Podcast
Microsoft Mechanics Podcast
Hosted by Microsoft Mechanics · EN
Made for tech enthusiasts and IT professionals. Expanded coverage of your favorite technologies across Microsoft; including Office, Azure, Windows and Data Platforms. We'll even bring you broader topics such as device innovation with Surface, machine learning, and predictive analytics.
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Introducing Azure HorizonDB - PostgreSQL
2d ago00:13:15Tap to summarizeRun enterprise Postgres workloads on Azure HorizonDB with around 3x the throughput of self-managed deployments — zone-resilient by default, no architectural trade-offs. Call AI models directly from SQL, build durable vector pipelines inside the database, and deliver high-accuracy similarity search at massive scale with DiskANN and AI re-ranking, all without leaving PostgreSQL. Debug and optimize queries faster with the Azure HorizonDB VS Code extension. Visualize execution plans, let Copilot generate fixes, and clone production data to test environments in seconds. Charles Feddersen, PostgreSQL Partner Director PM, shares how to put all of it to work on Azure. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Azure HorizonDB features 00:57 - Open-source PostgreSQL 02:24 - How it works 03:37 - Performance 04:51 - Enterprise-ready security 05:34 - Memory & storage work together 06:29 - AI Model Management + AI Functions 08:24 - AI Pipelines 09:50 - DiskANN + AI Re-ranking 10:50 - VS Code Extension + Data Cloning 12:31 - Wrap up ► Link References Check out our blog at https://aka.ms/azurepostgresblog ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Agent 365 | Security Operations in Defender
1w ago00:07:50Tap to summarizeSurface every AI agent in your tenant and expose the ones throwing security signals — across both the IT and SOC view. Triage high-severity alerts as IT in the Microsoft 365 admin center, then pivot into the full incident graph as a SOC analyst in Microsoft Defender. Block malicious tool invocations the instant they fire and catch jailbreak attempts on Copilot Studio agents before they take hold. Trace a compromised user back to suspicious agent activity, then trigger Microsoft Entra conditional access to revoke the session and force a password reset straight from the incident. Hunt overpermissioned agents with pre-built advanced hunting templates — including one that exposes every agent running MCP tools on the maker's standing credentials — and pull risky builds from the Agent Store using the Agent Registry. Spencer Berg, AI & Security Product Manager, shares how to turn agent risk signals into coordinated remediation across Defender, Entra, and the Microsoft 365 admin center. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Stay in control with Agent 365 00:40 - Gain visibility with unified control plane 01:48 - Unified IT & SOC agent view 02:54 - Real-time blocking and jailbreak detection 04:08 - Auto-revoke via Entra conditional access 04:32 - Prevent future incidents 05:28 - Advanced hunting for AI agents 06:43 - Block risky agents 07:15 - Wrap up ► Link References Check out https://aka.ms/Agent365SecOps ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Microsoft Entra Tenant Governance | Find Configuration Drift
1w ago00:08:06Tap to summarizeEnsure your tenant configuration doesn't drift from defined security and compliance requirements with Microsoft Entra Tenant Governance. Capture configuration as code across 200+ resource types in Entra, Intune, Exchange, Teams, Defender, and Purview. Turn that snapshot into a Monitor. It scans for drift every six hours and flags every policy change. Extend control to the tenants you don't fully see today. Entra Tenant Governance surfaces them automatically through B2B, multi-tenant app, and billing signals. Request governance with role-based templates. Complete the secure approval handshake in the Entra admin center, then administer the governed tenant from a single browser using the roles forged in that handshake. Jeff Staiman, Microsoft Entra Principal Product Manager, shares how to bring every tenant under one governance model. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Prevent tenant configuration drift 00:57 - Create a configuration baseline 02:23 - Detect configuration drifts 03:08 - Identify related tenants to govern 04:05 - Governed tenants 05:01 - Incoming request 06:17 - Set up monitoring 07:40 - Wrap up ► Link References Get started at https://aka.ms/EntraTenantGovernance Restrict tenant's connections at https://aka.ms/TenantQuarantine ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Automate evaluations | Microsoft Foundry
2w ago00:09:50Tap to summarizeBuild AI agents that meet your standards for quality, safety, and performance using Microsoft Foundry. Trace every run end-to-end, generate synthetic datasets to stress-test on demand, fire automated Red Team attacks at your own agents, and pin down why evaluations fail — all from the Microsoft Foundry control plane. Lock in guardrails that inspect every tool call at runtime, define the risks once, and enforce them across every agent run. Mohammad Abuomar, Responsible AI Principal Architect, shares how to turn a coding agent into production-ready software inside Foundry. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Microsoft Foundry control plane 00:33 - See a finished agent 02:30 - See where the agent started 03:19 - Traces 04:04 - Built-in monitoring 04:34 - Evaluation types 05:51 - Red team evaluations 07:08 - Evaluation results 08:14 - Built-in Guardrails 08:14 - Wrap up ► Link References Get everything you need in Microsoft Foundry at https://ai.azure.com ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Microsoft Excel Beginners Tutorial (2026)
