AI

Tech Together Podcast: My Journey to Microsoft, Prince’s Studio, the Future of Tech, and Navigating AI

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I recently had the opportunity to be a guest on a new podcast series brought to you by Tech Together, a collaboration between CreateMPLS and Genesys Works Twin Cities. Hosted by Shannon Seaver and Allison Barman.

This is the third episode in the series and it’s titled: “Tech Together with Steve Buchanan: Navigating Careers and Embracing Change in Technology.”

This wasn’t just another podcast recording, it was an experience. 🎧 We recorded at a studio inside Urban Ventures in Minneapolis, a space funded by Prince himself. I even got to check out one of his guitars, signed by the legend.

In this episode, I sit down with Shannon and Allison to talk about my journey in tech, from my early days navigating bootcamps and building a network, to eventually landing at Microsoft. We unpack the highs and lows, the importance of persistence, lifelong learning, and what it takes to grow a career in today’s tech landscape.

We also dive into the future of tech, covering the impact of AI, the need for more collaboration across the industry, and why computer science education for all is more critical than ever. As I shared in the episode:
“Give 200%. Share knowledge. Stay ready for what’s next.”

We wrapped things up with a fun rapid-fire Q&A session. Shoutout to Shannon and Allison for making it such a thoughtful and enjoyable conversation. 🙌

🎙️ Check it out for insights and tips on how to elevate your tech journey and navigate the evolving AI-driven world:
👉 Listen here on Spotify

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My 9th Book – The Modern Developer Experience Published on O’Reilly!

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I’m thrilled to share that my latest book, The Modern Developer Experience (ISBN: 9781098169695), is now available on O’Reilly! 🎉It is a shorter book known as a report with 4 chapters total. You can read the book on O’Reilly’s learning platform.

I am excited about this book because in today’s fast-paced tech world, developers don’t just write code, they navigate cloud platforms, cloud native tools and frameworks, integrate AI, automate workflows, and collaborate across teams to drive innovation. This book is a deep dive into the evolving role of developers and how modern tools, frameworks, and methodologies are shaping the future of software engineering.

Here is the offical book description:

DevOps has delivered transformative changes to tooling and processes, but with it comes new layers of complexity. More modern frameworks and tools, like containers, Docker, Kubernetes, Platform Engineering, GitOps, and AI can accelerate development, but understanding their unique challenges (and how to address them effectively) can make the difference between a team that struggles and one that thrives.

This report explores how organizations can improve the developer experience (DevEx) by reducing complexity, streamlining workflows, and fostering supportive environments. Whether your organization is deeply invested in DevOps or simply looking to improve team performance, this report highlights strategies to elevate your development practices and outcomes.

Here are the chapters:
1. The Modern Developer Experience

2. Raising the Bar, Providing the Right Developer Environment

3. Using AI to Enhance DevEx

4. Developer Experience and the Secure Supply Chain

📖 Whether you’re a developer, team lead, or engineering manager, this book will help you refine your processes and create an environment where developers can thrive.

🔗 Check it out here: The Modern Developer Experience on O’Reilly

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AI Panel at University of St. Thomas

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Wrapping up an incredible week with one final event over the weekend! I was honored to be a panelist this past Saturday for the 14th Annual Kente Summit at the University of St. Thomas. 🎓

We had an engaging discussion on all things AI, with thoughtful questions from the students and great insights from my fellow panelists:

🤝 Adill Ade – Student at St. Thomas

🎥 Chris McDuffie – Distinguished Photographer and Filmmaker

💡 Ishmael Efejuku – Student at St. Thomas

Big thanks to Adrian Perryman, M.A., and Kenneth Cooper, Ph.D., for the opportunity to be part of this important conversation!

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Rise & Future of AI & Its Benefits to Founders Panel

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✨✨ This past weekend, I had the incredible honor of participating as a panelist in the “Rise & Future of AI & Its Benefits to Founders“ session during BIPOC Startup Week 2.0. This session brought together a diverse group of innovators, thinkers, and entrepreneurs to explore the profound impact AI is having on the startup ecosystem and how founders can harness its power to drive success.

Sharing the stage with Mustafe Artan, MBA, CSM, was inspiring. Mustafe brought his deep expertise to the conversation, and together we unpacked the many dimensions of AI—its opportunities, its challenges, and the practical steps founders can take to embrace it. 🙌

The session was expertly hosted by Octavia Treadway, who ensured the discussion was engaging and inclusive. Octavia’s thoughtful moderation set the tone for a dynamic exchange of ideas, and I am grateful for her role in creating such a welcoming space for dialogue.

