Build5Nines Weekly provides your go-to source to keep up-to-date on all the latest Microsoft Azure news and updates. Included within Build5Nines Weekly newsletter are blog articles, podcasts, videos, and more from Microsoft and the greater community over the past week. Be sure to subscribe to Build5Nines Weekly to get the newsletter in your email every week and never miss a thing!

The Weeks Top Links
Here are some of the most notable links from the week:- Microsoft Ignite 2019 Book of News via Chris Pietschmann
- Custom Azure Sphere Windows Terminal Developer Command Prompt via Chris Pietschmann
- Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express simulated Visual Studio Code’s Device Simulator Express via Scott Hanselman
- Azure services now run anywhere with new hybrid capabilities: Announcing Azure Arc via Julia White
- Azure Arc: Extending Azure management to any infrastructure via Jeremy Winter
- Microsoft Teams Gets Private Channels, New Linux App, Outlook Integration via Mehedi Hassan
- Microsoft rebrands Flow to ‘Power Automate’; adds no-code Power Platform virtual agents via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Are you a Power Apps Developer? It’s Time to be certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Azure IoT Central: Democratizing IoT for all solution builders via Bert Van Hoof
- Azure Sphere announces GA timing for 2020 via Featured Blog
- Microsoft Ignite: Blockchain and Inclusion via Paul Swider
- Expanding the Azure Stack portfolio to run hybrid applications across the cloud, datacenters, and the edge via Talal Alqinawi
- Surface Pro X available today via Panos Panay
- Microsoft’s Edge Chromium browser will launch on January 15th with a new logo via Tom Warren
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Blog Articles
Here’s a collection of some of the most note worthy blog articles posted over the past week:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- How To Move Azure Virtual Machines to Another Region via June Castillote
- Bring Azure data services to your infrastructure with Azure Arc via Rohan Kumar
- Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) for every workload via Navneet Joneja
- Intel Optane DC Persistent memory, Azure NetApp Files, and Azure Ultra Disk for SAP HANA via Girish Bablani
- Azure Arc: Extending Azure management to any infrastructure via Jeremy Winter
- Microsoft Teams Gets Private Channels, New Linux App, Outlook Integration via Mehedi Hassan
- Do you Implement Azure for SAP Workloads? We’ve got something for you via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Microsoft’s Hybrid 2.0 strategy: Azure Arc, Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack Edge explained via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Azure Virtual Network via parisamoosavinezhad
- Azure services now run anywhere with new hybrid capabilities: Announcing Azure Arc via Julia White
- Azure Arc – Cloud-native Management for Hybrid Cloud via Thomas Maurer
- Talk: Running Azure DNS Securely via Bill Wilder
- Azure Cost Management updates – October 2019 via Michael Flanakin
- Why customers choose Azure to run Windows Server workloads: Microsoft partner perspective via Vijay Kumar
- Disaster recovery for SAP HANA Systems on Azure via Rajeev Menon
- Customize networking for DR drills: Azure Site Recovery via Mayuri Gupta
- Preview: Server-side encryption with customer-managed keys for Azure Managed Disks via Raman Kumar
- Customer success stories with Azure Backup: Metori Capital Management via Sonia Gupta
- Best practices for adding layered security to Azure security with Check Point’s CloudGuard IaaS via Todd VanderArk
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Assign and verify Azure AD custom domain using Azure App Service Domains via Sanganak – Authority
- November 04, 2019 Weekly Update on Microsoft Integration Platform & Azure iPaaS via Gautam
- How to Interpret Azure Security Alerts for Azure Storage Accounts via Rick Vanover
- How and Why to Install Azure Storage Explorer via Rick Vanover
Power Platform
- How to get the Ratings from SharePoint into your PowerApp via nrogoff
- What is RPA, and why is Microsoft Power Automate relevant? Human-centred AI makes the most of our human talents. via Jen Stirrup
- Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals Beta Exam Now Available via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Microsoft rebrands Flow to ‘Power Automate’; adds no-code Power Platform virtual agents via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Are you a Power Apps Developer? It’s Time to be certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Microsoft relents on planned Power Platform self-service purchasing changes via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
Serverless and Functions as a Service (FaaS)
- Alerts on Azure Function failures via Vincent-Philippe Lauzon
- AWS Lambda vs. Azure Functions: 10 Major Differences via Mikhail Shilkov
Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Microsoft Teams Gets Private Channels, New Linux App, Outlook Integration via Mehedi Hassan
- Are you a Microsoft 365 Teams Administrator? Now, You Can Prove It via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Are you a Microsoft 365 Developer? It’s Time to be Certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Microsoft Teams is getting Outlook integration, tasks support, and more via Tom Warren
- Microsoft Ignite 2019: Meet Project Cortex, Office 365 knowledge-management service via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Microsoft teams up with Warner Bros. to store Superman on new glass storage via Tom Warren
- Are you a Microsoft Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer? Beta exam now available via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Managing Azure Active Directory Group-Based Office 365 Licensing via Dustin Dortch
Command-Line (CLI) / ARM Templates
- Custom Azure Sphere Windows Terminal Developer Command Prompt via Chris Pietschmann
- Get-ADObject: Reporting on Active Directory with PowerShell via Kevin Sapp
Big Data / Database
- Bring Azure data services to your infrastructure with Azure Arc via Rohan Kumar
- Expanding the Azure Stack portfolio to run hybrid applications across the cloud, datacenters, and the edge via Talal Alqinawi
- SQL Server 2019 is now GA via noreply@blogger.com (Anupama Natarajan)
- AI Builder: If data is the new oil, AI is the new electricity to make your data work but AI is nothing without data. via Jen Stirrup
- Azure Cosmos DB – Deep Dive via Tim Sommer
- Build a data-driven culture to accelerate innovation via John ‘JG’ Chirapurath
- Simply unmatched, truly limitless: Announcing Azure Synapse Analytics via Rohan Kumar
- Azure Event Hub via parisamoosavinezhad
- AMD’s Datacenter Business Breaks Through $1 Billion Run Rate via Timothy Prickett Morgan
Internet of Things (IoT)
- Custom Azure Sphere Windows Terminal Developer Command Prompt via Chris Pietschmann
- Computer vision at the Edge with NVIDIA DeepStream and Azure IoT Edge via Featured Blog
- Build a Kubernetes “Intelligent Edge” Cluster on Raspberry Pi via Featured Blog
- Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express simulated Visual Studio Code’s Device Simulator Express via Scott Hanselman
- Couldn’t keep up with IoT news this week? Here is your weekly #ThisWeekInIoT digest via Featured Blog
- An IoT Platform For Things That Move via Featured Blog
- Using MQTT protocol to communicate with Azure IoT Hub without using any SDK via Featured Blog
- Azure Sphere announces GA timing for 2020 via Featured Blog
- Building retail solutions with Azure IoT Central via Bert Van Hoof
- Advancing industrial IoT capabilities in Azure Time Series Insights via Chandrika Shankarnarayan
- Azure IoT Central: Democratizing IoT for all solution builders via Bert Van Hoof
- IoT security will set innovation free: Azure Sphere general availability scheduled for February 2020 via Todd VanderArk
Machine Learning (ML) / Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Azure Machine Learning—ML for all skill levels via Venky Veeraraghavan
- What is RPA, and why is Microsoft Power Automate relevant? Human-centred AI makes the most of our human talents. via Jen Stirrup
- AI Builder: If data is the new oil, AI is the new electricity to make your data work but AI is nothing without data. via Jen Stirrup
- Companies of all sizes tackle real business problems with Azure AI via Eric Boyd
- Cognitive Automation is the Immediate Future of Team Management via Srini Murali
- Using AI to track Microsoft Ignite on Twitter via jamie_maguire
- Announcing AI@Edge community pages! via Featured Blog
- TensorFlow 2.0 on Azure: Fine-tuning BERT for question tagging via Gopal Vashishtha
