Azure for Decision Makers


Book Description

Develop expertise in Azure to plan, guide, and lead a streamlined modernization process Key Features Explore core Azure infrastructure technologies and solutions Achieve smooth app migration and modernization goals with cloud design Master Azure architecture and adopt it to scale your business globally Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook Book DescriptionAzure for Decision Makers provides a comprehensive overview of the latest updates in cloud security, hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions, and cloud migration in Azure. This book is a must-have introduction to the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, demonstrating the substantial scope of digital transformation and innovation that can be achieved with Azure's capabilities. The first set of chapters will get you up to speed with Microsoft Azure's evolution before showing you how to integrate it into your existing IT infrastructure. Next, you’ll gain practical insights into application migration and modernization, focusing mainly on migration planning, implementation, and best practices. Throughout the book, you’ll get the information you need to spearhead a smooth migration and modernization process, detailing Azure infrastructure as a service (IaaS) deployment, infrastructure management, and key application architectures. The concluding chapters will help you to identify and incorporate best practices for cost optimization and management, Azure DevOps, and Azure automation. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to lead end-to-end Azure operations for your organization and effectively cost-optimize your processes ─ from the planning and cloud migration stage through to troubleshooting.What you will learn Find out how to optimize business costs with Azure Strategize the migration of applications to the cloud with Azure Smooth out the deployment and running of Azure infrastructure services Effectively define roles, responsibilities, and governance frameworks in DevOps Maximize the utility of Azure security fundamentals and best practices Adopt best practices to make the most of your Azure deployment Who this book is forAzure for Decision Makers is for business and IT decision makers who want to choose the right technology solutions for their businesses and optimize their management processes. It’ll help you develop expertise in operating and administering the Azure cloud. This book will also be useful for CIOs and CTOs looking to understand more about how IT can make their business infrastructure more efficient and easier to use, which will reduce friction within their organization. Knowledge of Azure is helpful, but not necessary to get the most out of this guide.




Beginning Azure Cognitive Services


Book Description

Get started with Azure Cognitive Services and its APIs that expose machine learning as a service. This book introduces the suite of Azure Cognitive Services and helps you take advantage of the proven machine learning algorithms that have been developed by experts and made available through Cognitive Services, easily integrating those algorithms into your own applications without having to develop the algorithms from scratch. The book also shows you how to use the algorithms provided by Cognitive Services to accelerate data analysis and development within your organization. The authors begin by introducing the tools and describing the steps needed to invoke libraries to analyze structured and unstructured text, speech, and pictures, and you will learn to create interactive chatbots using the Cognitive Services libraries. Each chapter contains the information you need to implement artificial intelligence (AI) via Azure Cognitive Services in your personal and professional projects. The book also covers ethical considerations that are becoming increasingly of concern when using AI to drive decision making. You will be introduced to tools such as FairLearn and InterpretML that can help you detect bias and understand the results your models are generating. You will learn to: Invoke the Cognitive Services APIs from a variety of languages and apps Understand common design architectures for AI solutions in Azure Decrease discrimination and bias when creating an AI-driven solution Execute the examples within the book and learn how to extend those examples Implement best practices for leveraging the Vision, Speech, and Language parts of the suite Test Cognitive Services APIs via the Azure portal and using the Postman API tool Execute AI from low-code and no-code platforms like Logic Apps and Microsoft's Power Platform.




