About John Bowersox

Disciple of Jesus Christ, Husband, Father, and Geek.

I live in a small rural town located south of Raleigh, North Carolina. When I’m not doing something technology related, I enjoy being outdoors – hiking, mountain biking, camping, and fishing.

I’m a Senior Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft focusing on Azure Infrastructure and DevOps.

Prior to joining Microsoft, I spent 14 years at Mars Incorporated. During the first nine years I supported the company’s M365 (Office 365) initiatives on SharePoint & Yammer. I spent my last six years as the Senior Cloud Solution Architect on the Enterprise Cloud team supporting initiatives across Azure, AWS & GCP.

Prior to joining Mars, I spent seven years at IBM as an IT Specialist and Architect supporting the company’s internal and external web hosting platforms, leading the team behind the Americas E-Commerce platforms, and finally supporting AMEX as a Solution Architect.

Active Technical Certifications:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-303/304)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Virtual Desktop Specialty (AZ-140)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals (DP-900)
• Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals (SC-900)
• Microsoft Certified: AI Transformation Leader (AB-731)
• Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional (AB-730)
• Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals (AB-900)
• Microsoft Certified: Trainer (2026)
• GitHub Certified: GitHub Advanced Security
• GitHub Certified: GitHub Administration

Retired Technical Certifications:

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500) - Retired: 2026-08-31
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Developer Associate (AZ-204) - Retired: 2026-07-31
• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900) - Retired: 2026-06-30
• Microsoft 365 Certified: Fundamentals - Retired: 2026-03-31

Expired Technical Certifications:

• FinOps Certified Practitioner - Expired: 2026-02-28

Disclaimer: As stated above I am a full-time employee of Microsoft but let me take a moment to assure anyone reading this blog that my thoughts are, in fact, my own and do not represent Microsoft’s (and/or any of my previous employers) positions, strategies or opinions.