- New in Stream Analytics: Machine Learning, online scaling, custom code, and more via Krishna Mamidipaka
- Automated machine learning and MLOps with Azure Machine Learning via Nishant Thacker
DevOps / Development
- Custom Azure Sphere Windows Terminal Developer Command Prompt via Chris Pietschmann
- Improved Continuous Delivery capabilities and caching for Azure Pipelines via Roopesh Nair
- Are you a Microsoft 365 Developer? It’s Time to be Certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Empowering developer velocity with the most complete toolchain via Nicole Herskowitz
- ASP.NET Core updates in .NET Core 3.1 Preview 2 via Daniel Roth
- Microsoft Announces Expanded Support for Robotics Development in Windows via Mehedi Hassan
- Are you a Power Apps Developer? It’s Time to be certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Are you a Microsoft Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer? Beta exam now available via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express simulated Visual Studio Code’s Device Simulator Express via Scott Hanselman
- Using MQTT protocol to communicate with Azure IoT Hub without using any SDK via Featured Blog
Containers (Docker, Kubernetes, Service Fabric, etc)
- Build a Kubernetes “Intelligent Edge” Cluster on Raspberry Pi via Featured Blog
- Learn About Modern Apps on Azure with Docker at Microsoft Ignite via Robert Duffner
- AMD’s Datacenter Business Breaks Through $1 Billion Run Rate via Timothy Prickett Morgan
Blockchain / Smart Contracts
- Microsoft Ignite: Blockchain and Inclusion via Paul Swider
Security, Identity, and Privacy
- Assign and verify Azure AD custom domain using Azure App Service Domains via Sanganak – Authority
- Microsoft Ignite 2019 – End-to-End Security for All Your XaaS Resources via AFinn
- Get-ADObject: Reporting on Active Directory with PowerShell via Kevin Sapp
- How to balance compliance and security with limited resources via Todd VanderArk
- Microsoft Intelligent Security Association grows to more than 80 members via Todd VanderArk
- Azure Sentinel updates: Improve your security operations with innovations from a cloud-native SIEM via Todd VanderArk
- Further enhancing security from Microsoft, not just for Microsoft via Todd VanderArk
- Microsoft announces new innovations in security, compliance, and identity at Ignite via Todd VanderArk
- Talk: Running #Azure Securely – Granite State Code Camp #GSCC – Are all these security features for me? via Bill Wilder
- How to Interpret Azure Security Alerts for Azure Storage Accounts via Rick Vanover
- Managing Azure Active Directory Group-Based Office 365 Licensing via Dustin Dortch
- Improve security with a Zero Trust access model via Todd VanderArk
- Gartner names Microsoft a Leader in the 2019 Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) Magic Quadrant via Todd VanderArk
- Best practices for adding layered security to Azure security with Check Point’s CloudGuard IaaS via Todd VanderArk
- Microsoft and partners design new device security requirements to protect against targeted firmware attacks via Eric Avena
- IoT security will set innovation free: Azure Sphere general availability scheduled for February 2020 via Todd VanderArk
Azure Stack
- Expanding the Azure Stack portfolio to run hybrid applications across the cloud, datacenters, and the edge via Talal Alqinawi
- Azure Stack – Ignite 2019 updates! via Mark Scholman
- Microsoft’s Hybrid 2.0 strategy: Azure Arc, Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack Edge explained via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Learn about Azure Stack Migration in this Video Series via Thomas Maurer
Learning / Training / Certification
- Continue your learning journey: Exciting new certifications and training experience on Microsoft Learn via Alex Payne, GM, Global Technical Learning at Microsoft Worldwide Learning
- Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals Beta Exam Now Available via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Are you a Microsoft 365 Developer? It’s Time to be Certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Are you a Power Apps Developer? It’s Time to be certified via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
- Are you a Microsoft Dynamics 365: Finance and Operations Apps Developer? Beta exam now available via Liberty Munson (Microsoft)
XBox / xCloud
- A Closer Look at xCloud Latency via Brad Sams
