IT Insights by Julian Rouse

Migrating over 100 virtual machines (VMs) from on-premise infrastructure to Microsoft Azure is a monumental task that involves careful planning, strategic decision-making, and meticulous execution. This blog will explore the challenges of such a migration, guiding you through the process from the initial considerations to the final tests before rolling out to production. We’ll also discuss how incorporating auto-scaling and load balancing can optimize your cloud environment. 1. Initial Considerations: The First Thought Before diving into the migration, it’s crucial to understand the reasons behind the move and what you aim to achieve. Common motivations include reducing on-premise infrastructure costs, improving scalability, or enhancing disaster recovery capabilities. However, the sheer scale of migrating 100+ VMs requires a detailed assessment of your existing environment. Assessment and Inventory : Start by taking a complete inventory of your VMs, including their configurations, dep...

As businesses continue to migrate to the cloud, the promise of cost savings and operational efficiency has driven widespread adoption. However, as highlighted in a recent  CIO article , many organizations are now grappling with the challenge of rising cloud costs. This issue has left CIOs and IT leaders scrambling to find ways to manage and reduce these expenses without compromising performance or scalability. One of the key areas where costs can spiral out of control is the wastage of resources in cloud environments like Microsoft Azure. In this blog, we’ll explore how to identify and eliminate wasted resources in Azure, the benefits of using tagging, and other practical strategies to reduce cloud costs. Identifying Wasted Resources in Azure The dynamic and scalable nature of the cloud, while advantageous, can also lead to the proliferation of underutilized or forgotten resources. These include: Idle Virtual Machines : Virtual machines (VMs) that are running but not actively used ...

Imagine your business as a high-tech fortress. You’ve got solid walls and a secure gate, but if your gatekeeper only asks for a simple password, any determined threat actor could stroll right in. This is where Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) steps in, adding layers of security that make unauthorized access nearly impossible. The Power of MFA MFA isn’t just an extra step; it’s your best defense against cybercriminals. By requiring multiple forms of verification—like a password, a text message code, or a fingerprint scan—MFA ensures that even if a password is compromised, your systems remain secure. Consider Sarah, the CFO of a mid-sized company. She’s out for a coffee when she gets an alert on her phone: Someone just tried to log in to her company’s financial software using her password. But thanks to MFA, that attempt is blocked because the threat actor doesn’t have access to her phone for the second authentication step. Crisis averted, and Sarah can enjoy her latte in peace. Why You...

Ever had one of those weeks where, despite your best efforts, you feel like you haven’t accomplished anything? Between a never-ending stream of meetings, phone calls, returning emails, and reviewing budgets, it’s easy to find yourself at Friday with a long list of tasks still waiting for attention. The business problem you intended to tackle at the beginning of the week remains unsolved, and you’re left wondering where the time went. The Struggle of a Busy Work Week It’s a common experience: the week starts with clear intentions and goals, but as days progress, the urgent tasks crowd out the important ones. Meetings consume your calendar, emails pile up, and budget reviews take more time than anticipated. By the end of the week, you’ve been busy but haven’t made significant progress on the key issues you aimed to solve. The Power of Time Blocking To break this cycle of unproductive weeks, consider implementing a technique known as time blocking. Time blocking involves scheduling specif...

Every now and then, my team and I might encounter a security vulnerability that could potentially impact our operations. One such instance was brought to our attention recently, and it underscores the importance of proactive security measures. On Monday evening, senior leadership alerted me to a new security concern: popular Microsoft apps for Mac are at risk of code injection attacks. You can read more about this issue in the  Computer Weekly article . Proactive Detection and Leadership Response As someone who typically stays ahead of security threats, it's not uncommon for me to discover vulnerabilities early. However, this particular issue was flagged by senior leadership, highlighting the critical role of vigilance at all levels. When such concerns arise, my approach involves a few key steps: Asking the Right Questions:  In situations like these, it's essential to ask the right questions to understand the potential impact and urgency. Key questions include: What is the nat...

This month, a monumental data breach exposed approximately 2.9 billion Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other personal data. While this breach primarily affects Americans, the global nature of data security means that its implications extend beyond the borders of the United States. As a Canadian observing these developments, it's crucial to understand how such breaches impact our neighbours to the south and the lessons that can be applied on both sides of the border. Let’s delve into the potential repercussions for Americans and what steps they can take to safeguard their personal information. 1.  Increased Risk of Identity Theft For Americans, the exposure of 2.9 billion SSNs poses a severe risk of identity theft. Cybercriminals can exploit this information to open fraudulent accounts, take out loans, or commit various forms of financial fraud. Given the vast scale of this breach, it’s highly likely that even if individuals are not immediately targeted, their information could e...