3w ago00:12:46Tap to summarizeThis is the Microsoft Excel guide and tutorial for beginners. If you're new to and getting started with Excel or coming from another app, in this video we teach the basics of Excel, the user interface, core concepts, and how to work with basic data. We'll show you how to build a full Excel workbook from scratch using natural language prompts with Copilot. Format cells, write formulas, and analyze a year of data. Generate sample data, calculate totals, apply conditional formatting, and pin down outliers across columns and rows, all from your browser at excel.new. Share the workbook by name, group, or email and co-author with teammates across web, desktop, and phone. Every edit syncs to OneDrive in real time. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shares how to go from blank workbook to analyzed, shared spreadsheet in one sitting. If you have a work or school accounts, Copilot Chat is available at no additional cost if you have Microsoft 365 A1/A3/A5, Business Basic/Standard/Premium, E3/E5, F1/F3, G3/G5, and Office 365 A1/A1 Plus/A3/A5, E1/E1 Plus/E3/E5, F3, G1/G3/G5. If you have a personal Microsoft account, Copilot is available with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, or Premium in Microsoft 365. For Family and multi-user accounts, only the subscription owner can use Copilot in the desktop apps. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Excel Essentials 00:57 - Start from a blank workbook 02:11 - Core terms and concepts 04:25 - Generate Sample Data with Copilot 06:16 - How to work with the numbers 09:35 - Copilot Writes Your SUM Formulas 09:57 - Conditional Formatting from a Prompt 10:40 - Outlier Analysis with Reasoning 11:36 - Real-Time Co-Authoring in OneDrive 12:22 - Wrap up ► Link References Check it out at https://microsoft.com/excel ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Work IQ | Data, Context, Skills & Tools for Copilot and Your Agents
3w ago00:09:17Tap to summarizeGround every Microsoft 365 Copilot response in your real work data. Pull context from SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, email, and meetings — all through Work IQ. Draft Word documents that carry your existing sensitivity labels, and resolve calendar conflicts in Outlook. Run multi-step Copilot Cowork workflows that generate files, schedule meetings, and send status updates from a single prompt. Extend the same knowledge layer to ServiceNow, CRMs, and other non-Microsoft systems with API and MCP Server connectors in the Microsoft 365 admin center, or build your own agents in code against the Work IQ API. Jeremy Chapman, Microsoft 365 Director, shares how data, context, and skills & tools combine into a single grounding layer for Copilot and your custom agents. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Work IQ Knowledge Layer 01:32 - Copilot Chat experiences 02:16 - Work IQ in your apps 03:03 - Auto-Applied Sensitivity Labels 04:20 - Copilot Cowork Agentic Workflow 06:11 - Admin Center Connectors 07:21 - Work IQ API for Developers 08:50 - Wrap up ► Link References Check out the latest updates at https://aka.ms/WorkIQ ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Azure Arc | On-prem + Multi-cloud Management
4w ago00:14:42Tap to summarizeManaging Servers, and Kubernetes across on-prem, and multiple clouds, can quickly become complex, especially when you're juggling multiple tools. In this video, we explore how Azure Arc simplifies hybrid and multi-cloud operations by providing a single, consistent control plane for managing your entire infrastructure across Linux and Windows, on-prem, in Azure, or in any cloud. Once connected, you can patch Windows and Linux together with Azure Update Manager, enforce CIS benchmarks and Azure Security Baselines through Azure Policy, and pull consistent inventory, tags, and RBAC across your whole estate. Auto-recover unbootable Windows Server 2025 machines with Quick Machine Recovery, audit and configure WinRE using built-in Azure Policy. Run your virtual machines as Azure Virtual Desktop session hosts on Nutanix, VMware, Hyper-V, or using physical Windows hardware. Satya Vel, Azure Arc Principal Group PDM Manager (https://x.com/satya_vel) shares how to make Azure your operational standard for every workload, anywhere it runs. Learn more about Azure Arc at https://aka.ms/AzureArcServer, or join the community at https://aka.ms/ArcServerForumSignup ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Azure Arc in hybrid environments 00:46 - Transitioning to Azure Arc 02:35 - Unified management 03:43 - How to bring in servers and containers 04:48 - Inventory management 05:30 - Patching 06:48 - Auto-manage future updates 08:25 - One-time update 09:32 - Configuration in a hybrid environment 11:05 - Auditing Windows machines 11:34 - Microsoft Defender for Cloud 13:06 - Desktop virtualization 13:51 - Wrap up ► Link References For more information go to https://aka.ms/AzureArc ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Agent 365 | Your Security & Compliance Controls