Government
Hardware
- Surface Pro X vs. Pro 7: ARM needs some legs via Tom Warren
- Surface Pro X available today via Panos Panay
Software
- Microsoft makes its unified Office Mobile app available to Android and iOS users via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Microsoft brings OneNote 2016 desktop app back to life with new dark mode via Tom Warren
- Outlook for Mac gets a new design and big performance improvements via Tom Warren
- Microsoft’s Edge Chromium browser will launch on January 15th with a new logo via Tom Warren
- Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge browser to be generally available January 15, 2020 via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Microsoft’s new Office app for iOS and Android combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint via Tom Warren
- Microsoft Reveals New Logo for Microsoft Edge via Mehedi Hassan
Events
- Microsoft Ignite 2019 Book of News via Chris Pietschmann
- Microsoft Ignite: Blockchain and Inclusion via Paul Swider
- Microsoft Ignite – Day 2 Roundup via Thomas Thornton
- Microsoft Ignite 2019 – What’s New In Azure Networking? via AFinn
- Microsoft Ignite 2019 – Deep Dive on Azure Governance via AFinn
- Microsoft Ignite 2019 – End-to-End Security for All Your XaaS Resources via AFinn
- Microsoft Ignite 2019: all the news from Microsoft’s enterprise IT event via Jay Peters
- MS Ignite 2019 – Day 1 – Key Announcements via noreply@blogger.com (Anupama Natarajan)
- Microsoft Ignite – Day 1 Roundup via Thomas Thornton
- Watch Microsoft’s Ignite Keynote Live with Commentary by Mary Jo Foley and Paul Thurrott via Brad Sams
- Microsoft Ignite 2019: Meet Project Cortex, Office 365 knowledge-management service via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Using AI to track Microsoft Ignite on Twitter via jamie_maguire
- Learn About Modern Apps on Azure with Docker at Microsoft Ignite via Robert Duffner
Other
- Microsoft to release an alpha of WinUI 3.0 next week via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- New Azure investments deliver unprecedented performance for all your business-critical applications via Erin Chapple
- Growing partner opportunity with Azure innovation via Tanuj Bansal
- Microsoft starts embedding Cortana in Outlook Mobile via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Microsoft is doing a better job developing for the web than for Windows via Dieter Bohn
- Microsoft Japan’s four-day working week trial led to productivity improvements via Jon Porter
- Microsoft Introduces Unified Office App on the Phone via Mehedi Hassan
- Microsoft previews the future of Office documents with Fluid Framework for the web via Tom Warren
- Microsoft is bringing Cortana to Outlook for iOS and Android with a new ‘masculine’ voice via Tom Warren
- Microsoft: Slack doesn’t have the ‘breadth and depth’ to reinvent work via Tom Warren
- Microservices Fundamentals via Mark Heath
- More Bird’s Eye imagery has been released and static maps API support added! via Bing Team
- Microsoft is poised to add machine-reading results to Microsoft Search via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Enabling Diagnostic Logging in Azure API for FHIR® via Matjaz Ladava
- Microsoft’s new Project service is now available worldwide via ZDNet | microsoft RSS
- Rain or shine: Azure Maps Weather Services will bring insights to your enterprise via Chris Pendleton
Videos
Here are links to some of the videos that have been posted over the past week:- Azure App Configuration | The Cloud Native Show via Channel 9
- How (and When) To: Memory Optimized TempDB Metadata | Data Exposed via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Azure Time Series Insights features for Public Preview Refresh via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Azure IoT Edge integration with Nvidia Deepstream via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- How to prepare data using wrangling data flows in Azure Data Factory via Azure Friday (HD) – Channel 9
- Azure Blockchain Tokens Part 3: Templates and Composability via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Azure Blockchain Tokens Part 2: Managing Accounts via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Azure Blockchain Tokens Part 1: Getting Started via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- No Code Deployment and Enriched Model Registry with AML Service | AI Show via Channel 9
