Practical Azure, FinOps and Cloud Transformation

Sharing lessons learned from more than twenty years of designing, building and operating enterprise technology.

Helping organisations modernise securely, operate efficiently and maximise the value of their cloud investments.

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Azure updates
Latest posts
Now

Generally Available: Azure Database for PostgreSQL stable REST API version 2026-10-01

Databases · Today

Generally Available: Route maps for Azure Route Server

Networking · Today

Public Preview: Azure Firewall IPv6 now supports application rules

Networking · Today

Retirement: Transition to Entra ID (formerly known as Azure AD) to query data from Azure Monitor application insights by March 31, 2027

DevOps · May 2023

Reading: FinOps Foundation FOCUS 1.1 spec

Now

Building: a landing zone reference for regulated workloads

Now

Aiming for: Microsoft MVP nomination, 2026

Goal

bezsez.co.uk az account show --query name
Azure FinOps Cloud Security Cloud Governance Modernisation Managed Services Cloud Adoption Landing Zones Sovereign Cloud
20+
years in enterprise tech
15
Years of Microsoft certifications
NHSmail
one of the largest AD estates built
100k+
users supported at scale
Millions
of cloud spend influenced
24x7
business-critical environments

Where I focus

Five areas that show up in almost every engagement, in some order.

Azure & cloud transformation
Designing and evolving cloud platforms that balance agility, governance, security and cost.
topic:azure
FinOps
Maximising the value of cloud investment, not just reducing the bill.
topic:finops
Platform engineering
Repeatable, scalable platforms through automation and infrastructure as code.
topic:platform
Managed services
Lessons from delivering and operating enterprise-scale environments at real scale.
topic:operations
Technology leadership
Building teams, setting technical strategy, and making the case for the boring, correct decision.
topic:leadership

Recent writing

Technical posts, opinions and the occasional rant. Photography lives on its own page.

View all posts →
24 Sep
2026

Cloud Maturity, 18 Months In

At the start of most cloud migrations, the story is remarkably consistent.

cloud-adoptionmigrationoperating-model
14 Feb
2025

A matter of ROUTinE

Good practice hub and spoke

azurefirewallasymmetric
08 Feb
2025

Going on a Cloud Journey?

I recently wrote about how We are all getting FinOps wrong, and it got me thinking about the wider considerations of Cloud Adoption. Specifically some of my ...

azurecloudopinion
07 Feb
2025

We're all getting FinOps wrong

Introduction

azurefinopsopinion
22 Jan
2025

Return of the SNAT

Background

azurefirewallnetworking

Speaking & community

Working toward a Microsoft MVP nomination — one talk, one answered question at a time.

First session in the works

No talks listed yet — this is where user group sessions, conference slots and community contributions will land as they're booked.

Invite me to speak
Azure Solutions Architect Expert Microsoft
Azure Cybersecurity Architect Expert Microsoft
Azure Network Engineer Associate Microsoft
Azure Administrator Associate Microsoft
Azure Security Engineer Associate Microsoft
Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty Microsoft