Heini Ilmarinen

We’ve all been there, setting up multiple workspaces, clicking through the same settings, and wondering if there is a better way? Microsoft Fabric is powerful and as the platform evolves, so does the need for automation.

Microsoft Fabric has become an exciting option to create a data platform solution in the cloud, but networking can quickly become the thing that slows you down or stops you completely. Whether you're trying to bring data in from a secured source, control what Fabric can reach out to, or lock down who and what can access your Fabric environment, there's a lot to navigate. In this session we'll cover the full networking picture in Fabric, both inbound and outbound. We'll start by looking at what tenant and workspace level network settings are available and what implications those settings have. Then we'll dive into how private endpoints and managed private endpoints affect your Fabric environment. The familiar on-prem and virtual network gateways from the Power BI world are a central part in Fabric to reach secured data sources, so we'll check how they fit into Fabric to make a full solution. We will also cover when you can use shortcuts to reach storage services in Azure or other clouds even when networking restrictions are in place, as well as how network limitations affect mirroring. We'll also touch on the collaboration side of the picture where we might be faced with needing to meet strict security requirements. Often networking and security teams speak a different language than data people, and knowing how to have that conversation can make or break your project. On the way we'll go through the most necessary core concepts regarding networking and DNS so the rest makes sense, and we'll keep things practical with concrete demos throughout. After this session you'll have a full picture of Fabric networking from every angle, and nothing should be out of reach!

Azure Databricks is a great service to build your Lakehouse architecture on, but to figure out which networking capabilities you should enable can be hard to figure out. In this session we will take a deep dive to Azure Databricks networking capabilities. We'll start from core Azure networking concepts and move to Azure Databricks specific configurations of secure cluster connectivity and how private endpoints are applied. The distinction between the control plane and compute plane will make it easier to understand the flow of traffic for Databricks. The addition of serverless compute brings in new considerations and we'll end by figuring out how it fits in the picture. After this session you'll have a thorough understanding of Azure Databricks networking capabilities and the additional security they can provide.

Finns aren’t exactly known for loud confidence, we’re more famous for silence and saying only what really matters. When I started working in tech with a math background, I felt less experienced and less technical than others. Later when I started speaking, I worried I wasn’t charismatic enough to be on stage. These may not be your exact doubts, but most of us in tech carry some version of the same pattern. In this session, I’ll share my personal journey of finding confidence without trying to become someone else. We’ll explore why confidence in tech isn’t about being the loudest or most senior person in the room, but about understanding your own perspective and owning it. Instead of focusing on perceived shortcomings, we’ll look at how to recognise and build confidence around your real strengths. If you want to feel more confident at work, speak up more, or are even considering stepping onto a stage, this session is for you. This talk is not about perfect communication, it’s about finding and owning your voice, the quiet kind you can truly be proud of.

All the Azure Data offerings are great. But they are also confusing. Which one is right for you? Which size do you need? The answer is of course: It depends. Join us for a day of unmystifying the jungle of offerings! We will walk you through the different service offerings from SQL Server running in a VM over Azure SQL DB up to Fabric. To make sure, this is applicable and actionable, we will clearly structure this day by use cases for both, your needs to have your data land in azure as well as how to make it accessible for consumption: - HA/DR – are you intending to use Azure only as your backup datacenter? - Migration – is Azure going to be your new home? - ETL, Replication, Mirroring and Links – are you only intending to run some of your workloads, like analytics in the cloud and need to build a landing zone for your data from other sources? - Streaming - Are you getting data from sensors or other devices? - Analytics – Is fabric really your only choice to run reports in the future? This demo packed day will be your fast track to figure out which of the countless offerings is right for you and what it will take you to get there. We’ll focus on the technical aspects but also take a look at implications like security, governance and of course: cost.

Working in technology we're used to architecture pictures, that can be an efficient means of communication. You might have also come across one where you have to follow a jumble of lines trying to make sense how things fit together!

Git, push, pull, fork, clone....getting started with using git is confusing! In this fast session we'll start from figuring out what is git and version control, as well as how repositories fit in the picture.

Working in technology we're used to architecture pictures, that can be an efficient means of communication. You might have also come across one where you have to follow a jumble of lines trying to make sense how things fit together! So what makes a picture a good way of communication? In this session we will dive into how to use pictures as a means of communicating a technical topic. We will look at the different contexts of presenting on a topic from discussing a topic with a colleague to making an architecture picture for documentation. Through concrete samples we will start to gain understanding of what makes a picture really worth a thousand words! Join this session to elevate your skills of creating better images to convey technical knowledge, whether using a tool or drawing by hand.

We'd like to record an episode of Knee-Deep in Tech live at DataMinds Connect! The episode is a 45 minute and recorded in front of a live audience. The audience will get to be part of the episode in several ways, and the hosts will take questions that will be discussed in the episode.

Microsoft Fabric is the newest kid on the block for creating a data platform solution; for a data platform we need data. Most likely data that is in a secured network and maybe not reachable over the public network.

If you're getting started with an implementation using Infrastructure as Code, one of the first things to figure out is which tool to use. When working with an Azure data platform solution, the most common options that come up are Bicep and Terraform; therefore, this session will dive into the details of the differences of Bicep and Terraform to help you choose the best option.

Microsoft Fabric - the new kid in the block for data platform solutions. But let's face it, there are many experiences and artifacts to wrap your head around to nor get lost on the way!