- Viewing and publishing ledger data using data manager for Azure Blockchain Service. via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- No Code Deployment and Enriched Model Registry with AML Service via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Designer Drag and Drop ML via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- R Support in Azure Machine Learning via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- What’s new with Azure Machine Learning via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Simplifying Machine Learning with Automated ML via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Mark Russinovich on Azure SQL Database Edge, Hyperscale, and beyond | Data Exposed via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- How Service Meshes Work in Kubernetes via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Simple Application Management on Kubernetes with Operators via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Unify your data lakes with HDFS tiering | Data Exposed via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- TWC9: Halloween Vibes, Windows Terminal Preview, WSL 2 Updates, New PowerToys and more | This Week On Channel 9 via Channel 9
- Big Data Clusters deployment overview | Data Exposed via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
- Mark Russinovich on Azure SQL Database Edge, Hyperscale and beyond | Data Exposed via Channel 9
- How to defend against denial of service attacks with Azure DDoS Protection via Azure Friday (HD) – Channel 9
- Introducing Data Virtualization | Data Exposed via Channel 9
- How to expedite container startup with Project Teleport and Azure Container Registry | Azure Friday via Channel 9
- The Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform: An Introduction via Microsoft Developer (uploads) on YouTube
Podcast
To complete the collection of different mediums to allow you to consume your Azure news / info in any way you want, here’s a list of the podcasts released this week:- Episode 329 | Microsoft Ignite 2019 Short – Catching Up With Avepoints Dux Sy via Microsoft Cloud Show
- Episode 328 | Microsoft Ignite 2019 – Thoughts From Day 1 via Microsoft Cloud Show
- Episode 327 | Microsoft Ignite 2019 Announcements via Microsoft Cloud Show
- Jeff Hollan on Azure Functions and Serverless – Episode 61 via Azure DevOps Podcast
- Episode 303 – Azure Backup – Road to Ignite 2019 via The Azure Podcast
- Episode 149 – The End Of Acronym Soup (aka Unified Labels) via Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast
- Episode 326 | Leaving Microsoft, Migrating to O365 and Crushing the Street via Microsoft Cloud Show
- Shayne Boyer on the Landscape of Containers and Cloud-Native – Episode 60 via Azure DevOps Podcast
Azure Service Updates
Here are the latest service updates from Microsoft over the last week:- Azure HDInsight now enables you to customize Azure SQL Database for Ambari
- Native Azure Active Directory authentication support in point-to-site VPN
- Azure Cognitive Services Text Analytics—New languages added to sentiment analysis
- Azure SQL Database—Billing for managed instance backup storage is now in effect
- Transparent data encryption with customer-managed keys for Azure SQL Database managed instance is now generally available
- Azure Database for MySQL support for intelligent performance is now available
- Azure Database for MariaDB support for intelligent performance is now available
- Azure Stream Analytics—Extensibility with C# custom code UDFs
- Announcing enhancements to Azure Virtual WAN
- Azure HDInsight—Restrict outbound network traffic clusters by using Firewall
- Python 3.7 support and remote build are now generally available
- New version of Durable Functions available now
- Azure Functions integration with Azure Monitor Logs is now in public preview
- Azure Site Recovery now cleans up deallocated (failed back) VMs and NICs
- Azure Private Link is now available in all regions
- Azure Firewall Manager is now in preview
- New memory and compute optimized hardware options in Azure SQL Database
- Azure Site Recovery update rollup 41—October 2019
- Updates to Azure Cost Management—October 2019
- Leverage Azure premium file shares for high availability of data
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Chris Pietschmann
Microsoft MVP – Azure
Founder, BuildAzure.com