Ask Ralph: Where style meets AI—a new era of conversational commerce

By Dustin Ward

Over the past few years, AI has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of our daily routines, transforming the ways we access information and organize our lives. From intelligent search engines to virtual assistants that help us plan trips, AI is behind the effortless convenience we now expect. It’s also transforming the way we shop.…

Azure mandatory multifactor authentication: Phase 2 starting in October 2025

By Dustin Ward

As cyberattacks become increasingly frequent, sophisticated, and damaging, safeguarding your digital assets has never been more critical, and at Microsoft, your security is our top priority. Microsoft research shows that multifactor authentication (MFA) can block more than 99.2% of account compromise attacks, making it one of the most effective security measures available. As announced in August…

Microsoft Cost Management updates—July & August 2025

By Dustin Ward

Whether you’re a new student, a thriving startup, or the largest enterprise, you have financial constraints. You need to know what you’re spending, where your money is being spent, and how to plan for the future. Nobody wants a surprise bill—and that’s where Microsoft Cost Management comes in. We’re always looking for ways to learn…

Now Open — AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region

By Dustin Ward

Kia ora! Today, I’m pleased to share the general availability of the AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region with three Availability Zones and API name ap-southeast-6. With the new Region, customers can now run workloads and securely store data in New Zealand while serving end users with even lower latency. The new AWS Asia Pacific…