Mendix - Logging & Tracing

Mendix offers a few integrations with various Application and Performance Monitoring (APM) tools.

There is no integration with Azure Monitor.  The closest I have is log files can be downloaded.

Cloud edition allows you to download the log files.

TBC

Power BI Premium to MS Fabric Primer

Power BI Premium allows all users in your enterprise to consume (use) reports, you buy licences separately for the report builders.

Two methods of getting report data: Import Mode (data is not live/real-time, and retrieval is fast) & Direct Query Mode (real-time data, but retrieval is slow)

All Power BI Premium subscriptions will automatically become MS Fabric during 2025. 

Direct Lake Mode

An additional method of querying, "Direct Lake Mode," combines the best aspects of both old methods for retrieving data.  Direct Lake Mode (real-time and fast data retrieval).

OneLake

• Storage is in Delta Parquet 
• Data is stored once, along with permissions, when copied into Fabric; the individual Lakehouses, warehouses, and transformations still rely on the original Parquet file data.
• Shortcuts create a virtual pointer to a variety of data types such as Snowflake, ADSL, ...

Great Visual Descriptions of the 3 options: Comprehensive Guide to Direct Lake Datasets in Microsoft Fabric

Microsoft's Copilots Explained as the naming kills me

Microsoft's Copilots products... starting with M365 Copilot options

Source: Screenshot from a presentation, 6 May 2025 - from MS.

1. Microsoft 365 Copilot versions

1.1. Copilot (Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat) (Is Free)

It allows access to ChatGPT-4 with web content.  AI like ChatGPT, Perplexity, ...

1.2. Microsoft 365 Copilot Pro

(+$20/month full retail if bought as an add-on).  Additional features, but not all that M365 Copilot for Business offers.  All users receive Copilot Builder (maker capability), and consumers require the M365 Pro license to utilise M365 Copilot agents.

1.3. Microsoft 365 Copilot for Business

I believe that many people are grouping "M365 Copilot Pro" and "M365 Copilot for Business" together, and only see the free and paid versions of M365 Copilot. 

M365 Copilot Pro for Business (I know :) ) is grounded in the business data you can access in your enterprise.  Inline copilots, including grounded business data inside the office applications.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI-powered Agent with multiple child Copilots for Microsoft 365 apps like Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel, and Teams. It leverages large language models (GPT-4 and GPT-4Pro) and your enterprise data through the Microsoft Graph. To work with M365 Copilot Pro, you need the M365 Copilot license for each user accessing or creating the new agent, which is pricy, per user per month. 

Tip: Optimise results by preparing content!  Like docx, pptx and pdf files. PDF, DOCX, XLSX (kind of), PPTX. Also works on CSV, text, HTML, MD, and WAV audio files.  Supported file type.

Microsoft-specific app copilots included in M365 Copilot Pro:

• 2.1. Word Copilot: Helps with drafting, rewriting, editing, summarising, and generating new ideas.
• 2.2. Excel Copilot: Assists with data analysis, generating insights, creating complex formulas, and automating tasks.
• 2.3. PowerPoint Copilot: Aids in creating presentations, suggesting layouts, creating slides, and enhancing visual content.
• 2.4. Outlook Copilot: Supports email management, drafting responses, scheduling, and organising tasks.
• 2.5. OneNote Copilot.

Note: Microsoft Copilot does not allow uploading images/pictures like ChatGPT does as of March 2025, but I don't doubt it is coming.  ChatGPT can also redraw (using DALLe)

Extending the use of M365 Copilot Pro licensing

1. M365 Copilot takes a no-code approach to building agents with our company data. Each user needs an M365 Copilot Pro licence to access the new bot/agent/copilot.
2. Copilot Studio is a more advanced way to build copilots and requires a separate license.

Options Building you own Agents/Copilots with business aware data.

Agent Builder - all users need the M365 Copilot Pro licence.

Copilot Studio - requires a Studio Builder licence for each maker, utilising low-code AI for build agents.  Each query is charged using messages as its currency.  There is complex pricing, for instance, a query can cost 13 message credits.

AI Foundry - the individual paid services on Azure relating to AI uses tokens for billing.  A simple query is 4 tokens, depending on how the question is broken down.  Once again, it is difficult to estimate the costs.  

2. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilots

Overview of Dynamics 365 Copilots:

Source: Microsoft (I lost the reference)

2.1. Customer Engagement (CRM) Apps

1. Dynamics 365 Sales – Manage leads, opportunities, and customer relationships.
2. Dynamics 365 Customer Service – Case management, knowledge base, and omnichannel support.
3. Dynamics 365 Field Service – Manage field operations, work orders, and technician scheduling.
4. Dynamics 365 Marketing (now part of Customer Insights - Journeys) – Campaign automation and customer journeys.
5. Dynamics 365 Customer Insights:
   • Data – Unify and analyse customer data.
   • Journeys – Design and automate personalised customer experiences.
6. Dynamics 365 Customer Voice – Collect and analyse customer feedback.

