Sr. Content Developer at Microsoft, working remotely in PA, TechBash conference organizer, former Microsoft MVP, Husband, Dad and Geek.
151888 stories
·
33 followers

Celebrating MVP Authors: The Books (and People) Helping the Community Level Up

1 Share

At MVP Summit 2026, we put a special spotlight on MVP authors, community leaders who turn hard-won experience into practical, trustworthy resources. Their books don’t just share information; they help people everywhere build skills, solve real problems, and grow confidence with Microsoft technologies.

A dedicated MVP Authors discussion was held, complemented by a “Book Nook” experience in the Community Hub, where authors were invited to bring copies of their books to share with attendees. It sparked the kind of easy, organic moments that make Summit special, flipping through a chapter between sessions, swapping recommendations, and finally meeting the MVPs behind the resources so many in the community already know and trust.

Author Spotlight - My basic philosophy for writing is to help developers get up to speed on a topic faster and get a product to market sooner. Writing ideas come from different sources. Addressing common technical issues has been one of my inspirations. Other ideas come about when I see something that is missing or not communicated as clearly as it should be. The ideas turn into articles that focus on a specific topic or a book that tells a more cohesive story for bigger topics. Sean has a resource for anyone interested in self-publishing: https://www.annabooks.com/Articles/SelfPublishing-v1.4.pdf.

Sean Liming, MVP (IoT) United States 

Why MVP Authors Matter

Writing a technical book is an act of generosity. It takes months (often years) of planning, testing, revising, and simplifying so someone else can learn faster. MVP authors help create a smoother on-ramp for every kind of learner: the person shipping their first solution, the admin modernizing a tenant, the developer moving into cloud architecture, or the leader trying to understand what’s possible. 

  • Helping learners go from “I read the docs” to “I shipped the solution.”
  • Creating study paths for certifications and role changes.
  • Sharing repeatable frameworks, not just one-off tips.
  • Bringing clarity to fast-moving products and new features.

Author Spotlight - I wrote this book in dedication to Professor John Gray, a mentor from the University of Hartford who shaped my career and spent his life teaching the next generation. Writing it felt like the most fitting way to honor his impact and carry his spirit forward of who he was.  Jared’s book is Microsoft Copilot Studio Quick Start: Learn to Create and Deploy Personalized AI Solutions

Jared Matfess, MVP (M365) United States

MVP Summit 2026: making authorship visible

The MVP Authors Roundtable created space for authors to compare notes on what readers need, what’s changing across the tech landscape, and how to keep content accurate and approachable. The Book Nook brought that same spirit into the Hub—an inviting place to browse, discover new topics, and connect face-to-face with the people behind the pages.

 

Author Spotlight - As a .NET developer and IT Consultant many years ago, I was involved in a cloud migration project to migrate a legacy .NET app to Microsoft Azure. And I learned a lot, the hard way and tried it all. Back then, there weren't any AI tools such as Copilot or ChatGPT to ask or to help and the documentation about cloud fundamentals and strategies were a few. Therefore, one night, I decided I want to document and write what I learned in action in that project. So, I reached out to O'Reilly, one of my favourite publishers. I had never written a book before, but I wanted to write one. That brave move became my first big masterpiece - Learning Microsoft Azure: Cloud Computing and Development Fundamentals book for everyone, organizations, developers, and learners who wants to build with Azure, but don’t know where to start.

 Jonah Andersson, MVP (Azure) Sweden

And the celebration doesn’t end when Summit wraps. MVPs are invited to share a selfie with their book on social media using the hashtag #MVPSummit, a simple way to amplify community-created content and make it easier for others to discover trusted resources across the program.

Because in the MVP community, authorship isn’t just about publishing - it’s about sharing, connecting, and helping others learn.

How you can support MVP authors:

  • Share a recommendation with a teammate who’s learning something new.
  • Post what you’re reading (or what chapter helped you) and tag #MVPSummit.
  • Leave a thoughtful review—specific examples help authors understand what’s working.
  • If you meet an author at an event, tell them how their work helped you (those stories matter).

