Entra.Chat

Entra Chat is a weekly podcast hosted by Merill Fernando and delivers practical insights for Microsoft administrators and security professionals through conversations with identity experts who've been in the trenches. Episodes feature seasoned Entra practitioners sharing real-world deployment experiences and Microsoft Entra team members who build the features you use daily. Get the inside track on best practices, implementation strategies, and upcoming capabilities directly from those who design and deploy Microsoft identity solutions. Join us for actionable takeaways you can apply immediately in your Microsoft 365, Azure, and Entra environments.--- Entra.Chat, its content and opinions are my (Merill Fernando) own and do not reflect the views of my employer (Microsoft). All postings are provided “AS IS” with no warranties and is not supported by the author. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their owners and are used for identification only. <a href="https://entra.n

Entra.Chat is a technology podcast hosted by Merill Fernando, with 73 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Merill Fernando hosts Entra.Chat, a technology show with 73 episodes published.

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  Episode #61

  The Learn-It-All Career Playbook for Identity and Security Pros

  Jun 6, 202635 minS0

  <p>In this episode of Entra Chat, we sit down with Christina Morillo, the Senior Director of Information Security for the New York Football Giants, to explore her inspiring transition from an identity specialist to a top-tier security leader. Christina shares her “ground floor” start at a technical help desk and her progression through network administration and specialized identity roles at Microsoft. Her story is a powerful testament to the “learn-it-all” mindset, illustrating how a deep baseline in Active Directory and a genuine curiosity about the broader security landscape paved the way for her current leadership role in a high-profile organiza...

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  Episode #60

  5 Lessons from Rolling Out Passkeys to Millions of Users

  May 31, 202646 minS0

  <p>Passkeys are one of those technologies that sound simple on paper.</p><p>Turn them on.Users register them.Passwords go away.Everyone is more secure.</p><p>But in the real world, passkey rollouts are not just an authentication setting. They are a product rollout, a user experience change, a support change, and an operational change all at once.</p><p>In this episode, I spoke with Vincent Delitz from Corbado, who has worked on large-scale passkey deployments in customer identity scenarios, including public-sector and consumer environments with millions of users. While the examples come from the CIAM...

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  Episode #60

  The New Control Plane for Microsoft Entra Tenant Governance

  May 23, 202649 minS0

  <p>Microsoft had 7 million internal tenants and almost lost control of their environment and your org might be facing the same problem at a smaller scale. In this episode, we sit down with Jeff Staiman, PM Area Lead for Tenant Governance at Microsoft, to break down the feature born from the Midnight Blizzard attack. We cover discovery, drift detection, governance relationships, secure tenant creation, licensing, and exactly where admins should start.</p><p>What Can Your AI Applications Access?</p><p>Organizations are investing heavily in AI-powered applications and agents, but many are discovering they lack the operational visibility and...

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  Episode #59

  What’s New in Microsoft Entra - May 2026: Passkeys, Agents & Cloud Sync

  May 16, 202650 minS0

  <p>Fabian and Thomas join the podcast to share their extensive experience and unpack the massive wave of updates coming to Microsoft Entra.</p><p>We talk about the massive shift toward Passkeys and registration campaigns, the impending migration from Entra Connect Sync to Cloud Sync, and the rapidly evolving world of Agent IDs and AI workloads. We also cover how Entra admins can leverage new Defender XDR features and Security Copilot agents to secure their environments.</p><p><p>Subscribe with your favorite podcast player or watch on YouTube 👇</p></p><p>About Fabian and Thomas</p><p>Fabian Bad...

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  Episode #58

  If You Manage Entra Permissions, Watch This Before Deploying Agents

  May 9, 202645 minS0

  <p>Microsoft Entra Agent ID Just Went GA Here’s What You Need to Know About Agent Permissions</p><p>If you’ve been waiting for the dust to settle on Microsoft Entra Agent ID before diving in, the wait is over. Agent ID hit General Availability on May 1st, and in this episode of Entra Chat, Erin Greenlee, a PM in the the Entra AuthN team joins to break down one of the trickiest parts of the new model: how permissions actually work.</p><p>The three-tier model you need to understand</p><p>The biggest mental shift with Agen...

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