About The Event
Global Azure 2025 is here! Over 3 days, communities around the world are organizing localized hybrid events and live streams for everyone around the world to join and learn about Azure from the best-in-class community leaders.
Where
Storey Hall (Building 16) - RMIT Melbourne
When
Saturday
10th May
Event Speakers
AJ Bajada
Managing Consultant @ Arinco | Microsoft MVP Azure
Bron Thulke
CTO @ Youli | Microsoft MVP Developer Technology
William liebenberg
Principal Consultant @ Arinco | Microsoft MVP Developer Technology
Greg Nash
Founder @ DearWatsonConsulting | Microsoft MVP Data Platform
Yaser Adel Mehraban
GenAI Engineering Lead @ InnovateGPT Group
Lars Klint
Llama Wrangler & Home Automation Nerd | Microsoft MVP Azure
Santhoshkumar Anandakrishnan
Director @ Skyline Technology | Microsoft MVP Azure
Venura Athukorala
Director, Engineering @ PWC
Daniel Fang
Senior Architect @ Insight Australia | Microsoft MVP AI Platform
Manohar Punna
Vice President @ DataPlatformGeeks
Will Velida
Sofware Engineer @ Microsoft
Lachlan Wright
Practice Director @ Versent
Yogi Srivastava
Principal Security Software Engineer @ Microsoft
Bill Chesnut
Cloud Platform & API Evangelist @ SixPivot | Microsoft MVP Azure
Amit Khatri
Solution Architect @ Microsoft
Dylan McCarthy
Principal Engineer @ Versent | Microsoft MVP Developer Technology
Pouya Koushandehfar
Senior Manager @ PWC | Sessional Lecturer @ Swinburne
Ronak Vachhani
Consultant @ Arinco
Kelly Broekstra
General Manager @ LobsterPot Solutions | Microsoft MVP Data Platform
Nilesh Gule
Senior Cloud Architect @ Avanade | Microsoft MVP Azure
Event Schedule
Three tracks jam packed full of Azure content covering, Development, Data & AI, IOT and IT Pro topics!
Arrival & Check In
Arrive at the venue, mingle with other attendees and sign in for the day!
Welcome
Introductions to the days agenda, speakers and prizes for attendees!
Agentic AI: the future of innovation or just hype?
Everyone is talking about LLMs, GenAI, Agents, and many other buzzwords, but not many know what's happening in real world and how they are used to solve real world problems. Come join me and we dive deep into how we're using the combination of GenAI, Semantic Kernel and private data sources to redefine the landscape of problem solving across industries.
Who tests their cloud code anyway?
If you are a developer, you know as well as me that testing your code is optional. And when we suddenly involve cloud computing, there are even more excuses not to test your applications and infrastructure. In this talk, I will explain and demonstrate some of the many options you have in Azure for testing every part of your development life cycle. I go through everything from A/B testing to performance testing to chaos testing, all sprinkled with animal photos. Join me. Enough of your excuses.
LEGO + Python + GPT = The Journey from Dad to Superdad with Azure AI services and Robotics!
What happens when a 12-year-old's curiosity meets a dad's determination to be a hero? A wild, fun-filled journey into the world of AI-powered LEGO robotics! In this exciting, hands-on session, you'll discover how we turned a simple question into a groundbreaking fun project. We'll show you how to use GPT models to control LEGO robots (Spike Prime 3), allowing them to perform actions through conversational commands—no coding required! Whether you're a tech enthusiast, a LEGO fan, or a parent looking to inspire your kids, this session is all about exploring the fun side of AI and robotics. Come join us as we transform a curious question into a dynamic learning experience - let’s see what happens when dad and daughter team up with GPT and LEGO !
Lunch
Food Food Food Food Food Food Food & Maybe some drinks.
Building Responsible AI Apps with Azure AI Foundry
In this session we’ll learn how to build responsible AI-powered apps using Azure’s AI Foundry. We’ll cover everything from comparing and selecting models, running evaluations, implementing safety mechanisms, deploying and monitoring your app and automating it all with CI/CD from dev to production. This session has something for everyone from the complete beginner to those who have experimented with AI apps all the way to those who have built them using other tools and services.
The Future of Cloud Security: AI, Zero Trust, and Beyond
Cloud security is evolving at an unprecedented pace, driven by AI-powered cyber threats, cloud-native architectures, and increasingly sophisticated attacks. To stay ahead, organisations should embrace Zero Trust principles while leveraging AI-driven security solutions. This session explores the interconnection of AI and Zero Trust in modern cloud security, highlighting how AI enhances Zero Trust frameworks and how Microsoft provides an ecosystem for next generation of security architectures.
