Azure Updates: Firewall Manager; Cloud supply chain; Cost Management

Program manager Suren Jamiyanaa encouraged customers to improve DDoS protection with Firewall Manager. Many customers continue to adopt Zero Trust strategies, and to support this goal Microsoft has broadened Firewall Manager to support DDoS Protection Standard for virtual networks. New capabilities allow customers to manage DDoS Protection Plans alongside Firewall deployments in a single pane, as well as creating new Plans, and managing overall network security posture.

CTO Mark Russinovich touted Microsoft's resilient cloud supply chain strategy. Microsoft plans to add another 50 to 100 datacenters to its existing count of 200. Across its Azure operations, Microsoft is trying to achieve end-to-end security, diversify its suppliers, improve lead times, improve lead times and sustainability.

We seek to be an innovation engine that pushes the supply chain industry forward. We’re investing in our decision science to leverage machine learning, optimization algorithms, artificial intelligence, and digital twins for supply chain so we can make faster, smarter decisions. Our control tower will make it possible to manage all these processes end-to-end.We’ve also developed a blockchain-based solution for supply chain to improve traceability and create trust in data across our supplier partners by digitizing items in a shared data structure. We won the Gartner Power of the Profession Award for Supply Chain Breakthrough of the Year for our blockchain technology. We’re excited to be currently in production with SSD and DRAM and expanding to the full high-value commodities supplier base. In the future, the technology will enable traceability all the way from mine to datacenter and beyond into recycling, reuse, and disposition.

A new initiative dubbed the Supply Chain Academy aims to invest in people through training courses. Simultaneously, Microsoft is putting in place its Azure Security and Resiliency Architecture, or ASRA, which it hopes to apply to the lifecycle of Azure hardware.

Availability Zones are available in Norway East. Data Factory managed virtual networks are general available along with the latest Site Recovery update, Az module support in Azure Automation, and IoT middleware for FreeRTOS. Public previews include object replication for Premium Block Blob Storage and Automation Hybrid Worker Extensions for Azure and Arc-enabled servers. Customers need to upgrade Site Recovery to TLS 1.2, or another newer version by November 15.

The Azure team rounded out September with a recap of Cost Management and Billing changes. Going forward, users can share reservations across subscriptions using management groups and take advantage of optimized cost views. Cost Management Labs is adding cost analysis views, multitasking, and ways to view costs for resources.