Chris Hailes
Cloud Technology Strategist | ☕ Coffee Lover & 🍺 Craft Beer Fan
📋 Biography
I’m a Cloud Technology Strategist at cubesys with a passion for helping organisations unlock the full potential of cloud technologies. Over the years, I’ve worked across Azure, infrastructure, networking, and security, bridging the gap between strategy and implementation to deliver impactful solutions. My journey has been driven by a love for learning and sharing knowledge. I regularly create content, write blogs, and engage with the community to make complex cloud concepts accessible and practical. Collaboration and mentorship are at the heart of what I do I believe that when we share knowledge, we empower others to succeed. At cubesys, I’m fortunate to work in an environment that values growth and innovation, giving me the support and capacity to pursue goals like becoming a Microsoft MVP. This recognition is just the beginning, and I look forward to continuing to contribute, teach, and inspire others in the Azure community.
✨ High-Impact Contributions 4
At the Microsoft AI Tour in Sydney, I spent the day at the Azure Infrastructure stand, talking with attendees about real problems they face. We dug into things like disaster recovery in Azure, using Azure Migrate to move workloads, building secure networks with Zero Trust, and even how to set up web apps so they only run when you need them—cutting costs along the way. People had lots of questions about making Azure resources private and wanted to know more about options like Microsoft Foundry. These conversations gave folks a chance to clear up their design choices, see the trade-offs, and walk away with tips they could actually use back home in their own Azure setups.
This Global Azure session explains the retirement of default outbound internet access for Azure virtual machines, and what that means for real‑world deployments. It breaks down why Microsoft is moving away from implicit outbound access, the security and governance risks this change addresses, and what happens when a VM is deployed without explicit egress. Attendees learn practical ways to restore outbound connectivity using supported options such as NAT Gateway, Azure Firewall, Load Balancer–based designs, NVAs, and VPN breakout, with clear guidance on cost, complexity, and best‑fit scenarios. The session helps teams avoid surprise outages and design secure, intentional outbound connectivity moving forward
This blog series explores how to achieve Essential 8 Maturity Level 2 within Microsoft Cloud VDI environments, including Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. It breaks down each control area—application hardening, patching, multi‑factor authentication, backups, and more—showing how they can be practically implemented in cloud‑based virtual desktops. The series highlights the importance of aligning with ASD Essential 8 to strengthen resilience against cyber threats, while balancing usability and performance for end users. By combining security baselines, automation, and integrated Microsoft tooling, it provides a clear pathway for organisations to uplift compliance and confidently operate secure, scalable VDI in the cloud.
This session unpacks the core concepts of Azure networking into a practical, high-impact overview designed for cloud engineers and IT professionals. Covering key topics from virtual networks and VNet peering to load balancing, network security, and private access with Private Link and Service Endpoints, the session equips attendees with the foundational knowledge to design, secure, and scale network architectures in Azure. Drawing from real-world scenarios and best practices, it offers a structured guide to building resilient, high-performance cloud environments with clarity and confidence.