

Let's Talk Azure!
Alan Armstrong & Sam Foot
Listen with Alan Armstrong and Sam Foot as we talk about all things Microsoft Azure! We are both technical consultants working with Azure day in, day out. Alan focuses on Identity and Security automation while Sam is a .NET developer deploying PaaS and SaaS solutions on Azure. Each episode we have a topic we cover and we highlight some key news that we are interested in. No fluff, sales or products here, just two technical people having a light hearted chat.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 20, 2026 • 40min
S7E6 - ITDR - A must in all organisations
Alan and Sam discuss the importance of monitoring identities across all systems. Alan goes through wat ITDR is, why it is important and the benefit. Here are a few areas we covered:Why is it important to monitory your identitieswhat is Identity Threat Detect and Response (ITDR)How does Microsoft provide ITDRHow is it licensedWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Mar 13, 2026 • 48min
S7E5 - February News
This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Feb 27, 2026 • 56min
S7E4 - Unified Tenant Configuration Management APIs
Alan and Sam dive into configuration drift with M365 and assessment against security baselines. Here are a few things we covered:What is configuration drift, and why a security baseline is important.Microsoft’s new Unified Tenant Configuration Management APIs for managing drifts.How to get it set up and advice for authentication.What’s covered, the limitations and how it works.What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Feb 13, 2026 • 57min
S7E03 - January News
This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Jan 30, 2026 • 50min
S7E02 - Entra Account Recovery - Next Level Self Service
A deep dive into Entra Account Recovery and how it differs from Self-Service Password Reset. Discussion of verified ID and face checks for identity validation. Practical talk about help desk impacts, setup steps, supported providers, and licensing considerations. Conversation on risk tradeoffs, conditional access limits, and using recovery for onboarding and remote hires.

Jan 16, 2026 • 55min
S7E01 - December News
This week, Alan and Sam Introduce season 7 and talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updatesLots of Azure changes and new featuresWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.

Dec 12, 2025 • 1h 4min
S6E30 - Season 6 Finale!
In this episode, we wrap up the season, where we explore our favorite episodes of the season. We also talk about the what happened in 2025, and how the podcast has grown in terms of listenership and engagement.
As we bid farewell to the season, we also reveal our future plans for the next season, which will start in January 2026. This episode is a great way to end the season and to look forward to the next one. We thank our listeners for their support and feedback, and invite you to stay tuned for more updates and announcements. We wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season, and promise to return with more amazing content in the new year.
What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Nov 28, 2025 • 1h 4min
S6E29 - Ignite 2025 Recap - San Fran and what's hot off the press
This week, Alan and Sam talk about last weeks Microsoft Ignite event and the announcements that came out of it. Alan dives into the in-person experience in San Francisco. They dive into a couple of the announcements that peaked their interest.
Some of the Microsoft product features and updates we covered:
M365 Copilot
Purview
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Defender XDR
Azure
What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

Nov 14, 2025 • 32min
S6E28 - Automate Your Security Baseline with Microsoft’s Open-Source Assessment Tool
In this episode, we dive into Microsoft’s Zero Trust Assessment - an open-source, automated tool that scans hundreds of Entra ID and Intune settings against NIST, CISA, CIS, and Microsoft’s own internal baselines. Discover how it aligns with the Secure Future Initiative, delivers actionable remediation, and turns Zero Trust from theory into measurable reality. Perfect for CISOs, SecOps teams, and anyone tired of spreadsheet audits.Key Takeaways:The Pain of Manual Zero Trust AuditsWhat the Zero Trust Assessment Actually DoesWhy automate your security assessmentsWhat did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript

17 snips
Nov 7, 2025 • 46min
S6E27 - Microsoft updates October- new products and features released
This week, Alan and Sam talk about new features and services that have gone into Public Preview or General Available status in the last month. We dive into a couple of these updates that peaked our interest.
Some of the Microsoft product features and update we covered:
Key Microsoft Entra, Intune and Defender features and updates
Lots of Azure changes and new features
What did you think of this episode? Give us some feedback via our contact form, Or leave us a voice message in the bottom right corner of our site.Read transcript


