External key management for Azure Managed HSM is now in public preview

By Dustin Ward

Azure Key Vault Managed Hardware Security Module (HSM) provides strong sovereignty over your encryption keys. Keys are generated and stored in a single-tenant, FIPS 140-3 Level 3 HSM that only you control: Microsoft has no access to your key material, and you govern who can use each key. For most organizations, including those with stringent…

Meet Brain: The AI system behind Azure reliability

By Dustin Ward

In this article How Azure’s AI-powered reliability intelligence system works Why Brain is needed What is Brain? Azure’s centralized AIOps for cloud reliability Foundations of Azure’s digital twin for cloud health What it means to operate against a cloud intelligence system The future of agentic AI and cloud operations What’s next for Azure reliability and…

Azure IaaS: How to design, build, and optimize cloud infrastructure for long-term cost efficiency

By Dustin Ward

In this article Compute: Matching resources to workload requirements Storage: Balancing performance and lifecycle management Networking: Improving efficiency without compromising resiliency Continuous optimization is where long-term savings happen Continue your Azure IaaS optimization journey Create a resilient infrastructure with Azure This blog post is the third part of a blog series called Azure IaaS which…

Accelerate modern Linux workloads with Azure Files

By Dustin Ward

In this article Speed up AI and data-intensive workloads Scale cloud-native applications with shared storage Modernize enterprise applications with less disruption Build more with partners and ISVs Azure Files Linux workloads are evolving quickly as organizations modernize on-premises Linux applications, adopt cloud-native architectures, and build new AI and data-intensive pipelines in the cloud. As this…

From insight to action: The next phase of agentic cloud operations

By Dustin Ward

In this article Governance connects insight to action Observability is the intelligence layer From signals to resolution Optimization becomes continuous From dashboards to connected workflows Optimization intelligence across tools and environments Bringing it all together in a closed loop system Get started with Azure Azure Copilot What if your cloud environment could help you move…

Modernize your data with Azure Storage: Plan and migrate with confidence

By Dustin Ward

Enterprise storage migrations are rarely just about copying data. They are about protecting business continuity, maintaining performance, managing cost, and giving teams confidence when terabytes or petabytes of data sit at the heart of critical applications. That confidence is difficult to build when migration planning is fragmented. Many organizations still rely on a patchwork of scripts, third-party tools, and…