// AI

Rapid prototyping is more than quick coding — it is a structured discipline for learning fast and making smarter product investment decisions. In this episode, Chris is joined by Andrew Greenstein, CEO of SF AppWorks and host of "The Next Great Thing" podcast, to explore three distinct types of rapid prototyping: design sprints, iterative feature development, and platform proof-of-concepts. The conversation draws on Kent Beck's product development triathlon (explore, expand, extract), Saras Saraswathy's effectuation theory, and a West Elm innovation case study — where rapid prototyping an AI image-matching feature and a chatbot delivered measurable revenue gains.

As systems grow in complexity across distributed architectures and microservices, traditional monitoring is no longer sufficient to maintain reliability and user experience. Observability goes beyond monitoring by correlating logs, metrics, and traces to rapidly pinpoint root causes across hybrid and multi-cloud landscapes. In this episode, Chris is joined by Samir Pradka, Enterprise Architect at Artos, to explore how organisations can build an observability platform incrementally, leverage AIOps for predictive analytics, and implement self-healing infrastructure using tools like Ansible and Azure Resource Manager.

Your monthly digest covering a packed May 2022 — headlined by Microsoft Build! In this episode, Chris walks through Azure Container Apps going generally available (and why it's one to watch), the limited access preview of Azure OpenAI Service with GPT-3 and Codex models, Azure DNS Private Resolver for hybrid name resolution, Open Service Mesh extension for Azure Arc GA, NGINX natively integrated on Azure, AKS host process containers in preview, Azure Communication Services Email GA, hierarchical partition keys in Cosmos DB, and much more. Plus GitHub and Azure DevOps highlights from a very busy month for the developer ecosystem.

Chris Reddington is joined by Ivo, a cloud evangelist based in Belgium with hands-on experience transforming one of the country's largest telco providers. They explore how telecommunications companies are leveraging Azure to evolve from traditional connectivity providers into platform-scale service businesses — covering 5G, IoT, edge computing, AI/ML, Azure Arc, security, compliance, and the cultural challenges of cloud adoption in a regulated industry.

Hearing impairment affects an estimated 430 million people worldwide — yet accessibility in public speaking is still an afterthought for most presenters. Kai Saata, a data consultant and cochlear implant user, joins Chris to explain why closed captions matter for audiences with hearing difficulties, how cloud-powered live transcription in tools like Microsoft Teams is changing inclusive communication, and what every speaker can do today to make their content accessible to more people.

In the first tech-only episode of the new alternating format, Chris demonstrates GitHub Copilot's Technical Preview using Ruby and Python — from API integrations and regex generation to Azure Functions and IoT Hub messaging — and discusses the FAQ around code ownership, training data, and personal information filtering. The episode also covers CNCF fundamentals, Azure API Management policies with JWT token validation, Traefik proxy on Kubernetes, and the general availability of Azure Arc, including Azure SQL enabled by Arc.

Weekly Vlog #22 is a dedicated Microsoft Build 2021 recap led by the landmark announcement of Azure Arc for Application Services, enabling App Service, Azure Functions, Logic Apps, Event Grid, and API Management to run on any Kubernetes cluster across Azure, AWS, GCP, or on-premises. Chris also presented at Build alongside Dean Brian and Carol Logan, demonstrating friction-free development with Blazor, GitHub Codespaces, and GitHub Actions while spotlighting UK developer communities. Additional highlights include a wave of AKS improvements, the Durable Functions Netherite storage provider preview, Azure Cosmos DB integrated cache, Azure Applied AI Services, and Security Center integration with GitHub Actions.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a production SaaS platform in your own time? In this Tales from the Real World episode, Chris is joined by Jamie Maguire — Developer, Microsoft MVP (AI), and Pluralsight Author — who shares the full story behind Social Opinion, a Twitter analytics and productivity platform built with .NET and Azure. Jamie walks through the evolution from a custom Bayesian text analytics API (built during his master's degree) to a full SaaS powered by Azure Cognitive Services, covering social listening, sentiment analysis, content scheduling, and audience insights. He also shares practical advice for anyone looking to build their own product: pick something you're genuinely passionate about, validate demand before writing code, and ship early.