2.2. Finance & Operations (ERP) Apps

1. Dynamics 365 Finance – Core financials, budgeting, and global accounting.
2. Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management – Inventory, manufacturing, and logistics.
3. Dynamics 365 Project Operations – Project planning, resource management, and billing.
4. Dynamics 365 Commerce – Unified retail, e-commerce, and POS.
5. Dynamics 365 Human Resources (being merged into Finance) – HR management and employee self-service.

2.3. SMB-Focused App

• Dynamics 365 Business Central – All-in-one ERP for small and medium-sized businesses (finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, and more).

2.4. Industry-Specific Solutions

• Microsoft Cloud for Industry (e.g., Healthcare, Financial Services, Manufacturing) – Built on Dynamics 365 and Power Platform with tailored capabilities.

Note: Microsoft D365 Copilot/ Microsoft Copilot for Dynamics 365 and Power Platform/ Dynamics 365 AI are in this area.

3. Copilot Studio

Build copilots and distribute them to the business. This is awesome, but from a naming perspective, it actually makes sense. 

4. Azure AI Foundry

Organisations and developers can use the AI Foundry platform to build AI-driven solutions.  Can use 1,800 models and 200 Azure Services.  There are numerous AI services available on Azure.  I'm not even going to start that conversation.

5. Security & Governance of Microsoft 365 Copilot 

The M365 copilot will respect the Access Controls you have permission to, so Jim in operations won't see Tim's sales figures in a Word document in SharePoint. Jim does not have access to the document from the sales site collection. Therefore, they can't query Copilot for the data they don't have permission to (done using MS Graph).

Purview: DLP improves what your users can do and promotes better governance.  Ensure M365 copilots are used ethically.

Understand how users are using your M365 Copilot.

6. Code Copilots

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered tool that assists developers in writing code by suggesting snippets and completing lines in real-time. Developed by GitHub and OpenAI, it learns from public code repositories and supports various programming languages and frameworks. Its goal is to boost productivity and reduce repetitive coding tasks.  It's amazing!! And getting better all the time.

Code Copilots: GitHub Copilot extensions in VS and VS Code.  GitHub comes in three flavours: Individual, Business, and Enterprise.

GitHub explains code, optimises your code's performance, improves readability, generates unit tests, improves error handling, adds new code with requested functionality, ensures coding consistency, and improves modularisation to help with the DRY principle.  GitHub is the diggity bomb.

Note: ChatGPR is owned by OpenAI.  Microsoft is a significant investor but does not own the service.

Amazon Q

Amazon Q Developer is an AWS code generator designed for building code and solutions.

7. DSPM (Purview)

DSPM stands for Data Security Posture Management. It's a cybersecurity approach focused on identifying, monitoring, and securing sensitive data across cloud and hybrid environments.  Copilot hooks into DSPM in MS Purview nicely, controlling access using DLP and various other options, e.g. SIT (Sensitive Information Types), tons out of the box but can build custom to help reduce exposure of org data using AI.  Document Fingerprinting also helps reduce exposure. 

Content Explorer in Purview is handy.  

To get all this good stuff, make sure all your data sources are OAuth-enabled.

7. Summary

Naming and complexity with Microsoft are tough. The AI parts are massive. The M365 copilots break down into Dynamics or O365 worlds, each with many options.  I wish Microsoft had a hierarchical, sensible naming system, which no doubt the Marketing department would hate.  Sources must be secured correctly, and purview can help you manage access.

My AI Posts

Copilot Studio 2025 Simple Notes

Artificial Intelligence as a mega trend

Microsoft's Copilots Explained 

Prompt Engineering with Microsoft Copilot 

AI Model Comparison

Ignite 2023 - Keynotes - big push to AI Summary

SAP LeanIX Intro

• LeanIx is an SAP Saas product that facilitates Enterprise Architecture (EA) in businesses, utilising dashboards and diagrams to support informed decision-making.   
• To create the roadmap, align business goals with IT strategy by generating 'As-is' and 'To-be' architectures.
• Improve integration, reduce complexity, and eliminate duplicate systems to make better decisions.

Note: Using Leanix is an all-in or don't bother tool.  LeanIx provides a comprehensive view of your applications, business processes, and interactions with IT assets.

3 Products make up LeanIX:

1. Application Portfolio Management: The base product for recording the application landscape allows for inventory dependencies and identifying redundancies to optimise the application landscape.
2. Architecture and Roadmap: Using the Application Portfolio, visualise the 'As Is' and 'To Be' architectures and visualise the impacts of change.
3. Tech Risk and Compliance: We verify technology standards and can fund projects to help address data residency rule breaches.

Twelve fact sheets, such as the application fact sheet template, are essential. The meta model is the plan that shows how information in the fact sheets is interconnected.  

The "LeanIX Meta Model" at a high level shows the 4 EA architectural views:  

1. Data Architecture
2. Application Architecture
3. Business Architecture
4. Technical Architecture 

On top of the four architectural pillars sits Strategy & Transformation, covering:

• GAP & Roadmap, 
• Principles, 
• Requirements and Assumptions.

