you with a recipe for handling a multi-tagging strategy with Azure Policy. Some of the key topics you will learn from this session include:
- Overview of Azure Policy
- Azure Policy Use Cases
- How Azure Policy can meet NIST standards
- Azure Policy vs RBAC
- Overview of Azure Policy Guest Configuration
- Tagging and more
Here is the direct link to my session:
https://insideazuremgmt.com/session/azure-policy-insights-multi-tag-demo-via-azure-policy/
Be sure to register for this event to check out all the great sessions including mine on Azure Policy.
Here is the link to the official site:
https://www.insideazuremgmt.com
Here is the link to register:
Microsoft MVP for the 9th year!
Wow! Today I was honored to be renewed as an MVP again. This marks year #9! Here is a screenshot of the official email from Microsoft:
I never take this award for granted. It is not guaranteed. Every year when July 1 rolls around I never truly know if I will be back in the MVP program or not. 2020 has been a tough year with the COVID19 pandemic and racial tensions in the US coming to a head. Me being renewed as an MVP this time around is a boost of much needed good news.
This marks the second year for me as a Microsoft Azure MVP! It is not easy to be a part of these ranks with so many talented people in the cloud space.
I am looking forward to the 2020-2021 MVP award year with some things already in the works such as guest spots on podcast shows, speaking at some virtual conferences, organizing an Azure user group, speaking at user groups, more courses, and of course, more blog posts to come around Azure, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Hybrid Cloud, and more.
This year I also aim in doing my part to exposing the MVP program to underrepresented people and encouraging them to contribute to the tech community at large potentially even having some new faces join the ranks as an MVP.
As always I am honored to remain a part of MVP ranks. I will continue to do all that I can in the Azure, Azure Stack, AKS, and CloudOps/DevOps communities this year.
My Microsoft MVP Profile: http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/mvp/Steve%20Buchanan-4039736