Eric D. Boyd

It's workshop day at KCDC in Kansas City. Sessions start tomorrow. I'm on Thursday at 3:45 PM in room 2204 with Hack the Helper, a talk about treating AI agents like the security critical applications they actually are. ericboyd.com/events/kcdc-... #KCDC #AI #AppSec #CyberSecurity

Tomorrow at the Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup: @michaelscollier.com on building resilient, durable agents with Microsoft Agent Framework. 90+ registered. Lou Malnati's on responsiveX. 6 PM. Microsoft Chicago. RSVP: ericboyd.com/events/chica...

I'm excited to spend time with a good group of software developers and tech pros in Orlando this November. If you're new to Live 360, you really might find this article useful. One tip and theme I can't stress enough, take advantage of every opportunity to meet and spend time with people.

I wanted to do my part and help cool the AI data centers, but the coolant collector is sold out. Seriously though, Liquid Death ads are great. I feel like every ad campaign is Super Bowl quality. And this one doesn't disappoint. liquiddeath.com/pages/wewant...

What are you doing this Saturday morning? Jonathan "J." Tower is getting Beer City Code kicked off in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I'm excited to be here. #BeerCityCode #AI #Azure

An MCP server is an API boundary exposed to a non-deterministic caller. Auth and scoping are day-one work. I'll show you how to design and build them in C# and .NET. Room 135, Sat 3:00 PM, Beer City Code. https://ericboyd.com/events/beer-city-code-2026-grand-rapids

Deploying .NET to #Azure App Service is easy. Making it fast in prod shouldn't be painful. Brian McKeiver will be in Chicago, Thu Aug 13 at 6pm showing a .NET 10 deploy, baselining, then tuning. https://ericboyd.com/events/chicago-cloud-computing-meetup-august-2026-brian-mckeiver-azure-app-service

An agent doesn't reduce ambiguity. It acts on it faster than a junior dev would. Spec-driven development with Spec Kit. Room 229, Saturday 10:00 AM, Beer City Code. Of your last 10 AI-assisted PRs, how many filled in requirement blanks? https://ericboyd.com/events/beer-city-code-2026-grand-rapids

A message board grew in a shared Artifactory package manager. Nobody designed it. OpenAI wiped it. Two days later the agents rebuilt it with WebDAV directory names. 74 days. Two companies. One incident. https://ericboyd.com/articles/openai-hugging-face-incident-black-hat-2026

Last night, we kicked off the #AI hackathon at #VSLive. A good group of developers came out to build AI solutions that solve real business problems using Foundry and Copilot Studio. I'm excited for another night of it. Someone is winning $6,000. ericboyd.com/articles/vsl...

I had a blast kicking off the Visual Studio Live! conference this morning on the beautiful Microsoft campus. I got to share my perspectives and experiences developing AI and Agentic solutions. And I got to show developers how to design and build MCP servers with .NET and C#. #AI #MCP #VSLive

$25,000 pool. 18 cash prizes. $6,000 Grand Champion. I'm mentoring and judging the VSLive! Microsoft AI Hackathon at Microsoft HQ, July 28–29. Two nights, real AI builds, real money. Solo or teams of four. ericboyd.com/articles/vsl... #AI #Hackathon #VSLive #Azure #Foundry #Microsoft

I'm excited to welcome @scott.hanselman.com to tonight's meetup. We still have about 20 spots left if you're free, and hearing from Scott about AI and its impacts on software development sounds interesting. And a big thank you to Progress Software for sponsoring. ericboyd.com/events/chica...

Chicago has become a major center for quantum research. Join us Thursday, June 18, at the Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup as Brad Henderson, CEO of P33, discusses Chicago and the Quantum Age. https://ericboyd.com/events/chicago-cloud-computing-meetup-june-2026-brad-henderson-chicago-quantum-age

Here's what you should expect from Microsoft Build tomorrow. In my post, get info, tips, and the sessions I'm planning to watch. You'll also find a new tool that helps you engage with the conference. https://ericboyd.com/articles/microsoft-build-2026-what-to-expect What are you excited for?

