About once a quarter, I gather the people together in our companies and ask questions. It’s always the same question. “Hey, do we need an office?” Simple, yet tough to answer. Why don’t we get an office, then? Well, a… Read More »“We don’t need an office” – a summation of hybrid work in 2022
This is one of those blog posts that are pretty obvious but took a surprisingly long time for me to start using. Here’s the problem I have. Our family mostly listens to music when we’re in the car or when… Read More »Streaming to Sonos with Stream What You Hear
After a lengthier-than-expected wait, the Shared Channel capability for Microsoft Teams landed in one of my tenants last week. I don’t follow Teams-related news or announcements that closely, but I knew that the preview of this feature was close to… Read More »Setting up Microsoft Teams Shared Channels between three companies for frictionless communication
Today, I earned the Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) certification. This requirement is to pass a single exam, the 62-193: Technology Literacy for Educators. I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time but kept putting it off because the Microsoft… Read More »Completing the Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) certification
When I first got started as a small business owner back in 2009, Finland was quite a bit different at the time. We mostly hired local people living in the capital area and assumed everyone spoke fluent Finnish. “You live… Read More »Do you need to know Finnish to be able to work in IT in Finland?
Well, I wanted to try this out. When Windows 11 was announced last year, productivity and being more productive were critical messages from Microsoft. Even today, looking at the Windows 11 landing page on Microsoft.com, the statement is prominently visible:… Read More »What happens with Windows 11 if I never close any apps and programs?
My companies, of which there are a few now, are enrolled in the Microsoft Partner program. This allows us to build our partner competencies. In return, we usually get partner benefits – such as better reach towards Microsoft, use rights… Read More »An in-depth look at the Microsoft Partner program updates (2022 edition)
Last week, Microsoft in Finland announced the rumor circulating in recent years – Microsoft Cloud would establish a local datacenter presence in Finland. More specifically, in the cities of Espoo and Kirkkonummi. These are close to the capital area (and… Read More »Reflections on Microsoft Cloud entering Finland
This past week, I delivered a keynote for a local event here in the heart of Helsinki, Finland. Siili organized the event – and it was surreal. You wake up in the morning and start thinking about what to wear.… Read More »Presenting in front of a live audience in 2022
As some might recall, I set out to build a new company focusing on Microsoft Azure and Power Platform consulting & projects in early 2021. That company is called North Advisors, and I’m thrilled how the company is thriving after… Read More »Another new adventure begins now – meet Not Bad Security!
At home, I have a fiber Internet connection from a local operator. Nominally, it’s rated 1000 Mbps/500 Mbps, and I usually get closer to those speeds. I rarely utilize the capacity as I don’t need to run any production services… Read More »Building a backup Internet connection with the Unifi LTE Pro device
About a year ago, I got the Corsair K100 opto-mechanical keyboard. You can check my previous review here. I still have it! But as my daily driver, I’ve now switched to using the Logitech MX Keys keyboard. It’s an absolute… Read More »Review: Logitech MX Keys for a typist
I’ve written about cost management in the cloud a couple of times. Sometimes it’s figuring out the exact cost of something; other times, it’s recapping the total cost after months of running a service. I’m reasonably well versed with Azure… Read More »Detect anomalies in cloud spending using the new Cost Insight capability in Azure
A little over a year ago, Microsoft updated their certifications programs’ renewal guidance and approach. I’ve written about my general experience with these renewals (see here). Generally, I like this approach: first, you complete a proper certification through an exhausting… Read More »My experience in renewing the Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification
I was exposed to PostgreSQL about two years ago through a few deployment projects. I blogged about my experience configuring and running Azure Database for PostgreSQL instances. At the time, I didn’t need to worry much about backups or recovery,… Read More »Backing up PostgreSQL databases in Azure
In mid-2021, I upgraded my home office with some acoustic panels from Elgato. Since then, I’ve done plenty of upgrading with my recording and podcast audio setup. Previously, I had a decent microphone from RØDE – the Procaster (see here… Read More »Building the perfect recording and podcast audio setup with the dbx 286s mic preamp/processor and Shure SM7B dynamic microphone
One of my goals for 2022 is to read more books. It’s not like I haven’t been reading in recent years, but I’ve been missing a more consistent effort to complete the books I start and the approach I have… Read More »My plan to read more books in 2022
I infrequently write about the different best practices that might sometimes be overlooked within Microsoft cloud deployments. This week, I want to highlight the urgency and criticality of having and maintaining a break-glass admin account. What is it? A break-glass… Read More »Best Practice: Create a break-glass admin account
About a year ago, I wrote about this fantastic new app called Lobe. It’s an app that you install locally and then use to create a Machine Learning model elsewhere. It’s pretty great, as it takes away all the hassle… Read More »Building and using a Machine Learning model for Power Platform using Lobe
In early 2019, I deactivated my Facebook account. At the time, I felt I wasn’t getting much in return from Facebook. Yet, it was effortless to spend minutes (or an hour) mindlessly scrolling through the newsfeed to ensure I wasn’t… Read More »After deactivating my Facebook account 3 years ago, I’ve now deleted it