Insights.
Notes from running IT with AI.
Short, practical notes for CIOs and IT leaders: what changes when AI runs operations, where the risks are, what it costs and how to keep control.
Microsoft 365 alternatives exist, but identity decides the exit
Microsoft leads on seats, Google on domains, and real alternatives are regional. The exit cost sits in identity, Teams and SharePoint, not in the mailbox.
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Most outdated Exchange servers sit in high-income economies
Scan data puts most outdated Exchange servers in Europe and North America, not in poorer markets. Licensing and dependencies explain more than GDP.
DACH still runs Exchange and SQL Server past their end of support
Most German on-prem Exchange servers run unsupported versions, and the last paid patches end in October 2026. Why they stay, and what to decide now.
APAC incident reporting runs on local clocks, not group time
Hong Kong, Singapore and India now give APAC subsidiaries their own reporting clocks of 2 to 72 hours. A global incident process must map them or the local entity misses them.
MFA and asset inventories are now signed for, not recommended
NYDFS Part 500 and CMMC turned MFA, asset inventory and logging into signed obligations. What a Microsoft 365 tenant must prove before the CEO signs.
APAC AI spending is outgrowing the budgets set in 2024
AI raises the IT bill in Asia-Pacific through scarce data centre power, regional cloud premiums, residency rules and USD licences. CFOs need to separate value from capacity premium.
A ban on AI tools does not stop shadow AI. It hides it.
Banning AI tools does not keep company data out of them. A sanctioned tool, enforced data rules and measured usage give management control over shadow AI.
“We have MFA” is no longer an answer to identity risk
Push and SMS MFA do not stop token theft. Phishing-resistant MFA on admin accounts, enforced by conditional access, is what boards should ask about now.
The first 24 hours of an incident are decided before it starts
In a serious incident, management decides on isolation, disclosure and outside help within hours. The SEC and Asia-Pacific regulators set the clock. These decisions need owners before anything happens.
Your AI agents already have identities in Entra ID
Copilot Studio now creates an Entra Agent ID for every new agent. Agents are part of your identity estate. 5 checks keep their sponsors, rights and sign-ins under control.
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