Tariq Hanif, Cloud & Cybersecurity Engineer

Real IT skills for your next career step.

Free guides, scripts, labs and one-to-one advice for anyone starting or growing a career in IT — from Microsoft 365 and Azure to security, SQL, ERP and AI. Shared by a working cloud and cybersecurity engineer with 15+ years in the field.

  • Free of charge
  • Built for new IT professionals
  • Tested in real environments
years in IT
15+
industry certifications
22
countries worked in
3
endpoints managed
6,000+

What can I help you with?

Pick a topic to see guides, scripts and videos, or ask a question about it.

Microsoft Copilot & agentsMicrosoft 365 Copilot, Agent Builder, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Foundry and safe AI adoption. 2 resources ChatGPT, Claude & promptingUsing ChatGPT and Claude well at work: prompts, projects, custom assistants and coding agents. 3 resources Microsoft 365 securityDefender, Purview, DLP and hardening a tenant the right way. Ask a question Active Directory & domain controllersAD DS, domain controller health, FSMO roles, DNS, Group Policy and Entra Connect sync. 1 resource Entra join, hybrid join & MDMEntra joined, hybrid joined and registered devices, MDM enrolment, Autopilot and Cloud Kerberos Trust. 1 resource Microsoft 365 & collaborationExchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams: migrations, administration and governance. Ask a question Identity & Zero TrustEntra ID, Conditional Access, MFA, passwordless and hybrid AD. 1 resource Threat detection & responseSentinel, Defender XDR, KQL hunting and incident response. Ask a question ASD Essential EightAssessments, maturity levels ML1–ML3 and practical remediation. Ask a question Azure & multi-cloudAzure VMs, networking, storage and security, plus AWS and Google Cloud. Ask a question Backup & disaster recoveryVeeam, Azure Site Recovery, Microsoft 365 backup and tested restores. 1 resource Teams Phone & VoIPOperator Connect, Direct Routing, call queues, Teams Rooms and desk phones. Ask a question Intune & endpointsAutopilot, compliance, app deployment, patching and device lockdown. Ask a question Servers & virtualisationWindows Server, Hyper-V, VMware, SQL Server and migrations. Ask a question Networking & firewallsRouting, switching, VPNs, DNS, DHCP and sensible firewall rules. Ask a question Storage, hardware & CCTVSAN, NAS, RAID, server hardware and camera systems. Ask a question Email securitySPF, DKIM, DMARC, anti-phishing and mail flow troubleshooting. Ask a question SQL Server, databases & ERPSQL Server, MySQL and Oracle, plus ERP servers like Dynamics NAV/Business Central, NetSuite, Sage, Odoo and Tally. 1 resource PowerShell & automationGraph PowerShell, Azure Automation runbooks and Power Automate. Ask a question Service desk & IT operationsTicketing, SLAs, remote support, monitoring and the habits of a great service desk. Ask a question Career & certificationsStudy paths, home labs, certifications, CVs and interviews for new IT professionals. Ask a question

Grow your IT career, one step at a time

New to IT or ready for the next role? Follow a path, build the skills that matter, and ask when you get stuck.

  1. Starting out

    Service desk

    Windows, Microsoft 365 basics, ticketing and great troubleshooting habits.

    AB-900, SC-900, CompTIA A+

    Intune & endpointsEntra join, hybrid join & MDMEmail security
  2. Growing

    Systems administrator

    Active Directory, Windows Server, Intune, networking, backup, SQL Server and ERP servers.

    MD-102, AZ-802

    Active Directory & domain controllersEntra join, hybrid join & MDMServers & virtualisationSQL Server, databases & ERPBackup & disaster recovery
  3. Specialising

    Cloud engineer

    Azure infrastructure, Microsoft 365 administration, automation and Teams Phone.

    AZ-104, AB-650, MS-721

    Azure & multi-cloudPowerShell & automationTeams Phone & VoIP
  4. Specialising

    Security engineer

    Identity, Defender, Sentinel, Essential Eight and incident response.

    SC-200, SC-500, SC-100

    Microsoft 365 securityIdentity & Zero TrustThreat detection & responseASD Essential Eight
  5. What’s next

    AI & Copilot

    Copilot readiness, building agents, ChatGPT and Claude for IT work, and secure Azure AI.

    AI-901, AB-900, AI-103

    Microsoft Copilot & agentsChatGPT, Claude & prompting

Working with AI, Copilot and agents

AI is moving fast. These are the areas I’m building with right now, and sharing what works as I go.

See AI resources
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot readinessFixing oversharing, sensitivity labels and permissions before Copilot goes live.
  • Copilot Studio agentsBuilding agents that answer from SharePoint and take actions with Power Automate.
  • ChatGPT & Claude at workPrompt patterns, projects and coding agents that save IT teams real hours.
  • Microsoft Foundry & Azure OpenAISecure deployment patterns, private networking and content filtering.
  • AI for IT operationsUsing AI to triage tickets, summarise logs and speed up troubleshooting.

Technologies explained

See all 67 technologies
Microsoft 365 CopilotMicrosoft Agent BuilderMicrosoft Microsoft Copilot StudioMicrosoft Microsoft FoundryMicrosoft ChatGPTOpenAI ClaudeAnthropic Microsoft Entra IDMicrosoft Active Directory Domain ServicesMicrosoft Entra device identityMicrosoft Microsoft IntuneMicrosoft Windows AutopilotMicrosoft Microsoft Defender XDRMicrosoft

Start here

Browse all 10 resources

Latest in the library

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Recognition and accreditations

See all
Understanding & Implementing the ASD Essential EightAUSCERT / The University of Queensland, 2025
Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect ExpertMicrosoft
Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator ExpertMicrosoft

Stuck? Ask Tariq.

Stuck on a ticket, a lab or your next career move? Describe it and I’ll point you in the right direction — a guide, a script, or a few honest pointers. It’s free, and replies come as time allows.

  1. Describe the problemWhat you’re trying to do, what you’ve tried, and any error messages.
  2. I take a lookI review it against what I’ve seen in real environments.
  3. You get a way forwardA guide, a script, or clear next steps to try.
Ask for help
Tariq Hanif

Tariq Hanif

Cloud & Cybersecurity Engineer, Brisbane, Australia

I design, secure and support Microsoft cloud environments for a living. ITwithTariq is where I share what I’ve learned so the next generation of IT professionals can grow faster — the fixes, scripts and career lessons that don’t make it into the official documentation.

When I started in IT, the hardest part wasn’t the technology — it was not knowing what to learn next or who to ask. ITwithTariq is the help I wish I’d had: practical, honest and free.
  1. PakistanFoundations
  2. DubaiEnterprise scale
  3. AustraliaCloud & security
Experience & certifications