Serious issues with Amazon Web Services (AWS) have rendered a number of big-name apps and services inaccessible. The likes of Fortnite, Roblox, Duolingo, Ring and many more have been suffering as a result of the problems. The issues first came to light thanks to spikes in reports to Downdetector, but Amazon Web Services has also acknowledged a series of errors. The problems affect multiple AWS services, and the severity of disruption is high. It is the North Virginia data center that is experiencing issues, but the ripple effect is being felt all over the world. Amazon Web Services says that… [Continue Reading]

It has been known for a little while that Meta has been working on a username system for WhatsApp. The popular messaging app is slightly unusual in not offering people a way to choose a username, but this is going to change at some point in the future. Recent beta builds of the iOS and Android apps show that work is gathering paced, and the most recent development is a username reservation system. This will serve as a way for users to try to pre-select their preferred username even before the username system rolls out to everyone. While many people… [Continue Reading]

We’re excited to announce a new capability in Azure API Management (APIM) — you can now send messages directly to Azure Service Bus from your APIs using a built-in policy. This enhancement simplifies how you connect your API layer with event-driven and asynchronous systems, helping you build more scalable, resilient, and loosely coupled architectures across your enterprise. 

Why this matters?

Modern applications increasingly rely on asynchronous communication and event-driven designs. With this new integration: 

• Any API hosted in API Management can publish to Service Bus — no SDKs, custom code, or middleware required. 
• Partners, clients, and IoT devices can send data through standard HTTP calls, even if they don’t support AMQP natively. 
• You stay in full control with authentication, throttling, and logging managed centrally in API Management. 
• Your systems scale more smoothly by decoupling front-end requests from backend processing. 

How it works 

The new send-service-bus-message policy allows API Management to forward payloads from API calls directly into Service Bus queues or topics. 

High-level flow 

1. A client sends a standard HTTP request to your API endpoint in API Management. 
2. The policy executes and sends the payload as a message to Service Bus. 
3. Downstream consumers such as Logic Apps, Azure Functions, or microservices process those messages asynchronously. 

All configurations happen in API Management — no code changes or new infrastructure are required.  

Getting started 

You can try it out in minutes: 

1. Set up a Service Bus namespace and create a queue or topic. 
2. Enable a managed identity (system-assigned or user-assigned) on your API Management instance. 
3. Grant the identity the “Service Bus data sender” role in Azure RBAC, scoped to your queue/ topic. 
4. Add the policy to your API operation: 

<send-service-bus-message queue-name="orders"> 
 <payload>@(context.Request.Body.As<string>())</payload> 
</send-service-bus-message>  

Once saved, each API call publishes its payload to the Service Bus queue or topic. 📖 Learn more. 

Common use cases 

This capability makes it easy to integrate your APIs into event-driven workflows: 

• Order processing – Queue incoming orders for fulfillment or billing. 
• Event notifications – Trigger internal workflows across multiple applications. 
• Telemetry ingestion – Forward IoT or mobile app data to Service Bus for analytics. 
• Partner integrations – Offer REST-based endpoints for external systems while maintaining policy-based control. 

Each of these scenarios benefits from simplified integration, centralized governance, and improved reliability. 

Secure and governed by design 

The integration uses managed identities for secure communication between API Management and Service Bus — no secrets required. You can further apply enterprise-grade controls: 

• Enforce rate limits, quotas, and authorization through APIM policies. 
• Gain API-level logging and tracing for each message sent. 
• Use Service Bus metrics to monitor downstream processing. 

Together, these tools help you maintain a consistent security posture across your APIs and messaging layer. 

Build modern, event-driven architectures 

With this feature, API Management can serve as a bridge to your event-driven backbone. Start small by queuing a single API’s workload, or extend to enterprise-wide event distribution using topics and subscriptions. You’ll reduce architectural complexity while enabling more flexible, scalable, and decoupled application patterns. 

Learn more: Get the full walkthrough and examples in the documentation 👉 here 

Weekly AMA 'Ask Me Anything': Build Smarter with Azure Developer CLI 

Calling all AI engineers, developers, and builders of the future, this is your backstage pass to the tools shaping scalable, agentic AI deployments.

Join Kristen Womack, Product Manager for the AzureAzure Developer CLI (azd) Developer CLI (azd), and the engineering team behind azd for a live Ask Me Anything session every Thursday at 12:30pm PT in the Azure AI Foundry Discord.

Whether you're:

• 🧠 Orchestrating multi-agent systems
• 📦 Deploying LLM-powered apps with Azure AI Foundry
• 🔐 Navigating least-privilege infrastructure setups
• 🛠️ Debugging and optimizing reproducible workflows

…this AMA is your chance to connect directly with the team building the CLI that powers it all.

💡 Why Join?

• Real-time answers from the azd engineers and product team
• Deployment walkthroughs for Foundry templates, from chatbots to document processors
• Tips for CI/CD, debugging, and reproducibility in enterprise environments
• Community-first mindset: bring your feedback, challenges, and ideas

Kristen Womack brings deep insight into developer experience and product strategy; this is a rare opportunity to learn from the source and shape the future of AI tooling.