The technology field, especially the cloud is in a constant change and it is challenging to keep up! We've got AI, Copilots and of course Microsoft Fabric as the latest to learn more about. So how do you really keep up? In this session I will talk about how to handle being faced with a lot of unknowns, having to learn completely new concepts and solutions very quickly (and implement them!). I will share my experiences and the insights I've learned on my own career, as well as some of the research that can help us understand learning in such a fast passed environment. This session can be useful for anyone looking to keep their knowledge up to date or expand knowledge to a new area - and get excited (instead of overwhelmed) about learning again!

We're recording an episode of Knee-Deep in Tech live at DataMinds Connect, and we want you to be a part of it! The episode is roughly 45 minutes, recorded in front of a live audience. The audience will get to be part of the episode in several ways, and the hosts will take questions that will be discussed in the episode.

Azure Synapse Analytics is a wonderful collection of capabilities to bring your data to life, but making sense of how to secure the networtking for Synapse Analytics can be challenging. We need to understand concepts like managed vnets and private endpoints, as well as know about Azure DNS, network architecture and possibly even about connectivity methods from on-premises to make this work with mo

Architect – experience or a skill to be learned!? This training day is for taking your architecture skills to the next level through building out a reference architecture using Azure Synapse Analytics. We will begin with a systematic approach to choosing the best services for your use case and...

If you're getting started with an implementation using Infrastructure as Code, one of the first things to figure out is which tool to use. In this session will dive into the details of the differences of Bicep and Terraform to help you choose the best option for your scenario. We will begin the...

Using cloud services has made it smooth and flexible to create our data platform solutions and get started fast by clicking your way through the portal - or maybe using Powershell to script your infrastructure into being. But what if you run into issues when managing your environment or need to create an identical environment for development and testing. Well, this means we need more powerful ways to work with our infrastructure - bring in infrastructure as code! In this full day workshop we will go through the concepts that you need to grasp in order to get started with infrastructure as code in Azure. We will dive into the different tools that you can use for managing infrastructure as code, as well as the differences, benefits and drawbacks of each. We will get started with setting up the tools needed for working with Terraform and then jump straight into creating your first resources. Through this we will be able to get a strong base of the basic Terraform concepts of providers, variable, outputs and state files. In the second half of the day we will explore a complete workflow for deploying your Azure data platform architecture as code using Terraform, and how to seamlessly work on that code with your team. Finally we will learn some tips and tricks from the real world of working with Terraform from handling existing resources to using loops and dynamic blocks to make your configurations flexible and powerful. Bring your laptop, an excited mindset and make sure you have an Azure Subscription you can work with. You'll be able to create and manage your Azure data platform solution with ease at the end of the day!

Are you trying to make sense of how to secure your Azure Data Service to your own virtual network, but can't just seem to make sense of service endpoints, private links and private endpoints, as well as when to use which approach? It also seems that there is a need to know about Azure DNS, network architecture and possibly even about connectivity methods from on-premises to make this work with more complex scenarios. Join this session to understand networking for the Azure Data services and the differences of these methods for integrating your Azure Data Services to a virtual network. You will learn what are the benefits of each approach and what challenges you are able to solve with them in your environment. We will finish with a walk through in practice the details of a common scenario of having secure access to your database in Azure from an on-premises site.

A little over five years ago I was a freshly graduated mathematics student doing teaching on the side, all while still trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up. There had been a thought brewing in the back of my mind of taking a leap into something completely new to me - IT. Fast forward five years and here I am! A lot has happened over these five years, and in this session I will be sharing my experiences of doing a complete 180-degree career switch. Among the challenges I will talk about is how to handle being faced with a lot of unknowns, having to learn completely new concepts and solutions very quickly (and implement them!), and trying to find my way in a new community - all while trying to figure out what topics made me excited to go to work everyday. I will share my approach, my experiences and the insights that I found useful, all in the hope of being able to inspire anyone to take the next step - regardless if you are looking to keep your knowledge up to date, expand your knowledge to a new area, or make an equally complete shift in your career.

Infrastructure as code is *the* way to deploy Azure services - right? But under looming deadlines and time crunches it can feel way faster to use the tried and tested method of going to the portal and creating resources manually. In the back of your head, you know there must be a faster, better way of managing resources - but how do you make the jump? Without having a developer background it can be difficult to know where to even start with infrastructure as code. Especially if you are working with a team of multiple people managing and operating Azure resources - this requires a full cultural change! In this session we will go through the concepts that you need to grasp in order to get started with infrastructure as code for Azure. We will look at how the process for managing resources in Azure changes compared to the way we've previously done it, and finally we will explore a complete workflow of deploying your Azure data platform architecture as code using Terraform and how to work on that code with your team.

In this session we will go through the concepts that you need to grasp in order to get started with infrastructure as code for Azure. We will look at how the process for managing resources in Azure changes compared to the way we've previously done it, and finally we will explore a complete...

Are you trying to make sense of how to secure your Azure Data Service to your private network, but can't just seem to make sense of service endpoints, private links and private endpoints, as well as when to use which approach? Join this session to understand networking for the Azure Data...

Infrastructure as code is *the* way to deploy Azure services - right? But under looming deadlines and time crunches it can feel way faster to use the tried and tested method of going to the portal and creating resources manually. In the back of your head, you know there must be a faster, better way of managing resources - but how do you make the jump? Without having a developer background it can be difficult to know where to even start with infrastructure as code. Especially if you are working with a team of multiple people managing and operating Azure resources - this requires a full cultural change! In this session we will go through the concepts that you need to grasp in order to get started with infrastructure as code for Azure. We will look at how the process for managing resources in Azure changes compared to the way we've previously done it, and finally we will explore a complete workflow of deploying your Azure data platform architecture as code using Terraform and how to work on that code with your team.