Organizations are increasingly looking to Microsoft Azure as their cloud solution whether that’s for scaling their operations efficiently, saving costs, or streamlining their IT management. Moving to the cloud can significantly reduce the overhead of maintaining on-premises servers and data centers. However, the value of Azure is only truly realized when it’s implemented correctly. A poorly planned Azure implementation can lead to “technical debt”, creating issues down the line that are difficult, costly, and timely to correct. It is crucial to have a well-planned Azure implementation to maximize the benefits and return on investment of Azure.
Why Move to Azure?
Azure is a comprehensive cloud platform that offers a wide range of services, from cloud computing and storage to advanced analytics and AI capabilities. Its cloud computing capabilities allow businesses to move their workloads from on-premises servers to the cloud, providing a more scalable and flexible environment.
The benefit of Azure is that with the added flexibility, cost efficiency, and easy access to resources, businesses can innovate easier than before. Their IT resources are now on-demand, they only pay for what they use, and they can leverage advanced services like machine learning and AI without investing in expensive hardware.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into how to lead a successful Azure implementation.
Step by Step Azure Implementation Guide
Before you get started, keep in mind that planning the Azure implementation is just as important as the implementation itself. Our guide offers tips and tricks for each step of the implementation phase, for more in-depth questions, you can reach out to our Platinum Support.
1. Planning & Design
Before jumping into your Azure implementation, as with all projects, it’s crucial to assess your organization’s needs and goals. What do you aim to achieve with cloud adoption? How do your current on-premises resources map to Azure services?
On-premises configurations don’t always have a direct one-to-one correlation with Azure offerings. You may be tempted to try to replicate your existing infrastructure, but instead try to focus on targeted and purpose-driven deployment to the cloud.
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Analyzing Infrastructure Requirements: Evaluate your current infrastructure and understand how it can be translated into the cloud. If you're transitioning from another cloud provider like AWS, identify how those services map to Azure's offerings.
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Creating a Cloud Adoption Roadmap: Microsoft provides frameworks like the Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) and the Azure Well-Architected Framework (WAF) to guide businesses through best practices for Azure deployment and continuous improvement. Utilize Microsoft's CAF and WAF to develop a detailed roadmap for cloud adoption, and guidance on the cloud architecture that best fits your organization. Leverage prebuilt Azure Landing Zones (pre-configured cloud environment templates) to quickly deploy your environment to the desired state in preparation for the implementation.
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Consider Using a Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP): Evaluate your resources and expertise to decide if you need a third party to help you with your Azure migrations. When choosing a CSP, be sure they are Microsoft certified. The initial conversations should include Azure Landing Zones, CAF, WAF, and security requirements. If the CSP you are talking to does not have certifications or understand any one of these terms- it could be a sign of their limited capabilities.
Need help with your Azure project? Learn more about how Trusted Tech Team can help optimize your Azure environment with dedicated support and onshore expertise.
2. Setting Up the Azure Environment
Setting up your Azure environment involves creating management groups, subscriptions, resource groups, identity management, configuring network settings, and many other steps depending on your desired state. Meticulously organizing these elements is crucial for success including maintainability and scalability. Your organization will thank you later!
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Creating Subscriptions & Resource Groups: Organize your Azure resources logically by creating resource groups and subscriptions. Depending on your scale, you may need create management groups for your subscriptions. Be sure to create proper naming conventions for these as well.
For example, you might want to organize your resources by US region and call it “AVD West Coast” and “AVD East Coast”. This categorization helps manage resources efficiently and supports future expansion.
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Network Configuration: Set up virtual networks, subnets, and DNS settings that do not conflict with your On-Premises network ranges. Treat Azure as an extension of your existing network.
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Establishing User Roles and Permissions: Use Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to limit permissions and grant access to users based on their specific roles. Treat this much like you would with file sharing.
Pro Tip: When setting up your Azure environment, be sure to deploy an Azure Firewall, or at the very least utilize network security groups to segregate your disparate networks. This will help protect from network traversal attacks.
3. Migrating Workloads to Azure
Migration can be executed using two different approaches, the one that is best for your organization is dependent on the nature of your workloads and resources.
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Options for Migration: Choose between a staged migration or a hard cut-over. A staged migration involves moving components in phases — moving individual workloads over is often easier on end users & engineers. A hard cut-over migrates all workloads & data at once. This is great if you are under a tight timeline or budgetary constrictions but can be incredibly stressful depending on scale and number of workloads. Both require meticulous planning.
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Data Migration Best Practices: Conduct a dry run and user acceptance testing before the final migration to test the process and ensure that everything works as expected. There is always potential for surprises, but testing in staging can identify these issues before going live.
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Tools for Migration: Utilize tools like Azure Migrate, Azure Site Recovery, and Database Migration Service for seamless migration of databases and virtual machines to Azure. Utilize Azure Devops Pipelines for deploying app services, container apps, and Kubernetes clusters.
4. Optimization and Cost Management
Optimizing your Azure environment is essential for managing costs and ensuring efficient use of resources. This goes back to why your implementation plan is so important, as your on-premises CPU, RAM, and IOPS specs don’t always translate directly to running the same workloads in Azure.
- Rightsizing Resources and Auto-Scaling: Adjust your resource allocation based on your actual usage and clean up unnecessary resources afterward to avoid unexpected expenses. Implement auto-scaling for Azure Virtual Desktop to adapt to your team’s usage and limit server availability during off-hours.
- Reservations: After fine-tuning your environment, consider using Azure Reservations to commit to a one or three-year term for specific resources. This is an effective way to get guaranteed reserved usage for a cheaper rate, while allowing your organization to test your satisfaction first.
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Remember Optimization Does Not Always Mean Cheaper: You may find your workloads run fine but don’t meet the end user’s expectations for experience or scalability. This is where adjustments can be made to product tiering to get the workload performance in line with expectations.
Pro Tip: Sometimes the problem is not Azure Platform resources, but rather the developer’s coding of the application or SQL queries that need to be optimized!
Best Practices for Successful Azure Implementation
Lastly, when doing your Azure implementation, keep in mind these best practices for maximized performance.
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Proper IAM (Identity Access Management) Configuration: Setting up Privileged Identity Management (PIM), principle of least privilege, proper inheritance, grouping, & custom roles is critical for a proper implementation.
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Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): As of October 1, 2024, MFA is mandatory for all Azure users, regardless of role. Ensure you have it turned on.
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Conditional Access: Ensure you’re setting conditions for access to your workloads and data that impede any bad actors from access. This includes requiring enrolled & compliant devices, IP restrictions, platform restrictions, and many other settings.
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Monitoring Performance and Optimizing Workloads: Use Azure Monitor and Workbooks to continuously track your resources and performance, ensuring that your Azure environment operates as it should.
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Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning: Ensure you have an Azure backup configured to regularly back up your data. Replicate backups to another region if necessary, in case of a disaster.
Conclusion
Successful Azure implementations take thoughtful planning and careful consideration. A well-executed Azure implementation can transform your business, providing flexibility, cost savings, and access to innovative technologies. However, there are common pitfalls in Azure implementation including misconfiguration, underutilized resources, and unexpected costs. Our step-by-step guide utilizes best practices to avoid these issues, but limited resources or in-house expertise present a risk.
At Trusted Tech Team, we specialize in Azure and modern work cloud services, offering US-based support and a team of certified experts to guide you through your cloud journey. If you're ready to take the next step toward a successful Azure implementation, contact us today and let our experts help you maximize the value of your cloud investment.
