2018 is dead, long live 2019!!!

Now it’s time to look back and evaluate the year that is ending. 2018 has been amazing! I had the chance to focus a lot on Microsoft Azure project both in the Consulting and Training worlds. I delivered my services in a record number of countries, making me do a lot of flights, 104 flights to be more precise, and yes, I track and log all the flights that I do , all this in 4 different continents!

Just some bullet points of my achievements in 2018:

  • 2 Microsoft Oficial Courses (MOC 20532D and 20535A) that I co-authored were released
  • Did a lot of community work, like speaking in several events and co-organized 4 major IT conferences. But all this seems so little…
  • Delivered hundreds of hours of training
  • Helped certify more than 350 professionals on Microsoft Azure
  • Helped several companies onboarding into the Microsoft Cloud
  • Moved on-prem workloads to Microsoft Azure
  • Helping the leadership of a large Cloud project. The biggest budget ever in my career, spanning across 4 years and dozens of millions of Euros.
  • Modernizing IaaS applications to PaaS and SaaS Azure Services
  • Spoke on several amazing events worldwide and had the privilege to speak for the first time on Microsoft Ignite!

For the last few years I had the opportunity to travel across the world, 2019 is just around the corner and I already have several trips scheduled. I will be in a few days in the United States for some cool work (NDA for now…), but I will be in the LA area. Let’s get together if you’re nearby!!! I have amazing community and professional projects to launch in 2019, it will be an amazing and challenging year.

During 2019 I wish to keep pushing Microsoft Azure to more and more customers and IT Professionals!

Let’s keep changing the world one IT Professional, one customer at a time! I’m here, and I’m ready for 2019!!!

Speaking at ESPC 2018

This year I have the honor to speak at ESPC18. This conference used to be focused on SharePoint, but with the evolving of all the ecosystem around it, now it’s also about Office 365 and Microsoft Azure.

I will deliver a workshop (already sold out!) and a regular session. You can fin the full schedule at https://www.sharepointeurope.com/conference/schedule/

You can find me at the following sessions:

What Every Developer Needs to Know to Work with Microsoft Azure

In this workshop I will talk about the core Microsoft Azure skills that every modern developer needs to have, then we will check some of the main services for Microsoft Azure like: App Services, SQL Database, Azure AD and Storage. We will also check how to create CI/CD pipelines to deploy applications to Microsoft Azure.

Creating a Rocking Global Web Application with Microsoft Azure PaaS Services

In this session, we will check how Azure App Service can help us reach a global application goal and how other related services, like Traffic Manager, Azure Storage, SQL Databases and Service Bus can help you. Expect a heavy-demo depended session, based on real-world experience in implementing these services with several customers.

So, with this I leave you a 5 Step guide to ESPC18

1. PLAN YOUR SESSIONS

Explore the ESPC18 schedule to identify what sessions you’d like to attend. Create your own schedule suited to you. If you are travelling with colleagues, divide and conquer by attending different sessions. Afterwards swap notes to increase your learning.

Don’t have time to delve through our 120+ conference schedule? We have created dedicated pages to save you time. Check out the ESPC conference schedule based on IT PRO, DEV, BDM, AZURE or MICROSOFT SESSIONS.

2. CONNECT WITH YOUR PEERS

Join the ESPC18 App (Login details announced in the coming weeks) & follow the hashtag #ESPC18 to find out whose attending. Why not make your presence known by sending out a tweet introducing yourself? Arrange to meet new individuals at ESPC – you never know what you might discover! Helpful tip: Carry some business cards with you to share with the new people you meet.

3. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN

Before arriving at ESPC, take some time to identify what questions you want answered. Prepare them advance to ask during a session Q&A. Why not take a break from sessions and advance your skills at the ESPC labs or check out the Ask the Experts session? Remember, it’s good practice to note three important key takeaways from each session.

4. HAVE FUN

With 2,000 delegates expected to attend, ESPC offers a host of exciting day and night experiences. Check out the WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY LUNCH, a jam-packed EXPO HALL or challenge other delegates and the ESPC team to some fun games in the Community Area.

Not enough? Be sure to join the EXPO drinks on Tuesday evening or enjoy a magical night at the sell-out ESPC18 PARTY: A NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS.

5. SHARE WITH YOUR TEAM

Schedule a meeting post conference to share your key learnings with your fellow co-workers. Impress colleagues with your advanced knowledge while maximizing value for your company. Share your inspiration and make plans to implement what you learned.

Still undecided about attending the leading European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference? Visit 10 reasons to attend ESPC18 to see why you need to be there.

BOOK YOUR TICKET today and use coupon code ESPC18SPK to receive a €100 discount. Hope to see you there!!!

Speaking at Microsoft Ignite!!!

