In this issue:
Ace Aviator of the Month
November's Ace Aviator: Michael Stephenson
What is your role and title? What are your responsibilities associated with your position?
I am a Freelance Consultant, and this involves a number of roles. Mainly I spend time working with customers who have challenges implementing solutions using the cloud. While I have experience in a lot of areas of Azure most of my work tends to have an integration slant to it.
I am happiest when I am helping customers to design solutions on Azure and helping teams to develop the skills and governance practices to be successful developing integration solutions.
I am very lucky in that most of the work I have done in the last decade has been via recommendations for people to come and chat with me about the problems they are having.
I also advise Serverless360 an ISV vendor for Azure on the product features that will help customers support their Azure solutions.
Can you provide some insights into your day-to-day activities and what a typical day in your role looks like?
The activities within my role can vary a lot from writing code through architecture, DevOps and project management.
My favourite activities are brainstorming architecture ideas and problem solving and also pair programming with other developers getting into Azure Integration.
What motivates and inspires you to be an active member of the Aviators/Microsoft community?
I think continuous learning is so important in IT and I'm fortunate that a lot of the projects I've been involved in give me the chance to learn new stuff all of the time. That said there is so much change and new stuff to learn. Sharing the things that you learn and experience via blogs, speaking at user groups etc. is a great way to cement your own knowledge on a subject but also a great way to meet people who might have done cool things you can learn more about.
What has helped you grow professionally?
I think remote working has been an interesting one for my professional growth in recent years. On the negative side you meet fewer people in the workplace but on the positive side I used to spend a lot of time travelling which I no longer have to do. After a while it makes you feel drained and low on energy. Reallocating that time to positive activities like learning new skills or spending that time doing fun things outside of work gives you a much better balance and as result you have so much more energy to get more out of your work time.
Imagine you had a magic wand that could create a feature in Logic Apps. What would this feature be and why?
My primary request for a feature would be the ability to trigger workflows from events within a workflow. I find that a lot of workflows get complicated trying to develop compensation and error handling patterns and it would be awesome if I could develop error strategies which said, "If I get an error in this shape (or workflow) then trigger this workflow and pass in this data."
This would allow my core workflow to focus on the green path use case and keep it simple and I could build one or 2 error strategies which could handle most of my error conditions.
What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned throughout your career that surprised you?
Take a Break:
Most problems fix themselves when you take a break and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes, especially integration problems.
Say hello to the quiet people at the user group:
Some of the best conversations I've had at user groups have been when you spot someone who looks like it might be their first time or that they might not know anyone and you just introduce yourself and ask what technology they find interesting or what cool stuff they are working on.
Customer Corner:
US LBM speeds up orders, unlocks mobile innovation, using Azure Integration Services
Check out this customer success story about Microsoft helping Lumber and Building Materials (LBM) enhance its operations. With Azure Integration Services, LMB is able to streamline its order processing and unlock mobile capabilities, leading to improved efficiency and operations. Read more in this article about how Microsoft's technology solutions empower LBM to adapt and thrive in a competitive market.
News from our product group:
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Azure Integration Services Day 2023 Join us on November 30, 2023, for a fun filled event full of the latest features! With sessions from Azure Logic Apps, API Center, API Management, Service Bus and Event Grid, covering latest announcements straight out of Ignite! You don't want to miss. |
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Announcing Public Preview of Azure API Management Basic v2 and Standard v2 Tiers We are excited to announce the launch of the public preview of our newest Azure API Management tiers – Basic v2 and Standard v2. Read more about it in this article!
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Announcing the Host Integration Server 2020 Cumulative Update 1 We've released the HIS 2020 CU1, with new Microsoft and IBM platform support, including support for Microsoft Windows Server 2022 and Visual Studio 2022. |
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Logic Apps Mission Critical Series: "We Speak: IBM 3270: Green Screen Applications" Watch the new episode "We Speak" from Logic Apps Mission Critical Series on how Azure Logic Apps can unlock scenarios where is required to integrate with 3270 Applications.
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Upgrading SNA Topologies to Host Integration Server 2020 Read more on the evolution and current support of SNA topologies with Host Integration Server 2020 in this post. |
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Announcing Public Preview of Resubmitting from an Action in Logic Apps Workflows Resubmitting an Action inside of a Logic App has and been a long standing ask from customers. We are excited to announce the Public Preview of Resubmitting from an Action in Logic Apps.
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Application Insights Enhancements for Azure Logic Apps (Standard) reaches General Availability Application Insights Enhancements for Azure Logic Apps (Standard) has reached General Availability. This new capability offers customers a simplified experience for discovering insights about your logic app workflows and more control over filtering events at source which allow you to reduce your storage costs. |
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.NET Framework Custom Code for Azure Logic Apps (Standard) Reaches General Availability We are pleased to announce the General Availability (GA) of .NET Framework custom code for Azure Logic Apps (Standard). This capability allows customers to extend their low code solutions with the power of custom code. |
News from our community:
Upcoming Event: CONNECTED Conference 2023
Post by QUIBIQ
From November 14-15, you can learn more on integration on the Microsoft platform from leading experts at CONNECTED. Read more about this upcoming conference in Germany, hosted by QUIBIQ.
What do the new API Management v2 tiers mean for you?
Post by Toon Vanhoutte
Read this article from Toon where he helps you through the new Azure API Management tiers that were recently announced.
What are my options for hybrid integration with Logic Apps
Post by Michael Stephenson
Watch this video from Mike on the different hybrid integration options with connectivity to resources in an on-premise network or in an Azure network.
Migrate MuleSoft to Azure Integration Services
Post by Horton Cloud Solutions
Missed the October livestream? Watch Derek Marley give a presentation on the top reasons to transition from MuleSoft to AIS and a preview on how Horton supports their clients in this migration.
Aggregation Mapping Pattern in BizTalk to Azure Integration Services migration
Post by Sandro Pereira
Read an article from Sandro's new blog series dedicated to the migration of BizTalk Server to Azure Integration Services
Azure API Management Networking Options | How to choose | VNET Integration Internal vs External Mode
Post by Srikanth Gunnala
Watch Srikanth take a deep dive into networking options available with Azure API Management.