Why should One learn AI ?
One should learn because, Microsoft is deep in the AI race right now — investing heavily, pushing into new product categories, expanding infrastructure, and building tools for both developers and end-users. Here’s a detailed snapshot of where Microsoft is on AI in late-2025, highlighting what they’ve achieved, what they’re working on, what challenges they face, and what it means for users/organizations 1.AI is Now the Core of Microsoft’s Strategy Microsoft isn’t treating AI as an add-on — it’s embedded into everything: Windows Copilot: AI built directly into the OS. Microsoft 365 Copilot: Automates Office apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. Azure AI Services: Enterprise-grade infrastructure to build, deploy, and scale AI securely. GitHub Copilot & Azure DevOps: AI-driven development and deployment. Learning AI in Microsoft’s stack means you’re aligning with their long-term direction — it’s where every Microsoft product is headed. 2.Unified Ecosystem for Building & Deploying AI When you learn Microsoft AI, you get exposure to a connected environment that simplifies the AI lifecycle: Stage Microsoft Tools/Platforms Data Ingestion Azure Data Factory, Synapse, Fabric Model Training Azure Machine Learning, Custom Models, Azure AI Foundry Orchestration Azure AI Studio, Logic Apps, Power Automate Deployment Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), Azure Functions Integration Power Platform, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Graph API You can move from “idea -prototype - enterprise-scale app” without leaving the Microsoft ecosystem. 3.Enterprise-Grade Security & Compliance Microsoft has the most trusted AI compliance posture among hyperscalers: 1000+ security and compliance certifications Responsible AI framework (human oversight, privacy, transparency) Seamless Azure AD / Entra ID integration for secure access If you work with enterprise or gov customers, this is critical — they already rely on Microsoft’s compliance backbone. 4.Massive Career & Business Demand According to recent LinkedIn and IDC reports: 80% of Fortune 500 companies use Azure AI services. “AI + Microsoft Cloud” roles (like AI Engineer, M365 Copilot Admin, Azure AI Specialist) are growing 3x faster than traditional cloud roles. Microsoft certifications (e.g., AI-102, DP-100, AI-900) are among the top-requested by employers. Learning Microsoft AI directly translates to employability and consulting value. 5.Democratized AI — Even for Non-Coders Not everyone needs to be a data scientist: Copilot Studio (Power Platform) → Build custom copilots using natural language. Azure AI Foundry → Build intelligent agents visually. Fabric AI Integration → Analyze data and auto-generate insights in Power BI. Microsoft’s goal is to make AI “as easy as Excel” — so business users can innovate too. 6.Future-Proof Skillset Microsoft is working closely with OpenAI and others to lead in: Agentic AI (autonomous reasoning agents) Multimodal AI (text, image, voice) Edge + Cloud AI (Windows + Azure hybrid AI) Responsible AI governance tools By learning Microsoft AI now, you’re future-proofing yourself for this next generation of AI-native applications.AKS vs Azure Web App – When to Choose Which?
