North American Cloud and Collaboration Summit

07/09/2025, Hilton Branson Convention Center
Branson, United States of America

From Experiment to Enterprise: My AI-Driven IaC Journey with VS Code and GitHub Copilot

Taming the AI toddler with persona-driven prompts In this interactive, demo-packed session, you'll follow my journey from playful prompt experiments with persona-driven AI—like channeling Pinky & The Brain—to building fully automated, policy-compliant Infrastructure as Code using GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code. Through real-world examples and live demos, I'll show you how to craft effective prompts, manage AI behavior with persona-based instructions, and deploy secure, compliant Azure resources including Key Vault, Azure Policy, and Azure Virtual Desktop using Bicep scripts. You'll see how the right prompting strategy can transform AI from an unpredictable assistant into a reliable automation partner. Whether you're just starting to experiment with AI-assisted development or looking to scale these practices in enterprise environments, you'll walk away with a proven framework for orchestrating AI-driven infrastructure automation that's both powerful and production-ready. Key Takeaways: -Persona-driven prompting frameworks for transforming unpredictable AI into consistent, enterprise-ready automation partners - Advanced Copilot Chat techniques including custom instructions, prompt files, and iterative refinement strategies for production-quality Bicep templates - Compliance-first IaC patterns that leverage AI assistance while enforcing Microsoft CAF/WAF standards through prompt constraints and policy governance - End-to-end automation workflow from persona prompt design through policy-compliant Azure infrastructure deployment (Key Vault, Azure Policy, AVD)