Microsoft Azure Data Solutions - An Introduction


Book Description

Discover and apply the Azure platform's most powerful data solutions Cloud technologies are advancing at an accelerating pace, supplanting traditional relational and data warehouse storage solutions with novel, high-value alternatives. Now, three pioneering Azure Data consultants offer an expert introduction to the relational, non-relational, and data warehouse solutions offered by the Azure platform. Drawing on their extensive experience helping organizations get more value from the Microsoft Data Platform, the authors guide you through decision-making, implementation, operations, security, and more. Throughout, step-by-step tutorials and hands-on exercises prepare you to succeed, even if you have no cloud data experience. Three leading experts in Microsoft Azure Data Solutions show how to: Master essential concepts of data storage and processing in cloud environments Handle the changing responsibilities of data engineers moving to the cloud Get started with Azure data storage accounts and other data facilities Walk through implementing relational and non-relational data stores in Azure Secure data using the least-permissions principle, Azure Active Directory, role-based access control, and other methods Develop efficient Azure batch processing and streaming solutions Monitor Azure SQL databases, blob storage, data lakes, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Cosmos DB Optimize Azure data solutions by solving problems with storage, management, and service interactions About This Book For data engineers, systems engineers, IT managers, developers, database administrators, cloud architects, and other IT professionals Requires little or no knowledge about Azure tools and services for data analysis




Microsoft Azure Essentials Azure Machine Learning


Book Description

Microsoft Azure Essentials from Microsoft Press is a series of free ebooks designed to help you advance your technical skills with Microsoft Azure. This third ebook in the series introduces Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, a service that a developer can use to build predictive analytics models (using training datasets from a variety of data sources) and then easily deploy those models for consumption as cloud web services. The ebook presents an overview of modern data science theory and principles, the associated workflow, and then covers some of the more common machine learning algorithms in use today. It builds a variety of predictive analytics models using real world data, evaluates several different machine learning algorithms and modeling strategies, and then deploys the finished models as machine learning web services on Azure within a matter of minutes. The ebook also expands on a working Azure Machine Learning predictive model example to explore the types of client and server applications you can create to consume Azure Machine Learning web services. Watch Microsoft Press’s blog and Twitter (@MicrosoftPress) to learn about other free ebooks in the Microsoft Azure Essentials series.




Microsoft Azure Security Center


Book Description

Discover high-value Azure security insights, tips, and operational optimizations This book presents comprehensive Azure Security Center techniques for safeguarding cloud and hybrid environments. Leading Microsoft security and cloud experts Yuri Diogenes and Dr. Thomas Shinder show how to apply Azure Security Center’s full spectrum of features and capabilities to address protection, detection, and response in key operational scenarios. You’ll learn how to secure any Azure workload, and optimize virtually all facets of modern security, from policies and identity to incident response and risk management. Whatever your role in Azure security, you’ll learn how to save hours, days, or even weeks by solving problems in most efficient, reliable ways possible. Two of Microsoft’s leading cloud security experts show how to: • Assess the impact of cloud and hybrid environments on security, compliance, operations, data protection, and risk management • Master a new security paradigm for a world without traditional perimeters • Gain visibility and control to secure compute, network, storage, and application workloads • Incorporate Azure Security Center into your security operations center • Integrate Azure Security Center with Azure AD Identity Protection Center and third-party solutions • Adapt Azure Security Center’s built-in policies and definitions for your organization • Perform security assessments and implement Azure Security Center recommendations • Use incident response features to detect, investigate, and address threats • Create high-fidelity fusion alerts to focus attention on your most urgent security issues • Implement application whitelisting and just-in-time VM access • Monitor user behavior and access, and investigate compromised or misused credentials • Customize and perform operating system security baseline assessments • Leverage integrated threat intelligence to identify known bad actors