What I Like:

1. Inventory of Products, dependencies and link to documentation
2. Nice predefined reports and the ability to collaborate with stakeholders
3. Visualise dependencies, excellent reporting capabilities

Note: LeanIX is based on The Open Group Architecture Framework, i.e. TOGAF.  TOGAF's Architecture Development Method (ADM).

Technology Landscape

I love this picture, unfortunately, I don't know where it comes from..

SQL Server on Microsoft Fabric

 Release to Public Preview in Nov 2024 and Ignite.

• SQL Server can be directly used/provisioned within MS Fabric.  This means you get your data instantly into OneLake for reporting, and you have a fully functional relational database.  
• Supports temporal tables (history)
• Enable GraphQL to allow secure OAuth access to the data.
• Stored Procs are supported, and GraphQL API can be enabled on each of them.
• Fully managed Service by Microsoft.

Introduction to ProjectWise and BIM

Overview: Bentley Systems is a leader in BIM and working with CAD documents. Bentley's BIM-compliant Document Management System (DMS) is ProjectWise.  BIM aims to improve collaboration between parties and ensure consistent, relevant information is available.  

Goals: Design, Coordinate and Collaborate.

ProjectWise Server

• Setup DataSource (separate databases), e.g. UK Archive, UK Projects, EU Projects
• Hierarchy for files (think Windows Explorer view of files)

ISO 19650

• Manage information (data & Assets) within an Infrastructure project.  Founded in the UK under BIM, it is now an international standard.  
• Strength is ensuring users are using the correct approved document (stop incorrect versions/info)
• All versions, comments, and updatedby recorded.
• Workflow has metadata to be filed for each phase/status change.
• BIM Statuses: 

1. WIP (draft) | Open - only a tiny part of the project team can see the document,
2. Shared | Review - This can be used by other teams so more people can see the files,
3. Published - all internal reviews completed.  And ready for the customer,
4. Archived - Completed 

Tip: Code folders and files within ProjectWise.

Workflows

• Can create custom workflows such as a peer review or technical approval.
• There is also the workflow that copies the document and moves it into the next BIM status Folder. So if I change the status in WIP, the document is copied along with its properties, and the major version is incremented.

ProjectWise 365 Services

1. ProjectWise Web Connections - Web 
2. Share - Share with 3rd parties
3. Deliverable Management - create the output for the customer, including comments made on documents
4. Project Insights - analytics on each project that can show if it is late or the status is not correct. 
5. Forms

ProjectWise Web

• Standard UI that shows the folder and file hierarchy and can search for files
• Attributes are just document metadata that is relevant to the file.
• Files can be checked in and out so they are locked to you.
• Link files in Deliverables or create Document Sets (basically group documents) into a file/container.
• Files can be assigned to workflows such as a peer review...

ProjectWise Drive

• Download and install on each laptop

• Can use Windows Explorer to work with files as if on the local machine (as if on an SMB file share)

BIM Dimensions

3D - Geometry (Drawing) including metadata such as width and weight and hierarchy

4D - Scheduling

5D - Cost Estimation

6D - Lifecycle

7D - Asset Management

Note: 360 - Is AutoCAD's equivalent to ProjectWise.

Big providers of technology for the BOM framework are Bentley and AutoDesk.

BIM Execution Plan (BEP)

Plan prepared to manage BOM activities

ProjectWise Posts by me:

Introduction to ProjectWise and BIM (This Post)

ProjectWise from Bentley - extend with Powershell

Postman Collection to connect to Bentley's REST API for ProjectWise (WSG)

Power BI reporting against ProjectWise (Project Insights) 

Agile Project Management Thoughts

Initially, this post was on keeping Project Management Simple.  This works well for small and medium-sized projects.  How I think Kanban boards are excellent, I like MS Planner as it's built into MS Teams and Outlook and stores project documentation within SharePoint connected to MS Teams.

There is a ton of sound Project Management software and approaches.  

Primavera (P6) - Oracle

Strong Project Management software focusing on the Construction and Infrastructure industry.  

Microsoft Project

A project management tool that offers advanced features such as tracking dependencies, costs, and complex project schedules. It is suitable for larger projects that require detailed planning and management. MS Project can be used in various forms, including Project for the Web, Project Online, and the Project desktop application.

Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner is a web-based planning application that allows you to assign and discuss tasks, manage tickets, and view progress charts. It is integrated with Microsoft Teams and Outlook, making it easy to organise team tasks and collaborate.

Problem-Solving (Explore/Interview Process to build IT solutions)

McKenzie Problem-Solving Approach

1. Define the problems
2. Find the root cause
3. Use “hypothesis-driven” process
4. Analyze with “issue tree”
5. Propose solutions

My preferred approach is the three-step Problem-Solving approach:

1. Problem
2. Initial Hypothesis
3. Proposed Resolution

Repeat until fixed/solved.