Global Azure 2026 @ North Toronto Cloud & DevOps User Group

North Toronto Cloud & DevOps User Group is proud to host the Global Azure 2026 event!

Join us for an exciting event featuring presentations on Azure, AI, DevOps, and more! This virtual experience is open to participants globally around the world!

✅ RSVP now to reserve your spot. Spots are limited.

Presentation: Welcome to Global Azure 2026
Speaker: Jack Lee (Microsoft MVP)

Jack will kick off Global Azure 2026 with a keynote presentation.

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Presentation: Durable Functions Got an Upgrade. Let's Actually Use It.
Speaker: Alex Pshul (Microsoft MVP)

Still running Durable Functions on the old storage backend?

There's a new toy called Durable Task Scheduler. It changes how your orchestration runs, scale, and behave under load. Looks great on paper, but what does it actually mean 9n practice?

In this session, we will build a real Durable Functions app step-by-step using Durable Task Scheduler. You will see what actually changes, how to set up, what breaks, and what gets better.

A bit of theory and a real practical walkthrough you can reuse the next day.

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Presentation: Deploy Your AI Assistant with OpenClaw and Microsoft Foundry
Speaker: Kaan Turgut (Microsoft MVP)

What if you could text an AI assistant on Telegram and have it answer questions, run commands, and work autonomously, all running in your own Azure subscription?

In this session, Kaan Turgut will walk you through OpenClaw, the open-source AI assistant with 60,000+ GitHub stars that's taken the developer community by storm. You'll see a full end-to-end deployment: provisioning a hardened Azure VM, installing OpenClaw, connecting it to a model deployed in Microsoft AI Foundry, and sending a live message via Telegram.
This is a demo-driven session. No death by PowerPoint.

What you'll walk away with:

- How OpenClaw's Gateway + Agent architecture works
- Deploying OpenClaw on an Azure VM
- Deploying and configuring models in Microsoft AI Foundry
- Wiring OpenClaw to your Foundry endpoint (auth, headers, config)
- Real-world use cases for self-hosted AI agents

Who should attend: Developers, DevOps engineers, and cloud practitioners curious about self-hosted AI agents. No prior OpenClaw experience needed. Basic Azure familiarity is helpful.

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Host and Speaker Bio

Jack Lee is a Microsoft MVP and a Cloud Solutions Architect with a passion for Azure, AI, software development, and DevOps innovations. He is an active Microsoft tech community contributor and has presented at various user groups and conferences, including the Global Azure Bootcamp at Microsoft Canada. Jack is an experienced mentor and judge at hackathons and is also the president of the North Toronto Cloud & DevOps User Group. He has co-authored many books, including "Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) Study Guide", "Azure for Decision Makers", "Azure Integration Guide for Business", and "Azure for Architects". You can follow Jack on Twitter/X at @jlee_consulting and his user group at @NorthTorontoUG.

Alex Pshul is a software architect, Microsoft Azure MVP, consultant, speaker and a tech freak. He had worked on more than 35 projects in the past 13 years, using a vast range of Azure services and various .NET and TypeScript technologies. You can follow Alex on Twitter/X at @AlexPshul and visit his blog.

Kaan Turgut is a passionate tech professional who loves turning cutting-edge ideas into reality. As a Senior Cloud DevOps Engineer with deep expertise in the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, Kaan thrives on designing scalable cloud solutions, building smart AI-driven applications, and streamlining development workflows. His mission? Helping organizations unlock the full potential of the cloud to drive innovation and growth. But Kaan's impact goes beyond code and infrastructure. He's a huge believer in the idea that "you get as much as you give." That's why he's always sharing his knowledge with the tech community—whether it's through mentoring up-and-coming developers, hosting hands-on workshops, or speaking at industry events. He's even on YouTube, sharing tips, tutorials, and insights to help others grow. For Kaan, it's all about making a meaningful impact on the ecosystem and the lives of those around him.