Mastering Identity and Access Management with Microsoft Azure


Book Description

Start empowering users and protecting corporate data, while managing Identities and Access with Microsoft Azure in different environments About This Book Deep dive into the Microsoft Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) solution Design, implement and manage simple and complex hybrid identity and access management environments Learn to apply solution architectures directly to your business needs and understand how to identify and manage business drivers during transitions Who This Book Is For This book is for business decision makers, IT consultants, and system and security engineers who wish to plan, design, and implement Identity and Access Management solutions with Microsoft Azure. What You Will Learn Apply technical descriptions and solution architectures directly to your business needs and deployments Identify and manage business drivers and architecture changes to transition between different scenarios Understand and configure all relevant Identity and Access Management key features and concepts Implement simple and complex directory integration, authentication, and authorization scenarios Get to know about modern identity management, authentication, and authorization protocols and standards Implement and configure a modern information protection solution Integrate and configure future improvements in authentication and authorization functionality of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 In Detail Microsoft Azure and its Identity and Access Management is at the heart of Microsoft's Software as a Service, including Office 365, Dynamics CRM, and Enterprise Mobility Management. It is an essential tool to master in order to effectively work with the Microsoft Cloud. Through practical, project based learning this book will impart that mastery. Beginning with the basics of features and licenses, this book quickly moves on to the user and group lifecycle required to design roles and administrative units for role-based access control (RBAC). Learn to design Azure AD to be an identity provider and provide flexible and secure access to SaaS applications. Get to grips with how to configure and manage users, groups, roles, and administrative units to provide a user- and group-based application and self-service access including the audit functionality. Next find out how to take advantage of managing common identities with the Microsoft Identity Manager 2016 and build cloud identities with the Azure AD Connect utility. Construct blueprints with different authentication scenarios including multi-factor authentication. Discover how to configure and manage the identity synchronization and federation environment along with multi -factor authentication, conditional access, and information protection scenarios to apply the required security functionality. Finally, get recommendations for planning and implementing a future-oriented and sustainable identity and access management strategy. Style and approach A practical, project-based learning experience explained through hands-on examples.




The Modern Data Warehouse in Azure


Book Description

Build a modern data warehouse on Microsoft's Azure Platform that is flexible, adaptable, and fast—fast to snap together, reconfigure, and fast at delivering results to drive good decision making in your business. Gone are the days when data warehousing projects were lumbering dinosaur-style projects that took forever, drained budgets, and produced business intelligence (BI) just in time to tell you what to do 10 years ago. This book will show you how to assemble a data warehouse solution like a jigsaw puzzle by connecting specific Azure technologies that address your own needs and bring value to your business. You will see how to implement a range of architectural patterns using batches, events, and streams for both data lake technology and SQL databases. You will discover how to manage metadata and automation to accelerate the development of your warehouse while establishing resilience at every level. And you will know how to feed downstream analytic solutions such as Power BI and Azure Analysis Services to empower data-driven decision making that drives your business forward toward a pattern of success. This book teaches you how to employ the Azure platform in a strategy to dramatically improve implementation speed and flexibility of data warehousing systems. You will know how to make correct decisions in design, architecture, and infrastructure such as choosing which type of SQL engine (from at least three options) best meets the needs of your organization. You also will learn about ETL/ELT structure and the vast number of accelerators and patterns that can be used to aid implementation and ensure resilience. Data warehouse developers and architects will find this book a tremendous resource for moving their skills into the future through cloud-based implementations. What You Will LearnChoose the appropriate Azure SQL engine for implementing a given data warehouse Develop smart, reusable ETL/ELT processes that are resilient and easily maintained Automate mundane development tasks through tools such as PowerShell Ensure consistency of data by creating and enforcing data contracts Explore streaming and event-driven architectures for data ingestionCreate advanced staging layers using Azure Data Lake Gen 2 to feed your data warehouse Who This Book Is For Data warehouse or ETL/ELT developers who wish to implement a data warehouse project in the Azure cloud, and developers currently working in on-premise environments who want to move to the cloud, and for developers with Azure experience looking to tighten up their implementation and consolidate their knowledge




