Blog

My AI DevOps board looked frozen for twelve hours. The fix was not smarter orchestration, but a Ralph loop with real hard stops.

Sandy is a Windows 11 read-aloud app I built for dyslexia support, with Azure AI Speech, sentence-level playback, and click-to-read.

After 23 years working with enterprise CRM platforms, I built a custom AI-native replacement in a single afternoon. Here is why the SaaS model is about to change.

Dynamics 365 and Power Platform consultants need AI skills they can prove, not just tool familiarity. This 365-day plan shows how to build them.

AI agents in multi-agent systems do not know who each other are. Here is how to build an org directory that gives every agent persistent awareness of the full...

Dynamics 365 and Power Platform partner practices seeing slower demand need a reset towards workflow accountability, governed agents, adoption and measurable...

Ten AI agents, each owning a phase of the DevOps infinity loop, coordinated by an engineering-manager agent. How I built a development team that plans, builds...

A live audit of my OpenCLAW Azure VM found two critical gaps: no Azure-native VM backup and no Azure Monitor Agent. Here is what I fixed, what it cost, and what is...

After 836 episodes across seven shows and nearly a decade, I'm wrapping up the Microsoft Innovation Podcast. Here's what the numbers say, what the stats don't...

Six weeks ago a security audit told me I had 268 plaintext secrets scattered across my AI agent platform. This week I closed out the migration that fixed it. Here is...

A Speechify renewal email made me question every subscription my business pays for. Since January 2026, I have eliminated nearly $10,000 in annual SaaS costs by...

cb365 adds 28 new commands across four workloads with a governance framework inspired by real enterprise AI policy. Three workloads went smoothly. Loop exposed a gap...

Microsoft Planner's API enforces optimistic concurrency with ETags, requires Group membership for plan creation, and uses User IDs for assignments. Here's how I...

How I built 23 hardcoded safety rules into cb365, a Microsoft 365 CLI, to prevent data loss and unauthorised actions when AI agents interact with enterprise systems.

Taking cb365 from internal tool to public release meant solving the trust problem: signed binaries, Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), and a certificate...

Microsoft retired their Graph CLI. PowerShell is the official answer. But AI agents don't speak PowerShell. Here's why I built a new CLI from scratch, the trade-offs...

I designed a Microsoft 365 CLI for AI agents. Then I built it. The Graph API had opinions about my architecture. Here's the build log - the gotchas, the fixes, and...

AI agents have no internal clock. When they run on UTC servers but you're hours ahead, they get dates wrong. Here's a 4-layer fix that works end-to-end.

How I replaced static model assignments with an autonomous routing engine, shadow testing pipeline, and live dashboard for a 25-agent orchestration platform.

Build real AI skill with conversation, not one-shot queries. Use five prompts a day, custom instructions, and voice and vision to improve results.

Work is shifting from jobs to projects. Like filmmaking, teams assemble for a clear outcome, deliver, then disband.

Learn why digital fluency means applied skills, not borrowed knowledge. Build resilience with problem solving, security, and safe, ethical use of modern AI tools.

Build real AI skill, not hype. Learn practical habits for using AI as a thought partner, iterating prompts, adapting fast, and growing with the community. A clear...

AI is reshaping our workplaces and our lives at breathtaking speed. Yet, beneath this technological revolution lies a deep, often overlooked truth: while AI has the...

Discover how AI is transforming work and life. Learn practical strategies to master AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude, and explore AI's potential in health...

Mark Smith writes about Artificial Intelligence, Agents, Microsoft AI, and the Intelligence Age.

The following is a list of additional resources relating to my presentation “ Supercharge Your Power Platform Career: 10 Game-Changing Strategies ”

1. Getting Started with Freelancing (this post) 2. Rates, costing and allocations 3. Time Management and Project Allocation 4. Contracts, Legal Considerations, and...

A culture of innovation will separate organisations that thrive with AI from those that will struggle to stay relevant and profitable. Innovation challenges can...

Attending a conference can be a significant investment—both financially and in terms of your time. With the costs of tickets, transportation, accommodations, and the...

In the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 world, becoming an expert in requirements gathering is a game-changer. Whether you're a Business Analyst, Systems Architect...

As we stand on the brink of a new era where artificial intelligence reshapes every facet of our lives, the line between personal enhancement and professional growth...

In the fast-changing tech world, organisations need agile solutions to stay competitive. The Center for Enablement (C4E) is a crucial concept gaining prominence...

The journey from xRM to the Power Platform represents a significant transformation in how we build and manage enterprise applications. This evolution has brought...

How Do You Find the Time?A question that came up last week during my 90 Day Mentoring Challenge was: How do you find the time to upskill? It's vital to stay ahead of...

I spend a lot of time thinking about the careers my kids might have and what I can do to help them prepare for the opportunities that come their way. My eldest...

Feedback like this is so motivating. Thank you so much, Rachel Roberts, for sharing what you got out of the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge 🚀 It's fantastic to hear that...

In school, I was always last. I did not learn to read until I was 12, can not spell to save myself, never won an academic award, and never went to university. I...

I had a busy day researching and did not write my regular post for a Wednesday, so please try this on for size. One of my outputs for today is AI for business...

I will speak in Vegas later this year at the 2024 Power Platform Community Conference, and this is the title of my session.

In the rapidly evolving field of software sales, mainly when proposing Microsoft solutions, it's crucial to anchor our strategies in the solutions we offer and in...