To every MVP author: thank you for investing your time and expertise in the community. Your work helps others take the next step, whether that’s earning a certification, delivering a project, or simply finding the confidence to keep going. If you’re an MVP author, share your book and join the celebration with #MVPSummit.

Want to Learn More About the MVP Program?

To find an MVP and learn more about the MVP Program visit the MVP Communities website and follow our updates on LinkedIn or #mvpbuzz.

Join us for a future live session through the Microsoft Reactor where we walk through what the MVP program is about, what we look for, and how nominations work. These sessions are designed to help you connect the dots between the work you’re already doing and the impact the MVP Program recognizes — with time for questions, examples, and real conversations. 

 

Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
16 seconds ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete

Migrate Oracle Workloads to Oracle Azure Databases

1 Share
From: Microsoft Azure Developers
Duration: 17:02
Views: 2

In this episode, learn how to migrate on‑premises Oracle Database workloads to Oracle AI Database@Azure, where Oracle database services run on Oracle Exadata infrastructure located inside Azure datacenters. Then see how, once your database is in place, you can modernize faster by connecting Oracle data to Microsoft Fabric for analytics and building AI experiences with Foundry, Copilot Studio—using familiar Azure tools.

🌮 Chapter Markers:
0:00 – Introduction
00:58 – What is Oracle AI Database@Azure
05:33 – Azure Portal experience
11:30 – Microsoft integrations (Fabric, Foundry)
14:00 - Agentic experience
15:54 – wrap up & close

🌮 Resources
Learn Docs: Overview - Oracle Database@Azure | Microsoft Learn
Azure Product page: https://aka.ms/oracle

🌮 Follow us on social:
Oracle AI Database@Azure LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14707004/
Scott Hanselman | @SHanselman – https://x.com/SHanselman
Azure Friday | @AzureFriday – https://x.com/AzureFriday

🌮Follow us on social:
Blog - https://aka.ms/azuredevelopers/blog
Twitter - https://aka.ms/azuredevelopers/twitter
LinkedIn - https://aka.ms/azuredevelopers/linkedin
Twitch - https://aka.ms/azuredevelopers/twitch

#azuredeveloper #azure

Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
30 seconds ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete

#545: OWASP Top 10 (2025 List) for Python Devs

1 Share
The OWASP Top 10 just got a fresh update, and there are some big changes: supply chain attacks, exceptional condition handling, and more. Tanya Janca is back on Talk Python to walk us through every single one of them. And we're not just talking theory, we're going to turn Claude Code loose on a real open source project and see what it finds. Let's do it.

Episode sponsors

Temporal
Talk Python Courses

DevSec Station Podcast: www.devsecstation.com
SheHacksPurple Newsletter: newsletter.shehackspurple.ca
owasp.org: owasp.org
owasp.org/Top10/2025: owasp.org
from here: github.com
Kinto: github.com
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control: owasp.org
A02:2025 - SecuA02 Security Misconfiguration: owasp.org
ASP.NET: ASP.NET
A03:2025 - Software Supply Chain Failures: owasp.org
A04:2025 - Cryptographic Failures: owasp.org
A05:2025 - Injection: owasp.org
A06:2025 - Insecure Design: owasp.org
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures: owasp.org
A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures: owasp.org
A09:2025 - Security Logging and Alerting Failures: owasp.org
A10 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions: owasp.org
https://github.com/KeygraphHQ/shannon: github.com
anthropic.com/news/mozilla-firefox-security: www.anthropic.com
generalpurpose.com/the-distillation/claude-mythos-what-it-means-for-your-business: www.generalpurpose.com
Python Example Concepts: blobs.talkpython.fm

Watch this episode on YouTube: youtube.com
Episode #545 deep-dive: talkpython.fm/545
Episode transcripts: talkpython.fm

Theme Song: Developer Rap
🥁 Served in a Flask 🎸: talkpython.fm/flasksong

---== Don't be a stranger ==---
YouTube: youtube.com/@talkpython

Bluesky: @talkpython.fm
Mastodon: @talkpython@fosstodon.org
X.com: @talkpython

Michael on Bluesky: @mkennedy.codes
Michael on Mastodon: @mkennedy@fosstodon.org
Michael on X.com: @mkennedy