Criteria Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Azure Web App ( App Service ) Use Case Microservices, complex distributed apps, container orchestration Simple web apps, APIs, or monolithic workloads Scalability Advanced autoscaling at container/pod level Built-in autoscale for instances Control Full control over networking, security, and runtime Managed platform, limited infrastructure control Complexity Requires Kubernetes expertise Easy to set up and manage CI/CD ntegrates with Azure DevOps/GitHub Actions, flexible pipelines Native CI/CD support with minimal setup Cost Pay for cluster nodes and infra (can be higher for small workloads) Pay per app plan (simpler, often cheaper for small apps) Best For Large-scale, containerized enterprise apps Quick deployments, small-to-medium web apps, APIs Examples Banking microservices, AI inference workloads, enterprise SaaS Company website, REST API, internal dashboardsmicrosoft learn programe
I also take courses on Microsoft Learn. In the videos and written tutorials, they explain how to do certain things — for example, in Power Automate. But often, the version of the program I have on my PC is not the same as the one shown in the videos or instructions. This makes learning difficult. It would be very helpful if Microsoft Learn clearly indicated which version of the software is being used in each tutorial or video.Mastering Outbound Spam Protection in Microsoft Defender and Exchange Online Protection (EOP)
In today’s cloud-driven landscape, protecting your organization’s email flow is not only about stopping inbound threats—it’s also about ensuring your users aren’t the source of outbound spam. Whether caused by account compromise, misconfiguration, or shadow IT, outbound spam can damage your domain’s reputation, trigger blacklists, and even lead to service throttling from Microsoft. What Is Outbound Spam? Outbound spam refers to unwanted or malicious messages sent from inside your organization to external recipients. These messages can originate from: Compromised accounts Misused shared mailboxes Automation scripts or connectors Forwarding loops Outbound spam can place your domain on blocklists, reduce deliverability, and ultimately erode trust in your brand Tools Used: Microsoft Defender + Exchange Online Protection Microsoft 365 includes built-in outbound protection via: Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for all tenants Microsoft Defender for Office 365 for advanced protection and insights Step-by-Step: Configuring Outbound Spam Protection in EOP Create and Apply Outbound Spam Policies Microsoft 365 Defender Portal → Email & Collaboration → Policies & Rules → Threat Policies → Anti-Spam Policies Select ->Create Policy → Outbound Spam Filter Policy Give the policy a clear name Apply granular scoping by selecting users, groups, or domains based on risk level Configure outbound spam policies in EOP Message limits sections Section configures the limits for outbound email messages from Exchange Online Set an external message limit Maximum number of external recipients a user can send messages to in a one-hour period Set an internal message limit Maximum number of internal recipients a user can send messages to in a one-hour period Set a daily message limit The maximum total number of recipients per day This limit encompasses both internal and external recipients Valid value is 0 to 10000 Restriction placed on users who reach the message limit Restrict the user from sending mail until the following day Email notifications are sent, and the user is unable to send any more messages until the following day, based on UTC time Restrict the user from sending mail User can't send email until they're removed from Restricted users by an admin After an admin removes the user from the list, the user won't be restricted again for that day limit reset to zero No action, alert only Email notifications are sent Forwarding rules section controls automatic email forwarding by Exchange Online mailboxes to external recipients Automatic - System-controlled - system to manage the automatic forwarding of email messages to external recipients On - Forwarding is enabled: Automatic external email forwarding isn't disabled by the policy Off - Forwarding is disabled: All automatic external email forwarding is disabled by the policy Disabling only automatic forwarding messages to external addresses Outbound spam policies don't affect the forwarding of messages between internal users Notifications section You can configure additional recipients who should receive copies and notifications of suspicious outbound email messages Send a copy of suspicious outbound messages that exceed these limits to these users and groups Specify users or groups within your organization who should receive copies of outbound email messages that exceed the defined sending limits Setting adds the specified recipients to the bcc field of suspicious outbound messages Setting works only in the default outbound spam policy. It doesn't work in custom outbound spam policies Notify these users and groups if a sender is blocked due to sending outbound spam Allow you to configure who should receive a notification when a sender is blocked for sending outbound spam This setting is in the process of being deprecated from outbound spam policies Strongly recommend that you use the alert policy rather than this setting in the outbound spam policy to notify admins and other users Remove blocked users from the Restricted entities page Email & collaboration > Review > Restricted entities The user is restricted from sending email, but they can still receive email. Alert settings for Restricted users Automatically notifies admins when users are blocked from sending email Email & collaboration > Policies & rules > Alert policy Search Policy Name: User restricted from sending email Managing outbound spam is more than configuring a few switches—it's about having a layered defense posture. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Exchange Online Protection give you the visibility, automation, and control to protect both inbound and outbound mail traffic Managing outbound spam isn’t just about setting limits—it’s about shaping a layered, intelligent policy landscape Detects malicious senders Alerts admins in real time Automatically blocks abuse Protects domain trust and email deliverability With Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and EOP, you have everything you need to build a resilient outbound protection framework