In the dynamic world of IT, restructuring a team is often necessary to align with evolving business goals, new technologies, or shifting project demands. I recently read an insightful article on InformationWeek titled  “How to Know When It’s Time to Restructure Your IT Team” , which delves into the signs that indicate a need for restructuring and how to navigate the transition. Based on this article, I want to share two perspectives on the topic: one from my experience joining a restructured DevOps team in the past and another from a more recent experience as a manager who facilitated a successful team member transition. Joining a Recently Restructured DevOps Team Several years ago, I joined a DevOps team that had undergone significant restructuring. My role at the time involved replacing a colleague who was well-versed in network administration and database management. My background in system administration, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and security aligned better with the new di...

In the ever-evolving world of IT, automation is a game-changer, particularly when it comes to user management. Recently, I had the opportunity to dive deep into the capabilities of Azure Logic Apps to streamline our onboarding and offboarding processes. This blog post explores how Azure Logic Apps, combined with the latest Microsoft Entra ID actions and M365 license automation, has made these critical tasks more efficient. I’ll also share a sneak peek into an exciting future project focused on zero-touch device deployment. Streamlining Onboarding and Offboarding with Azure Logic Apps Simplifying Onboarding Our onboarding process was ripe for automation. With Azure Logic Apps, we were able to create a seamless experience for new hires. Here’s how we did it: Automated Account Creation:  By integrating Logic Apps with our HR system, we automated the creation of new user accounts in Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD). This ensured that new employees were set up quickly and efficiently...

As a cloud engineer consultant managing 3-8 projects per year outside my full-time role, I’ve seen the cloud landscape evolve significantly over the years. Looking back at the period from 2012 to 2019, many companies hesitated to adopt cloud technologies due to several factors: Legacy Systems and Investment Cycles : Established businesses had substantial investments in physical data centers. The transition to the cloud required reevaluating these investments and often waiting for the end of their 3-5 year investment cycles, which impeded swift adoption. Perceived Risks and Security Concerns : Early cloud adoption was met with skepticism about data security and compliance. Many companies worried about the risks associated with outsourcing critical infrastructure to third-party providers. Lack of Expertise : Cloud technology was rapidly evolving, and many IT professionals had not yet gained expertise in this area. Consequently, there was a significant knowledge gap, and training resource...

In the first part of this series, we explored the importance of checklists in cloud engineering, highlighting how they help ensure that no detail is overlooked. In the second part, we delved into automation, showing how streamlining tasks can lead to greater efficiency and consistency. Now, in this final installment, we'll discuss the unsung hero of any successful project: documentation. While it may seem mundane, effective documentation is what turns a good project into a great one, providing a lasting resource that ensures your work is understood, replicated, and maintained long after the final line of code is written. Why Documentation is Crucial Documentation is the backbone of any project, ensuring that critical information is preserved and easily accessible. It serves several vital purposes: Knowledge Transfer : Good documentation ensures that important knowledge doesn’t leave with a departing team member. It’s the key to seamless handovers, enabling new team members to get u...

When it comes to deploying a multi-tier application infrastructure in Azure, selecting the right deployment strategy can make all the difference in the efficiency and maintainability of the project. In this blog, I’ll walk you through the different ARM template options, using a real-world project I’m currently working on for a client. We'll explore the pros and cons of single, linked, and nested templates, and how I utilized these strategies to create a robust deployment pipeline. We’ll also dive into the decision-making process behind choosing incremental versus complete deployments, and why keeping resource groups clean is crucial for cost management. Single Template vs. Linked Templates vs. Nested Templates ARM templates offer several options for structuring your deployment: Single Template Deployment : This approach involves defining all resources in one large template. While simple to implement for smaller projects, it can become unwieldy and difficult to manage as the complex...

As a DevOps engineer who works closely with developers, I'm always on the lookout for tools and practices that streamline the development process and help bring innovative solutions to life faster. Recently, Microsoft shared an insightful blog on " Accelerating AI App Development with Azure AI and GitHub ," and it struck a chord with me. It’s clear that the integration between Azure AI and GitHub is a game-changer, not just for developers, but also for those of us in DevOps and cloud engineering roles who support them. The Growing Importance of AI in Development AI is no longer a futuristic concept; it's here and transforming industries at an unprecedented pace. From automating mundane tasks to making predictive analyses that drive business decisions, AI's role in software development is becoming increasingly vital. But as powerful as AI is, developing AI-powered applications comes with its own set of challenges, from managing complex workflows to ensuring continu...

As a cloud engineer, ensuring thoroughness, consistency, and efficiency in your work is paramount. One of the most effective ways to achieve these goals is by leveraging automation. Automation can significantly streamline processes, reduce human error, and free up valuable time for more strategic tasks. In this second part of our three-part series, we'll explore the importance of automation in cloud engineering and how it can transform your workflows. Why Automation Matters Automation is crucial in the fast-paced world of cloud engineering. It helps maintain consistent and repeatable processes, ensuring that tasks are executed the same way every time. This consistency leads to fewer errors, faster deployment times, and increased reliability. By automating repetitive tasks, you can focus on more complex and strategic aspects of your projects. Key Areas to Automate Infrastructure Provisioning Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Azure Resource Manager (ARM) temp...