Sometimes you must make a hard decision. Next week is a really difficult decision. It's actually made, it just happens next week. Build or SecretCon or DevSum I love #CypherCon. #SecretCon is the sister conf in MN. And I'm missing it. I chose DevSum. I'll be streaming Build.

At the Pantheon yesterday, I thought about the Enterprise AI session that I'm presenting at DevSum. Next week, I'll explain 5 enterprise AI pillars required to create a strong and lasting solution that goes beyond a demo. https://www.devsum.se/agenda/enterprise-ai-with-microsoft-foundry/

I'll be in Stockholm next week for #DevSum. I'm looking forward to great sessions and conversations. I'll be presenting about enterprise #AI and securing #AspNetCore and API apps. https://ericboyd.com/events/devsum-2026 If you're attending, let's connect. If you're able to attend, you should.

The anxiety a message like this gives you when you have 12 hours to go, lots of work to do, and you still have lots of premium requests remaining in your account, but #GitHub #Copilot has implemented multiple levels of quotas and throttling.

Day 2 of the 3-day Azure Infra Summit 2026 has begun. The schedule is packed full of 300-400 level #Azure sessions. If you missed yesterday, don't worry, you can watch yesterday's sessions on demand. https://www.azureinfrasummit.com/

Azure Cosmos DB Conf starts in 1 hour. I’ll be sharing how handle coordination in distributed systems with: - distributed locks - sagas - outbox - concurrency 25+ sessions from many great presenters. Event info here: https://ericboyd.com/events/azure-cosmos-db-conf-2026

If your system processes the same message twice, you don’t have a bug. You have a coordination problem. At Azure Cosmos DB Conf on 4/28 at 11 AM CT, I'll show how to solve it with: - sagas - distributed locks - outbox Plus 25+ other sessions. https://ericboyd.com/events/azure-cosmos-db-conf-2026

Global Azure Chicago wasn’t just another event. It was: - real-world architectures - honest discussions about challenges - a strong, engaged community That’s where meaningful progress happens. I wrote a recap here: https://ericboyd.com/articles/global-azure-2026-recap-chicago

Distributed system failures are often coordination failures At Azure Cosmos DB Conf, I’m diving into: - distributed locks - sagas - outbox pattern - concurrency control April 28, 11 AM CT. Online and free. Also 25+ other sessions to explore. https://ericboyd.com/events/azure-cosmos-db-conf-2026

What is a Microsoft Regional Director??? I get this question, and others like it, a lot. So, I wrote up my response to this question in an article that you can read. https://ericboyd.com/articles/what-is-a-microsoft-regional-director-rd

Global Azure started around the world today. You can see what's going on at globalazure.net. With help from my team at responsiveX, @davidgiard.bsky.social at Microsoft, and a great group of presenters, we're hosting the Chicago #GlobalAzure event tomorrow. ericboyd.com/events/globa...

Monday, April 13, is AgentCamp Milwaukee. If you are interested in the latest in AI technologies, want to learn from AI experts, and network with others, don't miss #AgentCamp. And I'll be presenting on grounding, memory, and retrieval. For more details, check out my post.

I'm excited to hear George Roberts from McDonald's share his insights with the Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup group tonight. The topic is IAM in the new era of autonomous AI agents. If you're in the area, join us tonight. You can find more details in my post.

Join me in Square at 3 PM to learn how to gain control of, and defend against others gaining control of, Entra ID tenants. https://cyphercon.com/speaker/i-stole-your-azure-tenant-with-a-login-link/ #CypherCon

Jaxon and I had fun presenting at #CypherCon. It was his first time and a great learning experience for him. With the 90's theme, we created a retro clicker game that we'll keep running throughout the event. https://webcoins.click Find vulnerabilities and share what you find.

Here we come #CypherCon. We're excited to introduce w3bc0in$ '95 to everyone in our session tomorrow. https://ericboyd.com/events/cyphercon-2026

I don't make endorsements lightly, but #CypherCon is truly my favorite conference. If you are in Milwaukee or Chicago, you should register and join me next week. You'll get collaborate with others, solve fun problems, build cool things, exercise your brain, and learn from expert practitioners.