4w ago00:08:33Tap to summarizeKeep AI agents operating under control and within your data security and compliance policies using Agent 365. Block agent access to labeled files at runtime, stop sensitive data from leaving in agent-drafted emails, and catch agents that cross conduct lines using the same Microsoft Purview controls you already run for users. Map every risky agent action in Insider Risk Management, drill into Activity Explorer for interaction-level detail, and pull regulator-ready forensics from Purview Audit. Shilpa Ranganathan, Microsoft Purview Partner Group Squad Leader, shares how IT and data security teams can govern agent behavior on a single Agent 365 control plane built into the Microsoft tools already used. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Agent security, compliance, & IT 01:13 - IT & data security teams using Agent 365 02:22 - Visibility with Microsoft Purview 03:14 - End user perspective 04:05 - DLP on Agent-Initiated Messages 04:23 - Communication Compliance for Agent Behavior 04:50 - Data Security admin in the Purview portal 06:04 - Policy violations 06:39 - Purview Audit 07:06 - Microsoft 365 admin center 07:44 - Wrap upn in the Purview portal ► Link References Check out https://aka.ms/Agent365DataSecurity ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Operations Context for AI | Ontology in Fabric IQ
Apr 2800:09:24Tap to summarizeBuild a shared semantic foundation for your enterprise data in Microsoft Fabric IQ. Generate a full business ontology from an existing Power BI semantic model, map entities and relationships, and embed real-time operational signals alongside business rules that live inside the ontology with the data and its meaning. From there, trace cascading operational impacts across your business through the relationship graph, stand up Operations Agents in natural language with Teams-based actions, and connect the same ontology as a knowledge source in Copilot Studio or Azure AI Foundry. Chafia Aouissi, Fabric IQ Principal PM Manager, shares how to model your business operations, embed intelligence in your data, and deploy agents that act on it. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Unify models & data with Fabric IQ 01:12 - Generate an ontology 02:27 - Bring in Power BI reports 03:08 - View across multiple data sources 04:23 - Define rules 05:18 - Built-in ontology graph 06:03 - Fabric IQ agents 08:24 - Fabric IQ as Knowledge Source 08:54 - Wrap up ► Link References Get started at https://aka.ms/FabricIQ ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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Windows App Management in Microsoft Intune
Apr 2700:07:20Tap to summarizeTake command of your full app layer in Microsoft Intune. Audit every managed and unmanaged app per device with full metadata — publisher, architecture, disk size, install location, uninstall command — to expose shadow IT before it spreads. Pull curated Win32 apps straight from the Enterprise App Catalog or upload PowerShell .ps1 scripts to control exactly how each app installs. Stage rollouts in rings with Deployment Plans, pause or cancel any deployment in flight, and auto-trust every app you push using App Control for Business with Managed Installer — extending the same trust to new device builds with Autopilot, now up to 25 apps. Keep your fleet current automatically as vendors publish new versions through the Enterprise App Catalog, or trigger updates on demand from the Guided Upgrade Supersedence report. Nicole Zhao, Microsoft Intune Product Manager, shares how to put these built-in enhancements to work across every managed device. *Intune Deployments is currently in private preview. Capabilities shown are subject to change and not yet generally available. Check out aka.ms/RSAC26-Intune-Blog from the RSA Conference for additional security context and guidance when managing apps with Microsoft Intune. ► QUICK LINKS: 00:00 - Built-in app management 00:51 - App Inventory Visibility 01:42 - Enterprise Application Management (EAM) 02:28 - PowerShell Script Installer GA 03:09 - Ring-Based Deployment Plans 04:44 - Managed Installer Auto-Trust 05:39 - Enterprise App Catalog Auto-Update 06:12 - Guided upgrade supersedence 06:50 - Wrap up ► Link References Check out https://aka.ms/IntuneAppManagement ► Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics? As Microsoft's official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft. • Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries • Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog • Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast ► Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social: • Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics • Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/ • Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/ • Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
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