Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 407 – Model Context Protocol (MCP) Part 1: The USB Port of AI Communications Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 407 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, we dive deep into the Model Context Protocol (MCP) - a game-changing specification that's extending the capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) and creating exciting new possibilities for IT professionals working with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. MCP represents a significant shift toward more extensible and domain-specific AI interactions. Instead of being limited to pre-trained knowledge, you can now connect your AI tools directly to live data sources, APIs, and services that matter to your specific role and organization. Whether you're managing Azure infrastructure, creating content, or developing solutions, MCP provides a framework to make your AI interactions more powerful and contextually relevant to your daily workflows. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Introducing the Model Context Protocol Understanding MCP server concepts Understanding MCP client concepts A list of applications that support MCP integrations About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 406 – Agents of Insight: Copilot in Action and Sentinel on the Move Jul 17, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 406 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Ben and Scott discuss their recent experiences and thoughts on Microsoft's Copilot features and agents, specifically focusing on the Researcher and Analyst agents. They share practical applications and benefits of these tools, such as using Researcher for meeting preparations and Analyst for exploring data, summarizing data, and even coming up with python script to use with data. Additionally, they cover the upcoming migration of Microsoft Sentinel to the Defender portal, discussing its implications and potential future changes for other security tools. The episode ends with a teaser about an upcoming discussion on MCPs for AI! Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Introducing Researcher and Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot Introducing Deep Research in Azure AI Foundry Agent Service Get started with Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot Researcher agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Analyst agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Get started with Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot New reasoning agents: Researcher and Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot Planning your move to Microsoft Defender portal for all Microsoft Sentinel customers About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 405 – Loop, Loop Workspaces, Loop Pages, Copilot Pages, Copilot Notebooks, Copilot Notebooks in OneNote Notebooks Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 405 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Ben and Scott tackle the increasingly complex world of Microsoft's notebook ecosystem, exploring the new Copilot notebooks feature and how it relates to existing tools like OneNote and Loop. They break down the confusing landscape where "a notebook is not a notebook unless a notebook is a notebook in the right place." Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Overview of Copilot Pages and Copilot Notebooks storage | Microsoft Learn Overview of Copilot Pages, Copilot Notebooks, and Loop workspaces permissions Overview of Loop storage | Microsoft Learn Copilot Pages, OneNote, Loop…where should I store my notes and tasks? About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 404: The Microsoft 365 Landing Page Shake-Up Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 404 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Ben and Scott discuss the latest change Microsoft has rolled out to the Microsoft 365 user experience, redirecting users from the familiar portal.office.com to a new Copilot-centric landing page. This shift has caught many IT professionals off guard, rendering existing training documentation obsolete and creating user confusion across organizations. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes WTF is happening with office.com? New Microsoft 365 Home Page How to Use the NEW Microsoft 365 Copilot Experience! About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 403 – Catching up on all the news from Microsoft Build 2025 Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 403 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast where Ben and Scott catch up on some of their favorite announcements and news from Microsoft Build 2025. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot Tuning New Microsoft 365 Copilot Tuning | Create fine-tuned models to write like you do Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath Announcing Microsoft Entra Agent ID: Secure and manage your AI agents Enterprise-grade controls for AI apps and agents built with Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio Quickstart: View enterprise applications BRK195: Inside Azure innovations with Mark Russinovich Microsoft Build 2025 - BOOK OF NEWS About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 402 – Declarative Agents with Andrew Connell May 22, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 402 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In today's episode, we’re thrilled to have Andrew Connell (AC) joining us once again. If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll recognize AC as a repeat guest and one of the early voices who encouraged us to launch this podcast. In this episode, we’re diving deep into the world of Microsoft Copilot agents from a bit of a developer’s perspective . We expand on insights from Episode 400 and helping us understand some additional intricacies of how Copilot works under the hood. We’ll break down the different billing models and some limitations in what they provide and why having at least one $30 license is key to unlocking the semantic index. We’ll also explore how Copilot uses semantic indexing to ground responses in your organization’s data, and how it respects user permissions through access control lists. But it’s not all smooth sailing—AC also walks us through some of the current limitations, like missing metadata and large file indexing. He also shares a potential workaround using Azure AI Search for those needing more comprehensive coverage. Finally, we this weeks Microsoft Build Conference and tease a potential future episode where ACw will return