Afternoon Tea
Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper? He knows about them doesn't he?
Embracing the Dapr Transactional Outbox with WebAPIs on Azure Container Apps
In distributed systems, the dual-write problem can lead to inconsistent states when a database update and a messaging operation don't sync perfectly. Join me as I share real-world scenarios and code samples showing how Dapr’s Transactional Outbox in ASP.NET Core WebAPI running on Azure Container Apps tackles this challenge. Learn when this pattern is a game changer—and when you might not need it. Let's make every transaction count!
Accidental Azure DBA in 2025 Copilot is your toolkit
In the rapidly evolving landscape of cloud computing, many IT professionals find themselves unexpectedly taking on the role of a Database Administrator (DBA) without formal training. Join us to find out how, in 2025, with the right toolkit, being an accidental Azure DBA is not as scary as you might think.
Close out & Q&A
Final questions, comments and notes for the day!
Arrival & Check In
Arrive at the venue, mingle with other attendees and sign in for the day!
Welcome
Introductions to the days agenda, speakers and prizes for attendees!
Implementing Data Platforms with Microsoft Fabric
Building a data platform to support analytics or AI can feel overwhelming, with countless tools, endless configurations, and the pressure to get it right the first time. But here’s the twist - most data platforms fail not because of the tools, but because of the approach. Whether you're starting from scratch or upgrading your existing data platform, this session will equip you with actionable insights, real-world examples, and proven techniques to ensure a successful implementation.
Your AI, Your Rules: Building a Multi-Model Private AI Assistant on Azure
Join me on a journey of trial, error, and ultimate success in deploying Open WebUI on Azure. In this session, I’ll explore the niche capabilities of Azure Container Apps, the challenges I encountered, and the architecture that made it all work. Expect a mix of real-world experiences, technical deep dives, and live demos covering containers, Azure Container Apps, Azure PostgreSQL, Azure's AI capabilities and a touch of GitHub Copilot. Whether you’re looking to build your own private AI assistant or simply explore what’s possible with Azure, this talk will provide valuable insights and practical takeaways.
Manage all the clusters with KubeFleet and AKS Fleet Manager!
Is your team managing multiple Kubernetes clusters? Having trouble with managing application across your clusters, upgrading and changing your clusters without causing failures, or even moving applications across clusters. In this talk, I'll cover the key features and benefits of KubeFleet and AKS Fleet Manager, before diving into a demo to show you how it actually works. By the end of this session, you'll understand how KubeFleet and AKS Fleet Manager work, and how you can use them to manage your AKS clusters more effectively.
Lunch
Food Food Food Food Food Food Food & Maybe some drinks.
Using Liquid Maps for your Data Transformation in Azure Functions, Websites, APIs or Logic Apps
The Talk will show how to use Liquid Maps to transform data inside your Azure Functions, Websites, APIsor Logic Apps to and from any format to any format using the power of the DotLiquid engine.
Things to Consider when Evaluating Data Platforms
In this session, I will be talking about the things to consider when evaluating data platforms for implementing a successful data strategy at your organisation. I will take an example of a real use case where I will share my personal experience, lessons learned, and key decision points.
Afternoon Tea
Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper? He knows about them doesn't he?
An introduction to Terraform Testing
In this session, Craig will deliver an introduction to testing of terraform templates using variable validation and the terraform testing framework.
Beyond the Basics: (Not so) Hidden Gems in Microsoft Fabric
Microsoft Fabric is more than just a modern data platform - it’s packed with powerful yet underrated/underutilised features that can elevate your processing, analysing, decision making capabilities. In this session, we’ll dive into Fabric’s hidden gems, exploring real-time storage & analytics, event-driven automation, and AI-powered insights. Join us as we break down these four Fabric capabilities that you should know about but probably aren’t using (yet!).
Close out & Q&A
Final questions, comments and notes for the day!
Arrival & Check In
Arrive at the venue, mingle with other attendees and sign in for the day!
Welcome
Introductions to the days agenda, speakers and prizes for attendees!
