I had the opportunity to attend the Cloud Technology Townhall event in Tallinn, which focuses on Microsoft’s cloud technologies. This was the third time the event was held, and the venue, the stunning Kultuurikatel, provided an inspiring setting for a tech conference.
Walking into such a beautifully repurposed historical space, I immediately felt a unique blend of tradition and innovation that set the tone for the entire day.
This year, the participation fee was higher than in previous years (€129 vs. €30), but I view this as a positive change. The higher price helped filter out casual attendees, ensuring that everyone present was genuinely passionate about the topics being discussed. I really appreciated the more focused and engaged crowd; it made the sessions feel more intimate and allowed for richer discussions both during and after the presentations.
The event was held at the stunning Kultuurikatel.
Event Highlights: Reflecting on My Personal Experience with the Keynotes & Tech Sessions
The event’s program consisted of diverse sessions covering Azure, M365, and Power Platform through both talks and live demos. Here are a few sessions that stood out:
Vesa Juvonen: Power of the Community in the Age of AI
The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Microsoft’s Vesa Juvonen, who emphasized the power of the community and encouraged us all to start experimenting with Copilot’s capabilities now – while being aware that AI models still hallucinate. For now. However, progress is rapid, and Copilot can be highly beneficial when used as an assistant and ideation partner.
Vesa Juvonen delivers a keynote.
Jon Vöge: Hidden Integrations: Trigger any Power Apps Function when Clicking Data Points in Power BI
This session provided practical tips on embedding Power Apps with Power BI:
• The best way to add a Canvas app to a report is through the Power BI service, allowing live filtering tests.
• If the app’s data loads slowly, consider using Stored Procedures from SQL or Fabric Data Warehouse.
• The Start Screen function is not compatible with Power BI integration, so using a Timer is recommended.
Jon Vöge and Power Apps Embedded in a Power BI Report.
Kimmo Koski: Rollout ALM Practices to Global Organization with Power Platform Pipelines
This session focused on ALM practices for Power Platform and their implementation in large organizations:
• DevOps is the most capable solution, but Power Platform pipelines are the minimum recommendation instead of manual export-import workflows.
• Best practice: one host environment per tenant.
• Admins should manage environment creation and development releases.
• There is no rollback functionality – if something goes wrong, a new update solution must be created.
• It is always possible to transition from Power Platform pipelines to DevOps later.
Kimmo Koski on stage.
Chris Huntingford: Defining the Default of the Next Generation in the AI-verse
• Data is the most crucial element in AI – without high-quality data, AI cannot function reliably.
• AI bots are not deployed on public websites due to trust issues and potential misinformation.
• The importance of the red teaming concept for validating the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information.
• Metrics and analytics are essential for measuring AI effectiveness.
• We, as IT professionals, have a great responsibility to ensure that future generations, for whom AI will play an even greater role in daily life, can trust the technology we have been validating since day one.
Chris Huntingford and Responsible AI.
Community and Networking
The absolute highlight of the event was the conversations between sessions with other attendees. The openness and enthusiasm of the tech community were tangible, and AI was a hot topic throughout – often discussed with a good dose of humor.
If you are interested in Microsoft’s cloud technologies, I highly recommend this event. You’ll learn a ton and meet great people who love tech just as much as you do. Thank you, Tallinn, see you soon!