🔧 Get Ready

Before you join:

• Install azd 👉 Install Guide
• Explore Kristen’s work 👉 www.kristenwomack.io
• Join the Discord 👉 Azure AI Foundry Community

🗓️ Weekly Schedule

🕧 Thursdays at 12:30pm PT
📍 Azure AI Foundry Discord

Bring your questions. Bring your curiosity. Build with the best.

 

Aaron Palermo is a Senior Solutions Architect, DevOps engineer, and all-around cybersecurity expert. He works for a global cybersecurity services company, Appgate. Aaron was last on the show in episode 196, sharing about Zero Trust Networking.

 

Topics of Discussion:

[3:20] Aaron shares his excitement for learning new things and solving innovative challenges, which keep him engaged in the field.

[3:30] Aaron explains his current role at Appgate, a zero-trust network access company.

[4:25] The importance of direct-routed solutions for federal customers who want to own and manage their infrastructure.

[6:27] Aaron recounts how he applied insights from previous ADP guests Scott Hunter, Burke Holland, and Greg Leonardo.

[7:56] He explains the process of querying the Appgate API with natural language and the insights gained from the AI agent’s code generation.

[8:24] Testing an Integration in the Lab.

[11:05] Jeffrey and Aaron discuss the benefits of using open-source tools and the flexibility of Proxmox for network testing.

[14:47] VS Code and Copilot Integration, and what’s next.

[19:39] Aaron introduces n8n.io as a low or no-code automation platform that integrates with AI agents and APIs for workflow orchestration.

[21:15] Integrating simple automation examples, such as weather-based watering systems and data-driven decisions without sensors.

[28:09] OpenWRT’s flexibility and customization.

[30:01] What are some of the scenarios where a software-defined network might be the right tool?

[33:26] Know what you want, and write from a purpose.

 

Mentioned in this Episode:

Clear Measure Way

Architect Forum

Software Engineer Forum

Ep 196 with Aaron Palermo

n8n

AppGate

 

Want to Learn More?

Visit AzureDevOps.Show for show notes and additional episodes.

Download audio: https://traffic.libsyn.com/clean/secure/azuredevops/ADP_372.mp3?dest-id=768873

One of the toughest truths in engineering leadership is this: you cannot build a great career carrying underperformers on your back.

I was coaching Greg, a talented engineering manager, when this became painfully clear.

Greg was exhausted. Burned out. Why? He had stepped in on nights and weekends to rewrite code his team member botched. Again.

When I asked if that was the right call, Greg admitted it felt like a lose-lose. Miss the deadline and risk his reputation, or sacrifice his own balance to deliver.

But here’s the real problem: Greg wasn’t asking the most important management question of all.

Knowing what you know now… would you enthusiastically rehire that person?

This single question, borrowed from Vern Harnish, can transform how you lead.

Here are the insights every engineering leader needs to hear:

By the way, not everything I see in engineering leadership is “safe” for LinkedIn. That’s why I write NSFL rants and trench notes only for my inner circle. If you want the real stories and insights, subscribe here.

#1 – Stop Covering for Underperformance

When you jump in and do someone else’s job, you might save a deadline, but you’re setting yourself up for burnout.

Your A-players get resentful. Your B-players coast. And you become the bottleneck instead of the leader.

Deadlines come and go. Your reputation grows when you build teams who can deliver without you stepping in at midnight.

#2 – Coach Them Up (100/100 Responsibility)

If the answer to “rehire or not?” is shaky, your first path is coaching them up.

• Give crystal clarity on what “good” looks like in the role.
• Provide resources, training, mentorship.
• Hold them accountable.

And here’s the kicker: it’s 100% your job to provide the resources AND 100% their job to do the work.

Not 50/50. Not “I’ll try, you try.” It’s 100/100.

#3 – Or Coach Them Out

If you’ve provided clarity and resources, and they still don’t deliver, then you must coach them out.

That could mean:

• Finding them a different role in the company where they fit better.
• Or moving them out of the organization completely.

Keeping an underperformer doesn’t help them, doesn’t help you, and it doesn’t help your team.

It takes courage to have that conversation — but in the long run, everyone wins when you stop enabling mediocrity.

Let me leave you with this

Go through your team today. One by one.

Ask: “Knowing what I know now, would I enthusiastically rehire this person?”

If the answer is yes — amazing. Keep developing them and build your dream team.

If the answer is no — decide today: will you coach them up, or coach them out?

Don’t sit stuck for 18 months like Greg, burning out because you won’t have the hard conversation.

That’s not leadership.

👉 If you’re facing this exact challenge, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

I’ve helped engineering managers and directors navigate tough team decisions, protect their energy, and accelerate career growth.

Book a free career growth audit here.

We’ll unpack where you’re stuck, and map the next step — whether that’s coaching your team up, coaching them out, or building your own courage to lead.

No pressure. Just clarity.

What about you? Have you ever carried an underperformer longer than you should have?

The post If You’ve Got an Underperformer on Your Team, Read This Now appeared first on OACO.