Kurt Shintaku's Blog

If you’re looking to tune the costs of your Azure bill, these are a number of techniques to minimize the monthly usage costs your organization pays. Review the following video:

00:54 – Savings with Azure Hybrid Benefit
02:18 – Constrained vCPU options
03:30 – Commitment-based savings plans
05:03 – Savings plans and reserved instances
06:12 – Microsoft Cost Management
06:44 – Budget limits and automation runbooks
08:57 – Azure VM Scale Sets
11:24 – Storage cost management

References:

• Guidance for Azure cost savings at https://aka.ms/Azure-DMWL 
• More on Azure Hybrid Benefit at https://aka.ms/HybridBenefit 
• Sample scripts for budget automation at https://aka.ms/ACMrunbook 
• Best practices for tagging at https://aka.ms/costmgmt/videos

For “Frontier” Microsoft 365 Copilot customers, Microsoft is adding Grok models from SpaceXAI for use with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – with the intent to roll out model availability broader across other scenarios as we evaluate usage patterns by customers.

Key points:

• The models require Frontier Program enrollment by the user or the organization in order to use them. If you don’t know what this is, you’re not going to see these models.
• The model’s availability is disabled by default – and controlled using the same type of subprocessor “switch” as used for Anthropic Claude.
• The model is only available in Word, Excel & PowerPoint. Availability for “general” Copilot Chat & other scenarios, is pending evaluation of use cases.
• As a subprocessor, SpaceXAI Grok models when used in this scenario, adhere to the same data privacy & security commitments as documented in the Microsoft Product Terms & Data Protection Addendum, and covered by Microsoft’s Enterprise Data Protection.
• Usage of the models requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license,

(Note: Do not confuse this announcement with the article on learn.microsoft.com entitled, “Connect to SpaceXAI models“. This is an older post written for enabling Grok for use with Copilot Studio developers and has existed for more than 6 months. This did not use Grok as a subprocessor and was basically saying “use at your own risk”.)

For those keeping score, Microsoft 365 Copilot has:

• Open AI-hosted
• Anthropic subprocessor-based
• Open AI subprocessor-based

And now:

• SpaceXAI subprocessor-based

Read more at:

• Expanding model choice in Copilot with Grok
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-copilot-blog/expanding-model-choice-in-copilot-with-grok/4555749

Okay, so you’ve heard of PowerToys. But did you know that there’s a configuration component of Windows 11’s settings called Advanced Windows Settings that, like PowerToys, is independently developed & updated via the Microsoft Store (or GitHub)?

Advanced Windows Settings requires Windows 11 21H2 (build 22000) or later & provides additional functionality to the Advanced page inside Windows settings. The Advanced settings page in Windows (formerly known as For Developers) brings together settings that help developers and power users be more productive. Open it directly via System > Advanced in Windows Settings.

(It includes one of my favorite hidden features of Windows, “End Task”. which enables “end task” menu item from the taskbar by rick clicking on it.)

• DOWNLOAD: Install the Advanced Windows Settings directly from the Microsoft Store:
  https://aka.ms/WindowsAdvancedSettings
• DOCUMENTATION: Review the documentation for Windows Advanced Settings here:
  https://aka.ms/WindowsAdvancedSettingsDocs
• CONTRIBUTE: This is an open source project and we welcome community participation. To participate, please visit https://github.com/microsoft/windowsAdvancedSettings

This month, we’re launching the “AI at Work Webinar: Copilot, Apps, and Agents“.
(Part of the “Microsoft 365 Copilot Roadmap: What’s New & Available” webinar series)

If there’s one thing we hear a lot, it’s that it feels like there’s a new feature, agent, or announcement every month, and finding the time to stay on top of it all isn’t easy.

That’s where this new webinar comes in. Each month, we’ll bring together updates from across Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and other AI-powered experiences into one place, making it easier to stay on top of what’s new, what’s coming next, and why it matters.

What you can expect each month:

• Updates across Copilot, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and agents
• What’s coming next and why it matters
• Demos of the latest features available
• Live Q&A with experts to answer your questions

Hope to see you there!

• 📅 Aug. 25 | 9:00AM – 10:00AM PT
• 🔗 Register: http://aka.ms/copilotroadmap/webinar
  (https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=3651815289)

When evaluating Microsoft cloud services for alignment with US government regulatory compliance, it’s useful to have an online reference to understand how Microsoft categorizes the services it audits & what the opportunity for compliance is that Microsoft offers on a per-regulatory & per-service category level.

For example, for State & Local Government, Microsoft 365 GCC offers the opportunity for compliance with regulations such as:

• FBI CJIS – Law Enforcement, Justice
• IRS Tax 1075 – Finance, Tax
• FedRAMP Mod/High- Public Utilities (Power, Water)
• NERC/CIP – Public Utilities (Power)

Richard Wakeman, US Public Sector Specialist (Federal & Defense Industry Base) maintains online documentation year after year on Microsoft’s aggregate cloud services alignment with State & Local Government compliance requirements:

This article is the second of a series in the Microsoft Tech Community Public Sector Blog and touches on several key principles for compliance, including data residency versus data sovereignty.  For the first article in the series, please refer to History of Microsoft Cloud Service Offerings leading to the US Sovereign Cloud for Government.  To keep this article concise, I will refrain from repeating content from the first. I recommend that you review the first article if you are unfamiliar with the architectural relationships between Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365.In this article, we will focus on each of the US-based cloud offerings from Microsoft and compare the differences in compliance, including the compendium of common factors customers may use to decide which of our offerings align with current and future requirements in demonstrating compliance with US Government regulations and underlying cybersecurity frameworks.

Read the article in its entirety at:

• Understanding Compliance Between Commercial, Government, DoD & Secret Offerings
  https://aka.ms/MSGovCompliance

Earlier this year, our Director of Solutions Engineering for State & Local Government, Mike Smucny, documented the process for setting up a CJI-auditable Azure Commercial environment to allow law enforcement & justice agencies to deliver a CJI-ready, secure “Azure Commercial” cloud instance – mitigating the need for using “Azure Government”.

This blog focuses on the technical controls required to use Azure Commercial for CJIS workloads. With the release of CJIS Security Policy 6.0 in late 2024, agencies now have a clear pathway to leverage Azure Commercial through Customer Managed Keys (CMK) and other advanced security measures, rather than relying solely on vendor personnel screening. However, it’s critical to understand: Microsoft provides the tools; your agency and your state CJIS Systems Agency (CSA) determine compliance. 3/19/2026 Update Step 3.b-Confidential Computing Clarification: Azure Commercial and Customer Managed Key (CMK) encryption satisfy the requirements of the CJIS Security Policy but customers can choose to add an additional control through a Confidential Computing enclave.

We have documented a “Step-by-Step Walkthrough for CJIS 6.0 in Azure Commercial” that breaks down the process of establishing a CJI-auditable configuration in multiple phases:

• Phase 1: Foundation & Residency
• Phase 2: The “Technical Control” (Encryption)
• Phase 3: Identity & Access (CJIS 6.0 Focus)
• Phase 4: Continuous Monitoring
• Phase 5: Endpoint & Mobile
• Phase 6: Personnel & Documentation

To review the complete walkthrough, visit:

• Azure Government or Azure Commercial for CJIS 6.0: Choosing Your Compliance Path | Microsoft Community Hub
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/publicsectorblog/azure-government-or-azure-commercial-for-cjis-6-0-choosing-your-compliance-path/4494085?previewMessage=true

If you require guidance to implement the above walkthrough, work through your Unified Services to request a Cloud Solutions Architect. Additionally, there are Microsoft Partners that can assist with this as well.