About 80 Microsoft Azure Government user community members joined us last month for our first-ever virtual meetup, Gov cloud demopalooza, featuring TechTrend Inc., Mobius Logic, Leidos and Microsoft.

In case you missed it, we invite you to watch the replay on our Azure Government meetup channel to see the innovative demos and great insights on tools and services for government. A big thank you to all our speakers and community members. Below you’ll also find brief descriptions of the featured demos.

Meanwhile, we’re looking forward to our next virtual meetup, Gov IT modernization in the era of COVID-19, on April 29 starting at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Check out our meetup site for details and to RSVP!

Watch the Gov Cloud Demopalooza

• Gov Cloud Demopalooza welcome segment – with Karina Homme
• Securing Identity with Microsoft Azure – with TJ Banasik
• TechTrend accelerating smart cloud adoption across gov – with Eric Carlson & Sean Gezen
• Mobius Logic drone flight management system on Azure – with Christian Manasseh
• Azure Bots for call centers – with Toby Leigh

Zero Trust: Securing Identity with Microsoft Azure TJ Banasik, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Azure Government

In this Securing Identity with Microsoft Azure segment, TJ sets the stage by sharing some background and general context around Zero Trust and then he moved into a discussion about implementing Zero Trust identity management principles in Azure. His demonstration explores how to deploy an identity management system covering a variety of steps and components including Account Provisioning (AAD), Secure Authentication (MFA) and Secure Administrative Rights (PIM).

A few of the key takeaways TJ shared is that there’s no one point when you have reached Zero Trust. It’s an ongoing journey, and you start with what you’ve got and build on that. TJ also highlighted that National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published NIST SP 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture that provides a standardized Zero Trust framework.

Zero Trust journey: We need to learn how to operate within a risk pervasive environment and if we follow the right steps and principles we can do so successfully. It’s a mindset – verify explicitly, use least privilege access and assume breach.

Be sure to also check out TJ’s Zero Trust blog series:

• Implementing Zero Trust with Microsoft Azure: Identity and Access Management
• Protecting Cloud Workloads for Zero Trust with Azure Security Center
• Monitoring Cloud Security for Zero Trust with Azure Sentinel
• Enforcing Policy for Zero Trust with Azure Policy
• Insider Threat Monitoring for Zero Trust with Microsoft Azure
• Supply Chain Risk Management for Zero Trust with Microsoft Azure

Accelerating Smart Cloud Adoption Across Government: DevSecOps-as-a-Service and Cloud Cost Optimization Tool Eric Carlson, Director PMO, and Sean Gezen, Cloud Solution Architect, TechTrend Inc.

In this segment, Eric and Sean of TechTrend provide a high level intro of the current state of the gov cloud adoption situation and then showcase two tools that help accelerate smart cloud adoption across government: 1) DevSecOps-as-a-service which helps organizations and developers to build high quality, secure applications faster using integrated cost saving solutions, and 2) Optimize Cloud IT which provides real-time cost consumption visibility and ability to optimizing cloud operational cost and maximize value for gov agencies.

TechTrend, an Azure CSP, is an innovative enterprise IT solutions provider that delivers scalable, repeatable, and predictable mission outcomes.

Flight Management System on Azure Christian Manasseh, Founder & CEO, Mobius Logic

In this segment, Christian of Mobius leads with a 30,000-foot view and introduction of the drone industry, where construction and civilian government are the main players. He also highlights how the Mobius Logic flight management system on Azure addresses the key challenges in this industry by (1) always being up-to-date with evolving federal and local regulations, (2) automated and has workflow-driver capabilities, (3) offers rich analytics and AI capabilities for flight planning and operations and (4) is compliant to corporate safety policies and procedures.

Mobius Logic’s flight management system is on Azure platform; thus, it inherits all the security features discussed during TJ’s Zero Trust talk.

Mobius Logic is a Gold Microsoft developing partner specializing in Azure services, particularly AI, data science and robotics.

Azure Chat Bots, Toby Leigh, Cloud Services Manager, Leidos

In this segment, Toby of Leidos and an Azure, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) expert, shares insight on some challenges and opportunities that government customers are facing when it comes to data centers and customer service.

As many agencies work to optimize costs and improve customer service, they’re looking to automate and integrate the various aspects of the customer experience. Toby demonstrated how Leidos uses AI technology, specifically chat bots to solve the challenges their customers are experiencing.

Leidos is a Fortune 500 company with four key markets: civil, defense, health and intelligence.

Relevant resources:

• https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/services/bot-service/
• https://github.com/microsoft/botramework/ivr

Thank you again to all our speakers and the Azure Gov Meetup community! Make sure to join us for the next virtual meetup on April 29: Gov IT modernization in the era of COVID-19