Azure Weekly

Issue #522 - 6th July 2025

In Microsoft Fabric (and related data architectures) - see the new Shortcut Transformations: from files to Delta tables. On the endjin YouTube channel, Carmel answers the question: What is a Data Lakehouse? And, more in healthcare analytics: Integrating remote patient monitoring solutions with healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric.

On the Azure blog, Maria Bledsoe discusses building secure, scalable AI in the cloud with Microsoft Azure. And finally, an announcement of the general Availability of Microsoft Purview SDK and APIs!

⚙️ AI + Machine Learning

• Dan Zabrotski discusses Building Modular Speech-to-Text Workflows: Architecture and Performance Analysis of a CLI AI Agent
• April Gittens asks: How do I give my agent access to tools?
• Manni Arora covers Harnessing AI agents for Customer Engagements
• Qinying Liao discusses what's new in the Azure AI Voice Live API
• Sharda Kaur covers Understanding Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• Katie Savage discusses MCP Events: A Beginner's Guide to the Model Context Protocol
• Sara Kandil talks about Building Safe, AI-Powered Data Resilience with Veeam and Azure AI Foundry
• Maria Bledsoe blogs about Building secure, scalable AI in the cloud with Microsoft Azure
• Charles Chukwudozie talks about Modernizing Enterprise IT & Knowledge Support with Azure-Native Multiagent AI and LangGraph.
• Mohamed Faraazman explains how to Deploy Machine Learning Models the Smart Way with Azure Blob & Web App

🔎 Analytics

• On the endjin blog, Carmel Eve (@Carmel_Eve) answers the question: What is a Data Lakehouse?
• Lackshu Balasubramaniam explains How to orchestrate Spark Notebooks in Fabric: A 5-step method
• On Microsoft Fabric Blog, Ye Xu talks about Simplifying Data Ingestion with Copy job – Incremental Copy GA, Lakehouse Upserts, and New Connectors
• Miquella de Boer announces Shortcut Transformations: from files to Delta tables. Always in sync, no pipelines required.
• Sander van de Velde (@svelde) talks about Reverse geocoding in Azure Data Explorer and Fabric via HTTP Request plugin
• Naveed Hussain discusses Automating Data Vault processes on Microsoft Fabric with VaultSpeed
• Kem Kepenek talks about Integrating remote patient monitoring solutions with healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric
• Christian Henrik Reich describes Working with Apache Iceberg without shortcutting to the Iceberg Tables in Microsoft Fabric
• David Callaghan walks through Leveraging Model Context Protocol MCP for AI Efficiency in Databricks and Unlocking the Power of MLflow 3.0 in Databricks for GenAI

🖥️ Compute

• Orin Thomas talks about Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V Workgroup Cluster with Certificate-Based Authentication
• Lakshmi Jakka blogs about Integrating Azure Monitor in Azure Batch to monitor Batch Pool nodes performance

🚢 Containers

• Will Tsai covers how to Use Radius to Deploy your applications to Azure Container Instances
• Daniel Neumann (@neumanndaniel) describes How to restore a container image from an Azure Kubernetes Service node to an Azure Container Registry
• On the Azure blog, Qi Ke blogs about Running high-performance PostgreSQL on Azure Kubernetes Service
• On Diagrid Blog, Bilgin Ibryam (@bibryam) talks about Dapr Agents: Combining AI Agents & Workflows for Production Systems

🗄️ Databases

• Balmukund Lakhani explains how to Convert geo-replicated databases to Hyperscale
• Charles Feddersen discusses Scaling PostgreSQL at OpenAI: Lessons in Reliability, Efficiency, and Innovation
• Sravani Saluru announces the General Availability of Enhanced Server Audit for Azure SQL Database
• The Azure Updates Team announces: Latest PostgreSQL minor versions supported by Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server (GA), and Azure SQL updates for early-July 2025 (Public Preview) and runs through the Azure SQL updates for early-July 2025 (GA)
• Ismaël Mejía (@iemejia) explains how to Build AI-Ready Apps and Agents with PostgreSQL on Azure
• On SQL Server Central, Tonie Huizer writes about Why Clone Fails: Discovering the Hardware Beneath Azure SQL MI
• Saravanan Ponnaiah describes Databricks Lakebase – Database Branching in Action
• Vamshi Polasa covers how to Backup SAP Oracle Databases Using Azure VM Backup Snapshots

🛠️ Developer Tools

• Jerry Nixon discusses the new features of the SQL Server Extension for VS Code
• Elio Struyf (@eliostruyf) writes: "From idea to production in under an hour with AI"
• Luke Murray (@lukemurraynz) blogs about Model Context Protocol (MCP) in VS Code with Microsoft Learn
• John Lokerse writes From Prompt to Bicep: GitHub Copilot for Azure in Action
• Seth Patton discusses Whats new in Microsoft 365 Copilot (June 2025)
• Jimmy Bogard discusses MediatR & AutoMapper (new commercial options) with Jeffrey Palermo