Download audio: https://talkpython.fm/episodes/download/545/owasp-top-10-2025-list-for-python-devs.mp3
Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
46 seconds ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete

Microsoft Agent Framework releasing version 1.0

1 Share
From: Microsoft Developer
Duration: 19:49
Views: 520

Microsoft Agent Framework has reached version 1.0 — making production-grade agent development feel like normal software development. In this episode, Shawn Henry and Rong Lu walk through what's new in the v1.0 GA release: stable APIs, multi-agent orchestration with handoff patterns, and support for Python and .NET. They also demo Foundry Toolkit for VS Code (formerly AI Toolkit), now GA — a unified IDE experience for building agents with a single "Create Agent" entry point, Agent Inspector for F5 debugging, evaluation-as-tests in pytest, and deep GitHub Copilot integration. See the complete developer journey from local development to Foundry deployment without glue code.

✅ Chapters:
00:15 MAF - Microsoft Agent Framework GA Announcement
02:10 Demo - Getting started with MAF using VS Code Extension
02:44 Demo - using the new Foundry/MAF Skills with Copilot
04:10 Demo - Building a Multi-Agent workflow using Copilot
06:36 Demo - Debugging a Multi-Agent workflow using Agent Inspector
12:15 What improved on MAF since Public preview and What's coming
16:54 How to Contribute and Getting Started

✅ Resources:
Foundry Toolkit for VS Code: https://aka.ms/foundrytk
Microsoft Agent Framework on GitHub: https://aka.ms/AgentFramework
AI Agents for Beginners: https://aka.ms/ai-agents-beginners
Blog post: https://aka.ms/DeployingAgents-blog
MAF 1.0 Announcement: https://aka.ms/AgentFramework1.0-blog

📌 Let's connect:
Jorge Arteiro | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgearteiro
Shawn Henry | https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-patrick-henry/
Rong Lu | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rongl/

Subscribe to the Open at Microsoft: https://aka.ms/OpenAtMicrosoft

Open at Microsoft Playlist: https://aka.ms/OpenAtMicrosoftPlaylist

📝Submit Your OSS Project for Open at Microsoft https://aka.ms/OpenAtMsCFP

New episode on Tuesdays!

Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
1 minute ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete

Get Started with Foundry Toolkit for VS Code

1 Share
From: Microsoft Developer
Duration: 2:35
Views: 321

Whether you’re exploring your first model, shipping a production agent, or squeezing performance from edge hardware, Microsoft Foundry Toolkit for VS Code meets you where you are.

To get started, visit aka.ms/foundrytk.

Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
1 minute ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete

Introducing SQL projects in SSMS | Data Exposed

1 Share
From: Microsoft Developer
Duration: 13:16
Views: 398

You have a database in production. How do you get it into source control — and keep it there? With SSMS 22.5, you can now import your database into a SQL project — a code-based, human-readable definition of your schema — edit and validate without impacting the original database, and publish changes with confidence. In this Data Exposed episode, we introduce SQL projects in SSMS with the new Database DevOps workload in preview. We'll also show how the same project file works across VS Code, GitHub Actions, and Azure DevOps — so your database development process can grow with your team across any tool.

0:00 Introduction
2:13 Demos
12:00 What's next

✅ Resources:
https://aka.ms/sqlprojects
https://aka.ms/ssms-sqlprojects

📌 Let's connect:
Twitter - Anna Hoffman, https://twitter.com/AnalyticAnna
Twitter - AzureSQL, https://aka.ms/azuresqltw

🔴 Watch even more Data Exposed episodes: https://aka.ms/dataexposedyt

🔔 Subscribe to our channels for even more SQL tips:
Microsoft Azure SQL: https://aka.ms/msazuresqlyt
Microsoft SQL Server: https://aka.ms/mssqlserveryt
Microsoft Developer: https://aka.ms/microsoftdeveloperyt

#AzureSQL #SQL #LearnSQL

Read the whole story
alvinashcraft
1 minute ago
reply
Pennsylvania, USA
Share this story
Delete
Next Page of Stories