Models, Optimisation, and Governance: Microsoft Cloud’s August Highlights

This week’s updates across Microsoft Cloud reflect a clear direction: deeper AI integration, stronger security, and scalable innovation. From Copilot’s expanding agent capabilities to Azure’s Agent Factory and Microsoft Research’s Dion optimizer, the pace of transformation is accelerating. I’ve curated the most impactful updates from Microsoft’s own blogs and documentation—and taken a deeper dive into... Continue Reading →

August 26, 2025 0

Scaling AI with Precision: How Microsoft 365 Copilot’s New PAYG Model Changes the Game

Introduction: From AI Hype to Practical Enablement Over the past year, I’ve had countless conversations with clients and colleagues about the promise of Microsoft 365 Copilot. The excitement is real—but so are the challenges. How do we scale Copilot across departments with different needs? How do we manage costs without slowing innovation? And how do... Continue Reading →

August 1, 2025 0

Microsoft Sentinel Data Lake: Transforming Security Operations for the Future

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying ahead of threats requires constant innovation and adaptation. Microsoft has once again demonstrated its commitment to empowering security operations teams with the introduction of a groundbreaking update to its cloud-native Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platform, Microsoft Sentinel. Announced in July 2025, the new Microsoft Sentinel data... Continue Reading →

July 25, 2025 0

My Microsoft Certification Challenge & Journey

This week’s entry for Reaching for the Cloud slightly differs from the usual content I publish. It is unrelated to security or cloud strategy/technology and is more focused on a personal challenge or journey. About a week or so ago, someone made (probably a flippant) comment, indicating that they expect me to attain all the... Continue Reading →

May 27, 2025 1

Is the future of public cloud sovereign?

Brad Smith from Microsoft recently shared a blog post titled 'Microsoft's New European Digital Commitments (https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/04/30/european-digital-commitments/). This broad whitepaper covered a range of topics, including data centre expansion to provide scale for AI services and announcements around digital resiliency, security, encryption, and data and privacy commitments. However, two key points caught my attention: First, Microsoft... Continue Reading →