It's an honor to find your name on the MVP/RD wall at MVP Summit for two reasons. 1) 1 You were given a very prestigious award for helping others be successful in the industry and in their careers. 2) Your name is alongside the names of some very incredible people. #mvpsummit #mvpbuzz

I'm presenting about AI agents at #VSLive Las Vegas next week. One session is on building agents with Copilot Studio. Another session on designing and architecting AI agents and agentic AI solutions. What questions do you think I should I be prepared to answer on these topics?

The call for speakers is open for Chicago Global Azure 2026. It is on Friday, April 17 at the Microsoft Chicago office. https://sessionize.com/chicago-global-azure-2026/ If you're considering submitting and want to sanity-check an idea, reply here or reach out. #GlobalAzure #Azure #CFS

Next month, I'm speaking at #CypherCon 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is one of my favorite conferences around the world. It's an incredible community, lots of great knowledge sharing, and it's really interactive and fun. If you're going, I'd love to connect.

I just wrapped up the final Microsoft Azure Live Q&A session after nine years, and it's bittersweet. If you're curious about how this webinar got started, how it evolved over the years, why we did it, and who we did it for since launching in 2017, you can read more in this article.

One part of #VSLive Las Vegas I'm especially excited about is the two-day Python + AI hands-on lab. We'll go from Python fundamentals on day one, and into AI and ML concepts on day two. If you joined, what would you most want to learn or understand better?

One more reminder that the final Azure Live Q&A session is tomorrow. If you're new to #Azure and want practical help, come with a real question and let's work through it.

Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup is tomorrow evening. Harald Fianbakken will be talking about sovereign requirements, Azure Local, and what changes when you're building for restricted or air-gapped environments.

I'll be at Visual Studio Live! Las Vegas next week teaching a two-day Python + AI lab and speaking about AI agents. If you're interested in Python, AI/ML, Copilot Studio, Foundry, or designing enterprise agentic systems, join me in Vegas. And reply here to let me know what you want to learn most.

Thursday is the final Live Q&A session. If you want practical answers to Azure questions, join me live. Reply with questions you have about #Azure, maybe it's identity, cost visibility, landing-zone design, common service choices, or even certifications, and I'll try to answer them on Thursday.

If sovereign cloud, disconnected environments, or regulated workloads sound interesting, Harald Fianbakken is joining us at Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup to talk through Microsoft's approach with Azure Local, and the challenges that show up when an environment is restricted or fully air-gapped.

Feeling disappointed with vibe coding with AI coding agents? Join me this evening to learn about spec-driven development with GitHub Spec Kit. It's totally free and online, so you can join from the comfort of your home or office. Thanks to Sam Nasr and the Cleveland C# UG for hosting the event.

I have lots to say and share about MCP and AI Agents. I'd love to present at the #MCPDevSummit, but I'm already presenting at #CypherCon that week, and it is also Good Friday. So, I can't. If you also have things share with the #MCP community, you just have a few more hours to submit sessions.

I had a blast presenting Spec Driven development with GitHub Spec Kit at the Microsoft #AITour NYC. Thanks Mike Richter for the great intro and taking a selfie with me and the other 200+ attendees.

In the Microsoft #AITour keynote and @sethjuarez.com is rocking it talking about GitHub Copilot.

The registration is getting full for my session at #AITour NYC. If you want to attend my session on Spec-Driven development with GitHub Spec Kit, I recommend: - Clicking the "Add to schedule" button on the session page - Arrive early to ensure you get a seat ericboyd.com/events/micro...

I've hated WordPress for a while, and in recent years I've become a fan of the simplicity of Astro. There are tradeoffs, for sure. After today's announcement of a CloudFlare acquisition, Astro seems to have even more of a future. blog.cloudflare.com/astro-joins-...

Yesterday's Azure Live Q&A session was a blast. If you missed it, there are a few more opportunities, including the next one on Thursday, January 29th. The registration information is in the link below. https://ericboyd.com/events/azure-live-qa-january-29-2026-getting-started-with-azure