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Getting started with Azure Database for PostgreSQL

For as long as I can remember, the default datastore I’ve chosen has always been SQL Server, or Azure SQL depending where I need to deploy my solution. In recent years, I’ve started to expand my understanding of other platforms – including Mongo DB (see my adventures with containers and Mongo DB here), Azure Table Storage (a nice story here on how that ended up) but I’ve yet to try out PostgreSQL. I think I’ve… Read More »Getting started with Azure Database for PostgreSQL

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A few quick updates – and everything is awesome!

While I’m being busy building my new home office setup, recording podcasts, working at Microsoft, studying at school and deciding which porridge to cook for the family in the morning, I’ve had some time to push forward a few interesting projects on the side. Here’s an update! Azure Fest (NL) I’m honored to speak at Azure Fest in the Netherlands on May 28. My talk will obviously be Azure related, but as there are still… Read More »A few quick updates – and everything is awesome!

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Planning my IKEA desktop project

We got the first IKEA store in Finland in 1996. Today, we have five. I’m proud to say I’ve only visited three of them. I really like IKEA for multiple reasons, one being that I can easily buy parts and accessories for my hobby projects – and the merchandise is always available! When I renovated my study room about a year ago, I purchased a large IKEA kitchen tabletop as my desk. It’s the Karlby… Read More »Planning my IKEA desktop project

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Building a custom container-based API using Docker Desktop and Azure App Service

Many times when I’ve worked with Microsoft partners and customers in projects the need arises when we need a custom API to be implemented. Perhaps the reason is that we need the versatility and freedom this provides, or simply because the developer feels this is the best approach for the given business problem. So, while you can host your APIs in multiple ways in Azure, I wanted to try out how easy (or complex!) it… Read More »Building a custom container-based API using Docker Desktop and Azure App Service

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Learn the fundamentals of Azure today, and pass the exam!

  • Skills

Azure turned 10 years just this month, and I’m excited to see so much happening around the platform – both from IT Pros, devs and architects, but also from people aspiring to work with Azure in the future. While a certification is not – per se – a proof that you are knowledgeable about everything there is to Azure, I like to think of it as the minimum badge for proving your understanding. When I… Read More »Learn the fundamentals of Azure today, and pass the exam!

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Building a simple yet robust monitoring solution for a website using Azure Application Insights

I’ve grown to use and love Azure Application Insights quite a bit in recent years. It’s a relatively simple, yet powerful monitoring, debugging, troubleshooting and analysis tool that lends itself to many use cases. As I’ve recently migrated my personal blog to a hosted WordPress, I needed to build something simple (as time is always a scarce resource) yet powerful enough monitoring to notify me if something fails. Perhaps the hoster’s MySQL cluster is down?… Read More »Building a simple yet robust monitoring solution for a website using Azure Application Insights

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Introducing ‘Just Enough Migration’

I wrote last July about how I run my blog as a static site. In essence, I ran a local virtual machine with Windows Server 2019 and XAMPP. I would author my posts, and generate a static HTML site periodically, that I would then publish to Azure App Service. I had this setup for about a year, and I was pretty satisfied with it. I was fond of this setup. I could leverage the flexibility… Read More »Introducing ‘Just Enough Migration’

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How to run business logic code as background jobs in Microsoft Azure

  • How to

Microsoft Azure offers multiple ways to run, schedule and trigger business logic code in the background. Business logic is a fancy way to say you need to execute a series of tasks, based on a process. In this article, I aim to provide a convenient and prioritized list of options to choose from, with the goal of clarifying these options for developers and architects working with Azure. What is the need to run code in… Read More »How to run business logic code as background jobs in Microsoft Azure

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Interesting events and meetups in Finland for January and February

  • Events

As part of my work at Microsoft, I support and help local communities that revolve and evolve around technologies I have a passion for. This includes platforms such as Microsoft Azure, but also general topics such as serverless, AI and coding. While I’m ramping up on my role – and believe me, there’s plenty to digest and ingest – I wanted to share interesting events and meetups from local communities and user groups in Finland,… Read More »Interesting events and meetups in Finland for January and February

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Azure Community: Azure Heroes is now live

Azure Heroes is a program for the community from Microsoft, that aims to recognize and empower technical Azure practitioners to achieve more. Recognized community members will be rewarded with a digital badger, that is backed by blockchain (from Enjin). You can see the public ledger here. You can reach out to me also directly (via Twitter, Teams, or email) if you have any questions or feedback with regards to the program. [Update Jan 21: As… Read More »Azure Community: Azure Heroes is now live