Exam Ref 70-533 Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions


Book Description

Prepare for the newest versions of Microsoft Exam 70-533–and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Designed for experienced IT professionals ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the MCSA level. Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: Design and implement Azure App Service Apps Create and manage compute resources, and implement containers Design and implement a storage strategy, including storage encryption Implement virtual networks, including new techniques for hybrid connections Design and deploy ARM Templates Manage Azure security and Recovery Services Manage Azure operations, including automation and data analysis Manage identities with Azure AD Connect Health, Azure AD Domain Services, and Azure AD single sign on This Microsoft Exam Ref: Organizes its coverage by exam objectives Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you Assumes you are an IT professional with experience implementing and monitoring cloud and hybrid solutions and/or supporting application lifecycle management This book covers the 533 objectives as of December 2017. If there are updates for this book, you will find them at https://aka.ms/examref5332E/errata. About the Exam Exam 70-533 focuses on skills and knowledge for provisioning and managing services in Microsoft Azure, including: implementing infrastructure components such as virtual networks, virtual machines, containers, web and mobile apps, and storage; planning and managing Azure AD, and configuring Azure AD integration with on-premises Active Directory domains. About Microsoft Certification Passing this exam helps qualify you for MCSA: Cloud Platform Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate certification, demonstrating your expertise in applying Microsoft cloud technologies to reduce costs and deliver value. To earn this certification, you must also pass any one of the following exams: 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions, or 70-534 Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions, or 70-535, Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions, or 70-537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack.




Exam Ref 70-532 Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions


Book Description

Prepare for Microsoft Exam 70-532--and help demonstrate your real-world mastery of Microsoft Azure solution development. Designed for experienced developers ready to advance their status, Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the Microsoft Specialist level. Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: Design and implement Websites Create and manage Virtual Machines Design and implement Cloud Services Design and implement a storage strategy Manage application and network services This Microsoft Exam Ref: Organizes its coverage by exam objectives Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you Will be valuable for Microsoft Azure developers, solution architects, DevOps engineers, and QA engineers Assumes you have experience designing, programming, implementing, automating, and monitoring Microsoft Azure solutions and that you are proficient with tools, techniques, and approaches for building scalable, resilient solutions Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions About the Exam Exam 70-532 focuses on the skills and knowledge needed to develop Microsoft Azure solutions that include websites, virtual machines, cloud services, storage, application services, and network services. About Microsoft Certification Passing this exam earns you a Microsoft Specialist certification in Microsoft Azure, demonstrating your expertise with the Microsoft Azure enterprise-grade cloud platform. You can earn this certification by passing Exam 70-532, Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions; or Exam 70-533, Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions; or Exam 70-534, Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions. See full details at: microsoft.com/learning




Azure for Architects


Book Description

Your one stop guide to making the most out of Azure Cloud About This Book Get familiar with the different design patterns available in Microsoft Azure Develop Azure cloud architecture and a pipeline management system Get to know the security best practices for your Azure deployment Who This Book Is For If you are Cloud Architects, DevOps Engineers, or developers who want to learn key architectural aspects of the Azure Cloud platform, then this book is for you. Prior basic knowledge of the Azure Cloud platform is good to have. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with the components of the Azure Cloud platform Understand the cloud design patterns Use enterprise security guidelines for your Azure deployment Design and implement Serverless solutions See Cloud architecture and the deployment pipeline Understand cost management for Azure solutions In Detail Over the years, Azure cloud services has grown quickly, and the number of organizations adopting Azure for their cloud services is also gradually increasing. Leading industry giants are finding that Azure fulfills their extensive cloud requirements. This book will guide you through all the important and tough decision-making aspects involved in architecturing a Azure public cloud for your organization. The book starts with an extensive introduction to all the categories of designs available with Azure. These design patterns focus on different aspects of cloud such as high availability, data management, and so on. Gradually, we move on to various aspects such as building your cloud structure and architecture. It will also include a brief description about different types of services provided by Azure, such as Azure functions and Azure Analytics, which can prove beneficial for an organization. This book will cover each and every aspect and function required to develop a Azure cloud based on your organizational requirements. By the end of this book, you will be in a position to develop a full-fledged Azure cloud. Style and approach This hands-on guide to the Azure Cloud platform covers different architectural concepts and implementations necessary for any enterprise scale deployment.