Azure Thursdays - November 2025

Join us for the next Azure Thursdays meetup.
On November 6th we are welcomed by Royal Ahold Delhaize at their Headquarters in Zaandam.

Confirmed speakers:

• Mikhalina Akulova (Albert Heijn)
• Wim Matthyssen (Proximus NXT, Azure MVP)

Program:
17:30 ~ 18:00 Walk-in
18:00 ~ 18:45 Dinner
18:45 ~ 19:30 First session by Mikhalina - Azure Policy-as-Code at Ahold Delhaize
19:45 ~ 20:30 Second session by Wim - Empowering Cloud Security with Confidential Computing
20:30 ~ 21:00 Drinks & wrap-up

Session 1:
Speaker: Mikhalina Akulova
Title: Azure Policy-as-Code at Ahold Delhaize

At our organization, we believe that code should be the single source of truth — and that idea shapes the way we handle cloud governance. We use Azure Policies to audit and enforce our standards across different levels, and we manage everything through code to keep things consistent, transparent, and easy to improve.
In this session, I’ll walk you through how we’ve set things up:
•  A quick intro to Azure Policies and how they fit into our governance model
•  How we structure and manage Policy Definitions, Initiatives, Assignments, and even Exemptions in code
•  A look into the process side -- why we do it this way, and what benefits (and challenges) we’ve discovered along the way
Whether you’re already deep into Azure Policies or just starting to explore policy-as-code, I will give you practical insights into how to make governance more scalable, consistent, and engineer-friendly.

Session 2:
Speaker: Wim Matthyssen
Title: Empowering Cloud Security with Confidential Computing

These days, we live in a world facing an ever-growing number of cyber threats and data breaches. Ensuring the protection of sensitive information in virtual environments has never been more critical.
In this session, I’ll explore the world of cloud security with a focus on Confidential Virtual Machines (VMs). You’ll discover how confidential VMs strengthen protection through hardware-based encryption and secure enclaves. I’ll also share real-world examples, practical tips, and lessons learned from the field.
Join me as we unlock the potential of confidential VMs and empower your organization to securely and confidently manage IaaS workloads with greater resilience and peace of mind.

About Azure Thursday and this event:
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