Secure app development with Azure AD, Key Vault and Managed Identities

Developing applications using security best practices doesn't have to be hard. And yet, many organizations and developers struggle with this since the space is so vast and it's hard to know where to start. However, if you are developing that leverage Azure, then there are some powerful features in place to ensure that you and your team can develop secure code end to end. And for me, it's this end-to-end scenario that is done so beautifully, elegantly and effortlessly using the tools and services that you most likely already use on a daily basis. This scenario gets even stronger if …[read more]

Modern authentication with Azure AD for WinForms (native) apps

WinForms? In 2020? Why, yes I say. Because not everyone is fortunate enough to work on cutting edge technology or frameworks. But this shouldn't stop us, developers, from finding ways to modernize our solutions and adopt best practices. I know what you're gonna say: 'WinForms suck'. And I will agree to an extend. WinForms do come with a lot of bad rep and bad code by design - event handlers anyone? - but it also makes for a great, robust solution that can get you off the ground and with a fully running app in 2 days. Can you do …[read more]

Getting started with Microsoft Identity for Developers (AAD)

In this blog post (series) I'll be looking at Microsoft Identity from a developer perspective. In other words, I'll cover how to set up authentication and authorization for your solution using Azure Active Directory (AAD). If you haven't worked with AAD before, don't worry. I'll make sure to cover the basics as we go through this journey together. AAD allows developers to register an app that can then be used to authenticate AD users and provide the appropriate roles and permissions to users to execute certain actions. As one of my colleagues says (Kyle), what developers care about in the …[read more]

2018 Retrospective

2018 is already behind us and what a year it's been! Lot's of exciting changes and a year marked with many successes along with some (smaller) failures but all in all it's been a good year! 2018 was also marked by one, if not the biggest, life-changing decision in my life - moving to the US with my family to take on a new role at Microsoft. It may have been only the second time in my life that I decided to embark in such a big change but the first time was much simpler as it only involved myself! …[read more]

Techorama Netherlands 2018 - The one conference to rule them all

TechoramaNL has been a fantastic experience and I was very lucky to be invited to this inaugural event in the Netherlands. Techorama, if you don’t' know, is one of the best if not the best conference on, predominantly, Microsoft technologies outside Microsoft. That is, outside of events that Microsoft organizes. Techorama has been running for 5 years in Belgium but this was the first time that the conference was run in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that this was the first year, the Techorama team are seasoned developers, speakers, and conference organizers. Therefore, it's no surprise that everything was …[read more]