Cosmos DB: Operational Backbone for Cloud-Native Apps | Johnny Halife | Azure Cosmos DB Conf 2026

Johnny Halife, CTO at Southworks, shares how his team uses Azure Cosmos DB as the operational backbone for the cloud-native applications they build for customers. In this customer story from Azure Cosmos DB Conf 2026: • Customer-facing platforms that need real-time user context, configuration, and workflow state • Distributed, event-driven systems with data coming in fast and changing constantly • A fully managed service that lets engineering teams focus on shipping — not running the database • Faster delivery, consistent performance, and new use cases added without reworking the data layer 👤 Connect with Johnny Halife 📝 Johnny Halife is a partner at SOUTHWORKS, a global software development scaleup that accelerates value for organisations and people. With 17+ years in IT software and services, he leads web and agile delivery for clients like Microsoft, Warner Media, and Riot Games, and is a member of the Forbes Business Council. Johnny is also the founder and former CTO of MURAL. 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnyhalife-engineering 🌐 https://www.southworks.com/ 🎤 https://developer.azurecosmosdb.com/conf/#speaker/johnny-halife --- Azure Cosmos DB Conf 2026 is a free virtual developer event focused on building modern, scalable applications with Azure Cosmos DB. Sessions feature Microsoft engineers, product teams, and members of the global developer community sharing real-world solutions and best practices. Originally streamed on April 28, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM PT 🔗 Useful Links • Explore all sessions on-demand — https://aka.ms/CosmosConf26Playlist • Take the Cosmos Conf Challenge. First 500 to complete gets a voucher for 100% free certificate exam for DP-420 — https://aka.ms/CosmosDBConfChallenge • Azure DB Cosmos Conference 2026 Post-Event Survey — https://aka.ms/CosmosConf2026Survey • Visit the conference website — https://aka.ms/azurecosmosdbconf • Subscribe to Azure Cosmos DB on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@AzureCosmosDB • Follow Azure Cos