Microsoft Ignite starts in just a few days. Microsoft Ignite is the biggest Microsoft conference of the year where around 30000 IT Professionals join for a week long of amazing announcements of new services and features, deep dive technical sessions and amazing Networking during the conference and in the after parties – cof cof – events 😊. You can also find areas to do some HOL – Hands on Labs, talk about certifications, talk with amazing sponsors in the expo area, etc…

This will be my third Microsoft Ignite, but it’s the first where I will be a Speaker. I already had the honor to speak at several events around the world. All events have their strong points and I have loved every one of them, from the smallest to the biggest. I always try my best to deliver a state-of-the-art presentation, if I have a small or big audience it
really does matter and I hope that every other speaker fells the same. Speaking in all those conferences gave me the possibility to deliver 3 sessions in this year Microsoft Ignite. Has you can imagine I was thrilled and astonishing when I got the confirmation email. Microsoft Ignite is the high point of the conference season. I just finished all presentations and demos and I’m already in Orlando, so it’s GO time!!!

A lot of new services and new features will be announced during the week, keep your eyes on social network and this blog. I will do my best to report everything ASAP. I have my gimble with me for some short videos that I plan to record with some of the speakers, PMs and general attendees. I want to bring the felling of Ignite to some of you that for all sort of reasons can’t attend in-person.

I will deliver 3 amazing sessions:

  • BRK2273 – Best ways to capacity your team on Microsoft Azure
  • THR1107 – Training & Certification Roadmap – Azure Apps & Infra
  • THR2132 – Access OneDrive and SharePoint files, a Developer view

 

BRK2273 – Best ways to capacity your team on Microsoft Azure

Tuesday – Sep 25 – 12:45PM to 1:30 PM @OCCC W240

During this 45-minute session, I will explain with real case scenarios how you can capacity your team for the brand-new world of the Cloud! Using cloud technologies is not something of the future, is the PRESENT, and if your team currently is not up to speed with Microsoft Azure, this is a to-go session. We will go throw all the steps needed to get your team able to design, Architect, develop and maintain Microsoft Azure based solutions. A lot of resources will be shared in this session.

THR1107 – Training & Certification Roadmap – Azure Apps & Infra

Wednesday – Sep 26 – 10:45AM to 11:05AM @Expo Theater #9

In this session I will have the honor to officially release the new Microsoft Azure Certifications from Microsoft Learning. A lot will change and if some is already public because a part of it was launch in July during Microsoft Inspire, now we will open the full book! Everything will be shared. If you are in the Learning space and if your work with Microsoft Azure and want to be certified don’t forget to come by this session and get all the information first hand!

THR2132 – Access OneDrive and SharePoint files, a Developer view

Wednesday – Sep 26 – 4:00PM to 4:20PM @Expo Theater #2

In this short session, I will show how the Microsoft Graph can help developer build and integrate a file experience to store files into OneDrive and/or SharePoint in their apps.

BIG BIG News!!! – Microsoft launches Azure DevOps

Microsoft just announced Azure DevOps.

In a great blog post, Jamie Cool the Director of Program Manager for Azure DevOps announced the service and what Includes:

  • Azure Pipelines
  • Azure Boards
  • Azure Artifacts
  • Azure Repos
  • Azure Test Plans

Azure DevOps is an amazing in the evolution of Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS). If you currently use VSTS you will be upgraded to Azure DevOps automatically. Your URL will be updated from myvsts.visualstudio.com to dev.azure.com/abc and the service will support redirection of the old URL to the new one, this means that you don’t need to update right away your url. Stuff will still work for you, but of course is highly recommended that you inform your teams of the new URL ASAP.

With this change Team Foundation Server will also be updated naming wise, it will be called Azure DevOps Server.

Next few days I will review the new UI and create a more complete blog post about Azure DevOps. Hope you’re so exited with this change has I am!

Official Launche will happen on the Sep, 11th 8AM to 9:30AM (Pacific Time). Check all the information about the event at: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/events/devops/

You can check all the pricing of this service at: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/devops/azure-devops-services/

Workshop: I find your lack of Azure disturbing

On the 20th of July I will deliver a great workshop in Lisbon, Portugal about Microsoft Azure. This workshop is part of the Tuga IT Conference (http://tugait.pt/) and is targeted for all IT Professionals that want to start to design, create and/or migrate solutions for Microsoft Azure.

Here are all the details about the workshop:

“I find your lack of Azure disturbing”

More and more companies are implementing, designing and architecting solutions on Microsoft Azure. This full day workshop will provide you guidance and knowledge on some of the core Azure services. This workshop will be led by Tiago Costa, Microsoft Cloud architect and advisor for several customers across the world and two times author of Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) – 20532 and 20535. Be prepared for a demo dependent workshop, we will do our best to blow your mind!

Outline:

  • Introduction to Microsoft Azure
  • Azure AD
  • Virtual Networks
  • Virtual Machines
  • Azure Storage
  • Azure App Services
  • Architecture Best Practices

You can sign up for this workshop at: https://www.eventbrite.pt/e/bilhetes-i-find-you-lack-of-azure-disturbing-47095724580.
Hope to see you there!!!

You can also check other workshops from great speakers about Git, Cassandra and SQL Server at http://tugait.pt/workshops/