Azure architecture and optimisation
An Azure environment often grows faster than the structure around it. I design and improve your environment so it stays secure, manageable and affordable, and ready for what's next, such as AI.
When is this for you?
- Your Azure environment grew organically and lacks structure
- Costs keep rising and you're not sure why
- You want a Landing Zone that follows Microsoft best practices
- You want to be sure you can withstand an outage or a ransomware attack
- You want to use Azure AI services securely and in isolation
- You want an independent review of an existing or new design
My approach
Requirements and current situation
We translate your business goals into concrete requirements for availability, security, compliance and cost. We often start with a health assessment, so we know where the biggest gains are.
Target architecture
A design following the Cloud Adoption Framework: management groups, subscriptions, networking (hub-spoke), Azure Policy and RBAC. Captured in a High and Low Level Design. I record key choices in a decision log (ADR), including the trade-offs.
Build as code
Where needed, we validate first with a proof of concept. Then I deploy the improvements with Bicep and PowerShell through Azure DevOps. Repeatable, auditable and documented.
Continuity and optimisation
Monitoring, backup, disaster recovery and high availability, aligned with your recovery objectives. And costs: right-sized resources, cleaning up unused resources and setting budgets.
Handover
Documentation and explanation for your administrators, so the environment stays tidy.
What you get
- High Level Design, Low Level Design and network design
- A decision log (ADR) with the key architecture choices
- Infrastructure as Code templates (Bicep)
- A governance set with Azure Policy and tags
- A plan for backup, disaster recovery and availability
- Advice on costs and improvements
- Documentation for administrators
My experience
I design and implement Azure Landing Zones with Bicep and PowerShell, write High and Low Level Designs and network designs, and carry out health and readiness assessments. Along the way I focus on guardrails and governance, cost, and the security and segmentation of resources. I'm certified as an Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305), Azure Network Engineer (AZ-700) and DevOps Engineer Expert (AZ-400).
Shall we talk?
Would you like a website, or help with your cloud environment? Send me a message.