One of the highlights for me was engaging with the audience—fellow founders, technologists, and visionaries—about how AI can empower their businesses. Whether we discussed automating processes, uncovering actionable insights, or scaling operations efficiently, the energy in the room was palpable. 🤖✨

Returning to the University of St. Thomas – Opus College of Business campus 🏫 was a personal highlight. As a familiar and inspiring space for growth and learning, it served as the perfect backdrop for an event centered on innovation and the future of work.

A huge kudos to Charlotte ABiOdun Epée-WillSuN 🇳🇬🇨🇲🇬🇭🇹🇬🇺🇸 for her vision and effort in organizing this event. Her dedication to uplifting BIPOC founders and fostering collaboration within the tech and startup community is nothing short of remarkable. Events like these are essential to driving inclusivity and innovation in our industry.

As I reflect on the weekend, I am reminded of the immense potential AI holds for transforming businesses and lives. It’s not just about the technology; it’s about empowering people to solve problems, create opportunities, and shape a better future.

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24th and 25th Pluralsight Courses Published

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I have been so busy in 2024 that I didnt have a chance to post about my 24th and 25th Pluralsight courses. So I am a little late posting this but I am excited that my 24th course “JavaScript Performance Playbook” and my 25th course “Create Google Cloud Deployment Manager Templates Using Generative AI” have both published on the Pluralsight platform!

You can find both courses here:

JavaScript Performance Playbook

This course will teach you how to optimize your JavaScript app, or API overall, so that they will be lightning-fast and perform well.

https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/javascript-performance-playbook

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Create Google Cloud Deployment Manager Templates Using Generative AI

This course will teach you how artificial intelligence (AI) can help you administer and deploy cloud resources faster and more accurately than ever before.

https://app.pluralsight.com/library/courses/create-google-cloud-deployment-manager-templates-generative-ai

I hope you find value in these new courses. Be sure to follow my profile on Pluralsight so you will be notified as I release new courses! 

Here is the link to my Pluralsight profile to follow me:

https://www.pluralsight.com/authors/steve-buchanan

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Presenting at Experts Live Europe 2024 (SaaS and AKS)

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I’m thrilled to be returning to Experts Live Europe this year! 🎉 In September 2024, I’ll be back presenting once again—this time with even more to share around Azure and AKS. I’ll be co-leading one of the pre-conference sessions with Jonah Andersson, and I’m also excited to deliver a session during the main conference schedule. 🌍🎤”

You can check out the conference website here: https://www.expertslive.eu

I will be presenting a pre-con session on building a SaaS solution on Azure 🚀 and a session on how to use Chaos Studio with AKS to boost the resiliency of your AKS clusters 🔧. I hope you can make it to the conference 🙌! Here is more info about my sessions:

PRE-CON MICROSOFT AZURE: Laying the Foundation: Building Your SaaS on Azure

Join Steve and Jonah for this pre-conference session where they unravel the mysteries of building a SaaS on Azure. They will start with the basics of running a SaaS in the cloud through the foundations of SaaS, then dive deep into the nitty-gritty of tech side of SaaS on Azure through tech foundations of SaaS. In this session we will take a journey together exploring best practices, patterns, and anti-patterns, along with strategies for managing multi-tenancy, tenant isolation, data isolation, identity in multi-tenancy, and more. Plus, we’ll show you how to turbocharge your SaaS architecture and build with the Azure SaaS Development Kit. Don’t miss out!

Ask The Experts: Data & AI | Business Applications

Join us at the Speakers Booth in the Expo Hall to find your favorite speakers hanging out here during conference breaks and ask your questions. Take this opportunity to get the answers you are looking for!

Azure Kubernetes Resiliency: Safeguarding Your Deployments

Dive into the world of Azure Kubernetes Resiliency in this comprehensive session that delves into crucial aspects of safeguarding your deployments. From robust backup strategies to effective disaster recovery plans and the strategic chaos engineering approach, this session has it all. Join us for a deep exploration of the tools and techniques that ensure your Kubernetes environment remains resilient in the face of challenges. Walk away empowered with the knowledge to fortify your applications and infrastructure against unforeseen circumstances.

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