Revolutionising DevOps with AI: From Pipelines to Deployment
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, the fusion of AI and DevOps is transforming how we build, test, and deploy applications. Join us for an engaging and insightful session where we delve into the cutting-edge integration of AI in DevOps pipelines. In this session, we will explore: - Building AI-Powered DevOps Pipelines: Discover how to leverage AI to enhance your DevOps workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and improve efficiency. - Integrating Lint Tests: Learn the importance of linting in maintaining code quality and how AI can streamline the process by integrating smart lint tests into your pipeline. - Deploying AI Infrastructure and Models: Gain insights into deploying scalable and secure AI infrastructure on Azure, ensuring your AI models perform optimally in production environments. - Adding PSRule for Azure: Understand the role of PSRule in enforcing governance and compliance standards within your Azure environment, and how to integrate it seamlessly into your DevOps practices.
Innovative Use cases of Azure Virtual Network Manager in Landing Zones.
This session will explore the Azure Virtual Network Manager (AVNM) service, comprehensively analysing its features and capabilities. Participants will discover how AVNM integrates seamlessly with Azure Landing Zones, enhancing network and security policy management and streamlining operational efficiency.
Microsoft Dev Box - Let's Get Started with Team Customizations
As Microsoft Dev Box adoption grows, more teams are looking to it as a way to provide custom developer workstations. But customizing Dev Box has been a challenge, requiring deep knowledge of Azure Image Builder and VM generalization. What if there was a simpler way? Introducing Microsoft Dev Box Team Customizations! With just a configuration file, you can now tailor Dev Boxes for each team—without the heavy lifting. In this session, I'll show you how!
Lunch
Food Food Food Food Food Food Food & Maybe some drinks.
Importance of evaluating Gen AI security and safety guardrails
GenAIOps focuses on establishing a reliable and repeatable process for managing generative AI applications throughout their lifecycle. Evaluation is crucial at every stage, from selecting the base model to pre-production testing and ongoing post-production monitoring. By systematically assessing and addressing risks and refining AI systems at each step, teams can develop generative AI solutions that are not only powerful but also dependable and safe for real-world deployment. Azure AI Foundry offers a robust platform for developing and managing generative AI applications. Ensuring the security and safety of these applications is paramount, and this bootcamp session aims to provide participants with in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience in evaluating and mitigating potential risks. By attending this session, participants will gain valuable insights into the best practices for implementing secure and safe generative AI applications by using content safety filters in user input prompt and llm output. They will leave with a clear understanding of why it is important to evaluate guardrails continously; and also how to achieve it using a systematic evaluation process in Azure AI Foundry.
Network Security for AI Design: The Good, The Bad and The ugly
In this session, we will delve into the intricacies of network security for AI Design components. Each AI Design is unique when it comes to networking. We will unravel the mystery of how these services connect to each other, explore the various options available, and discuss security preferences. Drawing from our multi-year experience working with security-sensitive workloads, we will include insights on Azure OpenAI, AKS, Azure Function, API Management, Fabric and other unique services.
Afternoon Tea
Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper? He knows about them doesn't he?
You use App Insights Right? Right?
In this session, I will take you through all the ways you can utilise Azure Application Insights to better monitor your services deployed on Azure.
API Management in the AI era
Historically, API management is about centralizing and securing APIs using services like Azure API Management. In this session we will see how to use AI capabilities to make API management more smarter.
Close out & Q&A
Final questions, comments and notes for the day!
Event Venue
RMIT - Storey Hall
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, this years event will be hosted at RMIT's wonderful Storey Hall, a short walk from the Melbourne Central train station.
F.A.Q
-
Do I need to pay for a ticket?
No! Global Azure is organised globally by individuals looking to give back to the Technology community. The event is completely free, sign up at meetup.com
-
How do I get there?
This years event is located at RMIT's Storey Hall, a short walk from Melbourne Central station.
-
Can I present at the event?
Our Call for Speakers is now closed. If you're a Melbournian and looking to contribute to community events, please feel free to reach out via info@melbourneazurebootcamp.com or Meetup.com and we can book you a dedicated session at our user group!
-
Do I need to bring lunch?
Thanks to our generous sponsors, we have organised a lunch and afternoon tea for attendees.
-
Can my company sponsor this event?
Yes! If your organisation is interested in sponsoring, please reach our to our organisers via info@melbourneazurebootcamp.com or Meetup.com
-
Will sessions be streamed online??
The 2025 event will be an in person event. Sessions will be recorded and slides collected to attendees to access post event!
Sponsors
Gallery
Check our gallery from the 2024 events
