RunAs Radio

Copilot Adoption in Financial Services with Christina Wheeler

What can the financial services sector teach us about adopting Copilot in our organizations? Richard chats with Christina Wheeler about her work at Microsoft, where she helps companies leverage large language model technologies. Christina discusses data security, which is crucial in the financial services industry due to its numerous regulations. The data security mindset of using tools like Purview and Data Loss Prevention helps to carve out data sets that can be used with Copilot. The conversation also turns to the Power Platform arena and Dataverse, tools that make it easy to embrace Copilot. There's a progression of security and capability, from internal apps to assisting staff with online work, to ultimately providing a means for customers to interact with a Copilot. There's a lot to learn, but the tools are there to make it possible!LinksMicrosoft PurviewPower Platform Data Loss PreventionPower Virtual AgentsMicrosoft DataverseCopilot StudioAzure AI FoundryRecorded July 7, 2025

From ClickOps to DevOps with Steven Bucher

How do you get from ClickOps to DevOps? While at Build, Richard chatted with Steven Bucher about using Copilot in Azure to help build PowerShell scripts with Azure CLI to get you moving down the path of repeatable deployment. Steven talks about interacting with Copilot in Azure through the Portal, Azure CLI, and PowerShell. Using tools like GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code can help you start making Infrastructure as Code in Bicep or Terraform to move you along the path of automating reliable deployments!LinksCopilot in AzureAzure CLITerraformAI ShellPowerShell 7.5BicepGitHub Copilot on VS CodeRecorded May 19, 2025

Copilot Studio with April Dunnam

How do you bring AI agents to your organization? Richard chats with April Dunnam about her experiences with Copilot Studio, Microsoft's tool for building various agents for your organization. April discusses the multiple approaches available today for utilizing generative AI and the benefits of leveraging template-driven and low-code solutions to capitalize on the latest features in agentic AI. The conversation also delves into the relationship between M365 Copilot and Copilot Studio for creating extensions and focused functionality. There's a significant amount of power here if you take the time to learn the tools!LinksMicrosoft Copilot StudioBuild your First Copilot Studio Agent in MinutesPlayright MCPTesting Copilot Studio AgentsAgent FlowsDataverse MCPApril's Copilot EstimatorRecorded July 8, 2025

Fabric in 2025 with Arun Ulag

What's happening with Fabric in 2025? While at Build, Richard chatted with Arun Ulag about the fantastic progress Fabric has made in the past year. Arun discusses expanding the product line beyond analytics to include real-time intelligence and hosting primary data workloads. The goal is to make it incredibly easy to get your organization's "data estate in order"... not just for security and analytics, but also for your upcoming AI-related workloads. Arun also discusses the power of conversational interfaces to access data, helping leaders get answers quickly and allowing analysts in your organization to build resources that can answer those questions quickly.LinksMicrosoft FabricRecorded May 20, 2025

Building Real Software using PowerApps with Luise Freese

How does a PowerApp become a fully-fledged software application? Richard chats with Luise Freese about her experience of taking a PowerApp built by an individual through the "onboarding process" of becoming a complete software application, including requirements, tests, deployment pipeline, security, user training, and more. It's easy to create a prototype of an application with PowerApps, but once you move beyond the basics, there's a significant amount of work that's essential to the long-term health of the app. Luise discusses how often PowerApps utilizes "free" data sources, such as SharePoint lists, rather than the underlying datasets that require a license. This hinders performance and reliability; it's better to work with the right APIs and data sources. It's also an accomplishment, as what started as an individual's automation is now a part of the suite of applications that a company depends on!LinksPower Apps and Power AutomateLuise's Blog PostMicrosoft Power Platform Center of Excellence Starter KitEntra ID for Power AppsRecorded June 27, 2025