South Coast User Group - Meetup + Evening BBQ Social - July 7th 2026

South Coast User Group + Evening BBQ Social – July 7th 2026, Evening Meetup

🗓 Time: 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Location: Hilton Hotel, Utilita Bowl (Ageas Bowl), Southampton, In-person
🍕 Food & Drinks: Provided
🎟 Cost: Free

Join us for an evening of learning, sharing, and networking with the South Coast User Group. This is a relaxed, community-led Microsoft event bringing together professionals, enthusiasts, and practitioners from across the region.

Whether you’re deep into Microsoft technologies or just starting your journey, this session offers practical insights, real-world experiences, and the chance to connect with like-minded people.

Agenda
7:00 – 7:15 | Arrival & Networking
Grab some food and drinks, meet fellow attendees, and get settled.

7:15 – 8:45 | Community Talks & Demos
We’ll hear from several speakers covering a range of Microsoft-related topics, including real-world use cases, lessons learned, and practical tips you can take back to your day job.
Short, focused sessions with time for questions and discussion.

Session 1 - AI pair-programming for SPFx: from prompt to production-ready, Jay Wellings

Prompting patterns that actually work (constraints, acceptance criteria, incremental diffs).
AI-assisted scaffolding (component structure, Fluent UI layout, state management).
AI-assisted debugging (build errors, TS types, Graph permission mistakes).
AI-assisted process (logging, basic tests, README).
Key talking point: SPFx is a toolchain and a deployment model - AI helps with code, not with responsibility.

Session 2 - Preventing Data Leaks to Shadow AI, Nikki Chapple, Microsoft MVP

Shadow AI is already within your organisation. Users are sharing sensitive data with generative AI tools you might not even know about.
In this session, you will learn how to discover unapproved AI usage, identify where sensitive data is being exposed, and take proportionate action to reduce risk. Using Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps and Microsoft Purview, we will explore how to gain visibility into Shadow AI, pinpoint high‑risk data areas, and prevent sensitive information from being shared with both Microsoft 365 Copilot and third‑party AI tools.
Finally, we will show how Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Intune work together as a joined‑up control plane, including governance of AI access through Microsoft Edge, to reduce data leakage without blocking innovation.
You will leave with a practical blueprint for detecting Shadow AI, preventing data leaks, and confidently governing generative AI across your organisation.

Session 3 - TBC, Laura Graham-Brown, Microsoft MVP

8:45 – 9:00 | Open Networking & Wrap-Up
Final conversations, follow-up questions, and community catch-ups before we close.

Who Should Attend?

• Microsoft professionals & practitioners
• Developers, architects, consultants, and IT leaders
• Anyone interested in Microsoft technologies and the wider community

Why Attend?

• Learn from local community speakers
• Discover practical insights and real-world solutions
• Network in a friendly, informal setting
• Enjoy free food and drinks while you learn

We look forward to seeing you there and continuing to grow the South Coast Microsoft community together.