🔩 DevOps

• Piyush Patel talks about Testing Modern AI Systems: From Rule-Based Systems to Deep Learning and Large Language Models
• AJ Bajada continues their DevOps and Azure Policy Series: Exemptions
• John Reilly (@johnny_reilly) delves into Pull requests and dynamic required reviewers in Azure DevOps
• Lars Kappert shares an updates version of his post Handling errors in Azure pipelines

⚙️ Hybrid + Multicloud

• The Azure Updates Team announces Azure App Service on Azure Stack Hub 25R1 (GA)
• Santosh Pargi blogs about Azure Arc and Defender for Servers: Connectivity and Monitoring Script
• Sonia Gupta (@soniagupta690) writes about Secure Linux workloads using Azure Files with Encryption in Transit
• Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen) describes Azure Arc: Uninstall the Connected Machine agent and clean up related resources on Windows using a PowerShell script

🎭 Identity

• Shobhit Sahay covers Whats new in Microsoft Entra – June 2025
• Justin Orcutt describes The Power of Entra ID Governance
• Kristopher Bash provides two important updates: Azure AD Graph retirement and AzureAD PowerShell retirement
• The Azure Updates Team announces Two-Way Forest Trusts for Microsoft Entra Domain Services (GA)
• Kaitlin Murphy covers the Readership Survey Results for Microsoft Entra Blog
• Jill Armour highlights that Partner Center multifactor authentication is required starting August 2025

🔌 Integration

• Kent Weare (@wearsy) highlights a Feedback Opportunity: SRE Agent + Logic Apps
• Sai Kishor blogs about Automating Enriched DDoS Alerts Using Logic Apps
• Sri Kantan explains how to Automate a multi-step business process, using turnkey MCP, Logic App Integration in AI Foundry
• "Taylor Tech" explains How Nonprofits Can Use Power Automate to Extract and Process Form Data
• Punyaa Dixit writes From Flow to Fabric: Connecting Power Automate to Microsoft Fabric
• Jose Barreto announces that Microsoft Graph Data Connect for SharePoint is Generally Available

💡 Internet of Things

• Sander van de Velde (@svelde) explains how to Control a signal tower via Microsoft Fabric RTI feedback loop
• Davide Makenemi describes Performance Benchmarking on Throughput and Latency (Azure IoT Operations MQTT Broker)
• Supriyo Banerjee announces the general availability of workload orchestration: simplifying edge deployments at scale

📚 Learning

• Mindy Rosenthal highlights a New Course Release: DP-3029 – Work Smarter with Copilot in Microsoft Fabric
• Saeid Dahl covers Microsoft Hero - A community for learning

⚖️ Management and Governance

• The Azure Updates Team announces Query editor in Azure Monitor Metrics (GA)
• Tim Butters discusses Resource Organisation in Azure Platforms
• Nick (MSFT) announces General Availability of Microsoft Purview SDK and APIs
• Todd Foust describes Using Azure API Management as a proxy for Application Insights Telemetry
• Juan Sifuentes describes Intune Multi-tenant Organization Strategy

🚌 Migration

• Tameika Lawrence discusses Why enterprises are migrating MySQL databases to Azure
• Vinod Kumar writes about Seamless Online Migration from SQL Server to Azure SQL DB/MI/IaaS Using Azure Data Factory and CDC

🌐 Networking

• Travis Roberts (@Ciraltos) describes How to Set Up a Site-to-Site VPN with Azure - Basic VPN Gateway + Ubiquiti
• Jake Walsh (@jakewalsh90) describes A month of Azure Virtual WAN (June 2025)
• The Azure Updates Team announces FQDN Filtering in DNAT rules in Azure Firewall (GA) and Azure DNS security policy (GA)
• Jordan Selig announces App Service Outbound IPv6 Support in Public Preview

🔐 Security

• Charbel Nemnom (@charbelnemnom) covers Demystifying Microsoft Sentinel Roles and Permissions
• Alex Rosa talks about The Double-Edged Sword of Dynamic SQL: Anti-Patterns, Threats, and Solutions
• Giulio Astori walks through Optimizing Resource Allocation with Microsoft Defender CSPM
• Heike Ritter writes about the Monthly news - July 2025
• Konstantinos Passadis writes about Responsible AI and the Evolution of AI Security
• Tomer Brand discusses Planning your move to Microsoft Defender portal for all Microsoft Sentinel customers
• Fernanda Vela (@velahuer) writes about a New feature in Defender for Storage: Optional Index Tags

📦 Storage

• Anjan Banerjee blogs about Azure Files NFS Encryption In Transit for SAP on Azure Systems
• Nishant Ranjan announces Accelerating BlobNFS throughput & scale with FUSE for superior performance (Public Preview(
• The Azure Updates Team announces Encryption in Transit EiT for Azure Files NFS shares (GA)

🔗 Web

• Andrew Wilson (@Andrew_DWilson) runs through Automating web.config Environment Transforms in Azure DevOps Pipelines for App Services