to talk about custom Copilot development. Andrew Connell LinkedIn YouTube BlueSky Newsletter: The Full Stack Dev's Microsoft 365 Playbook Podcast: Code. Deploy. Go Live. - codedeploygo.live Code. Deploy. Go Live on YouTube Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Episode 400 – Microsoft 365 Copilot Declarative Agents and Copilot Studio Agent Builder Create Copilot agents in Microsoft 365 Business Chat and Teams Grounding an agent to specific public websites Semantic indexing for Microsoft 365 Copilot Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 401 – Zero Trust in Microsoft 365 May 08, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 401 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Ben Stegink and Scott Hoag dive into the intricacies of implementing Zero Trust principles within Microsoft 365 environments. They explore the foundational aspects of Zero Trust, starting with identity management and the importance of Entra ID. They also cover: Identity Management: The critical role of identity in Zero Trust, including MFA, password policies, and least privilege access. Endpoint Security: Strategies for verifying and managing devices, including compliance checks and the balance between corporate and BYOD devices. Networking: The complexities of securing network traffic in a SaaS environment, including conditional access policies and the emerging Global Secure Access feature. Application Management: The role of Defender for Cloud in monitoring shadow IT and ensuring data security across various applications. Data Protection: Techniques for safeguarding sensitive information, including DLP policies and the upcoming network-level DLP capabilities. Join us as we unpack these topics and provide practical insights for enhancing your organization's security posture with Zero Trust. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Zero Trust deployment for technology pillars Securing identity with Zero Trust Secure endpoints with Zero Trust Secure endpoints with Zero Trust Secure applications with Zero Trust Secure data with Zero Trust Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 400 – Microsoft 365 Copilot Declarative Agents and Copilot Studio Agent Builder Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 400 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, Ben and Scott explore how IT professionals and developers can leverage Microsoft 365 Copilot’s declarative agents and the Copilot Studio Agent Builder to enhance productivity and streamline workflows within their organizations. Declarative agents allow you to define specific tasks and workflows, enabling Copilot to assist users more effectively. With the Copilot Studio Agent Builder, creating these agents becomes a streamlined process, even for those with minimal coding experience. Listen and learn how to build, deploy, and manage these agents, licensing considerations, and best practices to maximize their impact in your organization. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Use the Copilot Studio Agent Builder to Build Agents Copilot Studio Agent Builder Templates Publish and Manage Copilot Studio Agent Builder Agents Build and Install the Declarative Agent in Copilot Studio Copilot Studio Licensing Information About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 399 – Azure Infrastructure as Code with Greg Suttie Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 399 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode, we bring you another interview from the MVP Summit. In this episode, we were able to meet up with long time listener Greg Suttie and talk about his path to becoming an MVP as well as some of what he's been working on in Azure. We cover everything he been doing with Infrastructure as code around Bicep, Azure Verified Modules, Azure Bicep Configuration files and more! Greg Suttie Greg is an Azure MVP and Microsoft Certified Trainer. He also a passionate developer with 25 years experience, mainly with Microsoft Technologies and background is a .NET developer since the start of .NET. – He was one of the first 50 people in the world to become an MCSD developer back in the day. Recently awarded the Outstanding contribution to the Microsoft Community UK Winner and then the Outstanding contribution to the Microsoft Community Global Winner both for 2023. Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes Greg Suttie - MVP Profile Greg Suttie's blog Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) What is IaC What is Bicep? Comparing JSON and Bicep for templates Quickstart: Integrate Bicep with Azure Pipelines Azure Verified Modules Azure Verified Modules What is the Azure Well-Architected Framework? Azure Quick Review Docs Azure Quick Review Github Azure Bicep Parameters Bicep Configuration Files Export a resource from the Azure Portal Visual Studio Code GitHub Copilot About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

Episode 398 – PowerShell and Intune with Harm Veenstra Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 398 of the Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast. In this episode Ben meets up with Harm Veenstra at the annual Microsoft MVP Summit. They chat a bit about Harm experience as an MVP and his path to becoming an MVP. Then the move into a few technologies near and dear to Harm, PowerShell and Microsoft Intune. They start off talking about some of the ways Harm uses PowerShell and some of his favorite scripts. They talk about how he uses PowerShell with Intune, in particular using it with remediation scripts. Harm Veenstra Harm started working at 18, from a ServiceDesk employee to a workspace and system engineer at a large insurance firm in the Netherlands. 1996, those were the days! After working there for almost 11 years, Harm had different system engineer jobs and learned much about Citrix, Cisco, VMWare, storage, and Microsoft. Currently, He's employed at NEXXT (https://www.nexxt.one) as a Consultant, mainly in Endpoint Management, but He does anything Microsoft 😉 (Client, Server, 365, and Azure). And… He became a Microsoft MVP in March 2024 in PowerShell! Your support makes this show possible! Please consider becoming a premium member for access to live shows and more. Check out our membership options. Show Notes PowerShell is fun w/ Harm Connect with Harm on LinkedIn Harm's MVP Profile Microsoft PowerShell documentation Microsoft Intune documentation Intune Remediations Microsoft Graph PowerShell About the sponsors Would you like to become the irreplaceable Microsoft 365 resource for your organization? Let us know!

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