Kyle Burns

Kyle Burns has spent nearly three decades building, architecting, and leading technology solutions — a journey that began long before "Internet of Things" had a name. In the late 1990s, while working at Kirby Risk as a Rockwell Automation Software Specialist, Kyle guided customers on SCADA system integration and plant floor monitoring — helping lay the groundwork for the industrial IoT practices that would later transform manufacturing worldwide.

That early hands-on experience with connected devices and operational technology shaped a career defined by bridging the physical and digital worlds. Kyle went on to serve as an Application Architect and later APM Architect at Humana, where he led the development and implementation of enterprise-wide Application Performance Management strategies. That work — instrumenting systems, analyzing telemetry at scale, and driving observability across dozens of teams — directly informs the operational excellence and reliability guidance found throughout this book.

Kyle spent nearly seven years at Microsoft as a Cloud Solution Architect, rising to Principal Cloud + AI Apps Solution Architect. In that role, he partnered directly with senior executives across Fortune 100 companies to shape multi-year cloud strategies, architect complex migration roadmaps, and drive sustainable outcomes on the Azure platform. He mentored hundreds of engineers, led large-scale technical enablement events, and developed approximately 20 proof-of-concept applications that advanced AI adoption and established best practices across client engagements. His deep experience helping the world's largest organizations build global-scale solutions on Azure gives this book's architectural guidance a foundation in real-world enterprise delivery.

Today, Kyle serves as Practice Lead for Technical Principals at Mesh Systems, an IoT-focused product development company. In this role, he guides the technical strategy, architectural standards, and leadership practices that shape how Mesh Systems delivers scalable, secure, and resilient IoT solutions. He works across product, hardware, firmware, cloud, and operations teams — ensuring solutions are grounded in strong systems thinking, modern engineering practices, and long-term technical viability. His focus is helping customers bring differentiated connected products to market faster, with solutions that scale globally, evolve sustainably, and enable continuous innovation.

Kyle is also an author of *Cloud Solution Architect's Career Master Plan* (Packt Publishing) and several other technical books. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Information Systems from Indiana Wesleyan University and is a United States Marine Corps veteran. Outside of technology, Kyle serves as Regional Director for the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps in Indiana, where he leads a volunteer organization dedicated to developing the next generation of leaders.