πŸš€ Identity β€’ Cloud β€’ Security β€’ AI

Identity β€’ Cloud β€’ Service Reliability

Service Technical Advisor focused on identity, authentication, and enterprise cloud services. I work at the intersection of engineering, support, and operations to improve reliability, accelerate incident resolution, and drive better outcomes through data and process improvements.

πŸ›‘οΈ Identity & Authentication
☁️ Exchange Online & M365
πŸ€– AI & Copilot Certifications
πŸ” Service Reliability Β· Identity Β· Data-Driven Operations
Joshua Ryan Friedman headshot
4+ Credentials shown on this site
2015 Start of IT career
Identity Core area of specialization
Cloud Enterprise support + modernization
About

Technical depth with a modern builder mindset.

My background spans enterprise support, identity and authentication, Exchange Online, endpoint support, and practical problem-solving across cloud and on-prem environments. I’m especially interested in security, automation, AI, and building systems that work well in the real world.

My name is Josh Friedman. I’m an IT professional with a B.S. in Computer Science, concentrated in Information Systems, with experience supporting Microsoft 365 Identity and Exchange Online.

In my current role as a Service Technical Advisor, I support engineers and technical advisors in the Microsoft 365 Identity space by improving supportability, technical readiness, processes, and documentation. I work across teams to identify skill gaps, drive operational improvements, and help strengthen the overall effectiveness of the support organization.

I use data analysis to monitor support volume, track KPI trends, and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, service delivery, and business outcomes.

Previously, I worked directly with Microsoft Premier customers, supporting complex issues across Microsoft 365 Identity and Exchange Online in both hybrid and cloud-only environments. My background includes authentication, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD), Azure AD Connect, account management, mail flow, Outlook connectivity, mailbox provisioning, and migrations.

Expertise
πŸ” Identity & Authentication
☁️ Exchange Online
🧩 Azure AD Connect
πŸ›‘οΈ MFA & Conditional Access
πŸ”„ Hybrid Migrations
πŸ€– AI / Copilot / Azure AI
πŸ–₯️ Endpoint & Helpdesk Support
βš™οΈ Troubleshooting & Escalation
πŸ“Š Operational Analytics & KPI Monitoring
🧠 Serviceability & Support Design
🀝 Cross-Team Engineering Collaboration
Credentials

Certifications and recognized learning.

A focused set of certifications and learning milestones spanning cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, Copilot and agents, Azure AI, and identity-related fundamentals.

ISC2 Certification Badge

Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)

ISC2
Issued Mar 2026 Β· Expires Mar 2029
Credential ID 3033603
Microsoft Certification Badge

Microsoft 365 Certified: Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals

Microsoft
Issued Feb 2026
Credential ID 736992D86EE9AD2B
Microsoft Certification Badge

Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals

Microsoft
Issued Oct 2025
Credential ID 61404E4587B68EF4
Microsoft Certification Badge

Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentals

Microsoft
Issued Feb 2023
Experience

Professional Experience

A progression from hands-on desktop support and helpdesk roles into enterprise identity, authentication, and cloud-focused support engineering.

🏒 Microsoft

πŸ’Ό Service Technical Advisor

Dec 2023 - Present

Focused on improving supportability, service delivery, and operational effectiveness of the Microsoft Identity and Authentication premier support business.

  • Improve supportability and service delivery for Identity-related services by enhancing troubleshooting tools, diagnostics, processes, and documentation.
  • Partner with engineering, product, release management, and serviceability teams to drive faster incident resolution and better customer outcomes.
  • Identify team skill gaps and help build readiness plans, training content, and knowledge-sharing initiatives tied to product and service changes.
  • Analyze support volume and operational data to identify trends, monitor KPI performance, and highlight opportunities to improve support efficiency and business outcomes.
  • Use data insights to assess case patterns, resolution effectiveness, and areas for process or delivery improvement across the support organization.
  • Support successful launches of new features and deprecation of existing capabilities through close coordination with release and beta teams.
  • Mentor and coach engineers through technical guidance, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across teams.
  • Drive continuous improvement in operational effectiveness, technical readiness, process compliance, and overall service quality.

πŸ’Ό Support Escalation Engineer - Office 365 Identity

Oct 2018 - Dec 2023

Providing Office 365 Identity and authentication support for Microsoft's Premier customers. Diagnosing and resolving complex issues for Office 365 Identity and Authentication based services. Delivered training for new hires and support engineers wanting to cross train.

  • Azure Active Directory Authentication
  • Azure Active Directory Connect
  • Active Directory Federation Services
  • Multi-Factor Authentication and Conditional Access
  • Office 365 Licensing

πŸ’Ό Support Engineer - Exchange Online

Feb 2017 - Nov 2018

Provided Exchange Online support for Microsoft Premier customers. Assisted customers with troubleshooting and solving complex technical problems within Exchange Online, both hybrid and cloud only environments. When necessary, I would collaborate with other support teams as well as our engineering team to troubleshoot and debug problems.

  • Mail flow and Transport
  • Outlook client connectivity (autodiscover)
  • Mailbox managment and provisioning
  • Mailbox migrations

🏒 Stockton University

πŸ’Ό Information Services Helpdesk Technician

Mar 2015 - Dec 2016

Provided technical support to faculty, staff, and students. Answered calls for the help desk to diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve issues with computer hardware, software, and basic networking problems. I was also responsible for swapping out PCs and re-imaging them if required.

🏒 Spencer Gifts

πŸ’Ό Desktop Support IT intern

May 2016 - Sep 2016

I was responsible for troubleshooting any help desk tickets from both the field (retail stores) and corporate office users. This involved troubleshooting issues such as network and printing problems, software installs and licensing, VPN connectivity, Email, and Office Suite problems. During the summer, the IT team was gearing up for opening the 1400+ Spirit Halloween stores around the country. Much of my time was spent imaging, configuring, and packing the laptops, networking equipment and peripherals needed for each store to run.

🏒 K. Hovnanian Homes

πŸ’Ό Intern - Systems Support Specialist - Desktop

May 2015 - May 2016

My primary role was troubleshooting help desk tickets created by the corporate office and sales offices staff. This included troubleshooting basic desktop and printer problems, network troubleshooting, maintaining backups and ensuring tapes were pulled and sent off site. I was also able to lead a project to improve the desktop imaging process that was in place. Previously it took anywhere from 1-2 hours per machine to image, after changing which imaging software was used and moving the imaging server to a gigabit connection, I was able to drop that time to 20-30 minutes per machine.

Projects

Other work and areas of focus.

A few representative areas that reflect the kind of work I enjoy: modern infrastructure, identity-focused workflows, practical automation, and polished technical delivery.

Homelab & Self-Hosted Infrastructure

Ongoing work around Docker-based services, reverse proxies, self-hosted tools, and operational troubleshooting in a real-world homelab environment.

Docker Reverse Proxy Self-Hosting Operations

Identity & Security Advisory Concepts

Practical thinking around repeatable identity, access, and security review workflows for SMB and mid-market environments.

Identity MFA Conditional Access Advisory

Web Design & Small Business Sites

Design, modernization, and cleanup work for small business websites with an emphasis on clarity, structure, and trust-building presentation.

HTML/CSS WordPress Branding UX
Contact

If you'd like to connect, reach out through one of the channels below.