Cloud Platform Engineering that solves cloud sprawl and risk with one coherent Azure and hybrid platform

For organisations that need cloud speed, but also control. And want one platform across Azure, Azure Local and hybrid reality. Get clarity on where your platform is holding you back, and what it takes to build a cloud foundation your teams can safely scale on.

Talk to Chris Melinn, Head of Capability Cloud Platform & Engineering

Do you recognise this?

You want to move faster with cloud, data or AI, but your foundation can’t keep up. Every new workload feels like a oneoff instead of a repeatable move.

You’re already on Azure, but it grew without a real platform design. Governance came later (or not at all), and now ownership, security and costs are hard to control.

Some workloads cannot, or should not, run in public cloud only. Latency, regulations, data control or geopolitics force you to consider Azure Local or hybrid setups.

Infrastructure decisions are driven by urgency, not direction. You add things because you must, not because they fit into a longterm platform strategy.

Teams can deploy services, but no one is fully confident they’re doing it securely, compliantly and costeffectively.

If this sounds familiar, the issue isn’t Microsoft Azure or tooling, but the lack of a coherent cloud platform across environments with clear rules, ownership, and standards.

Our Approach

Step 1 - Set the rules before scaling the platform

We always start with governance. Not as a document, but as decisions. Together we define:

  • What is allowed — and what is not
  • How environments are structured and named
  • Who owns what (and who doesn’t)
  • How security, networking and access are enforced

These choices become the guardrails for everything that follows. Changing them later usually means rebuilding, so we make them explicit upfront.

Step 2 - Understand your current reality

Already running Azure or onprem infrastructure? We begin with an assessment.
We inventory what’s running today and measure it against Microsoft best practices such as the Cloud Adoption Framework and WellArchitected Framework. The outcome is always clear:

  • Your setup is solid
  • It works, but has gaps that will block scale
  • Or it’s faster and safer to redesign than to keep patching

No ambiguity. No vague recommendations.

Step 3 — Design a platform that fits how you actually operate

Based on governance and assessment, we design a cloud platform that supports:

  • Azure landing zones for public cloud workloads
  • Azure Local foundations where workloads must stay close to data or users
  • Hybrid connectivity and consistent policies across environments
  • Shared services such as networking, security, identity, backup and monitoring

The result is one platform, not parallel worlds.

Step 4 — Deploy with Infrastructure as Code

We deploy the platform using Infrastructure as Code. This makes your foundation:

  • Repeatable
  • Auditable
  • Easier to operate and evolve

It also means documentation is builtin — not something created after delivery.

Step 5 — Decide who runs the platform

We adapt to your operating model. We can deploy using Rapid Circle’s DevOps pipelines, or integrate with yours. Depending on your contract, we continue managing the code — or fully hand it over so your teams stay in control.

What customers typically experience afterwards:

Clear ownership and guardrails instead of platform sprawl

Faster delivery because teams know where and how to deploy

Better control over risk, security and costs

Why Rapid Circle

Platform thinking, not point solutions

We don’t optimise one workload or one service. We design the foundation everything depends on.

Governance is part of engineering

Naming, policies and ownership are just as important as network routes and firewalls.

Fast without shortcuts

Our standardised building blocks allow us to move quickly, without sacrificing control or security.

Less talk, more traction

Choices, practical designs and platforms that actually work.

Large municipality — from fragmented Azure to a controllable platform

Challenge

The organisation was still fully onprem, with an ageing datacenter and no Azure foundation in place to safely start migrating and scaling.

Approach

Platform assessment, redesigned landing zone, modern Azure networking, and Azure Virtual Desktop to publish applications.

Result

More than 100 applications migrated over time, a stable cloud platform, and the ability to shut down the onprem datacenter. End users experienced a faster, more intuitive digital workplace.

Healthcare organization — Azure Local for data control and latency

Challenge

Limited Azure Local knowledge internally and the need to keep workloads close to data while retaining a cloud control plane.

Approach

Requirements, sizing, design and deployment of Azure Local clusters, aligned with a broader cloud platform strategy.

Result

Two Azure Local clusters operational, workloads migrated, and one coherent control plane for public and local environments.

Healthcare organization — Hix on Azure with a controlled cloud foundation

Challenge

The organization needed to migrate their existing EPR to a new supplier. They choose to move to a Hix environment hosted on Azure, while guaranteeing performance, availability and data security for missioncritical healthcare processes.

Approach

We designed and built a dedicated Azure platform foundation for Hix, starting with governance, networking, availability, security and identity. A secure landing zone was deployed, followed by the Azure infrastructure required to run Hix at scale. The platform was designed around reliability, predictable performance and operational clarity, with close alignment between infrastructure, application and external parties.

Result

Hix successfully runs on Azure with stable performance and clear operational control. The organization gained a cloud foundation that supports critical healthcare workloads without compromising security or continuity — and that can be reused for future applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do you mean by Cloud Platform Engineering?

It’s the design and delivery of a cloud foundation that supports Azure, Azure Local and hybrid workloads — including governance, landing zones, networking, security and operating model.

Is this only relevant if we’re starting from scratch?

No. Many organizations already use Azure but lack a coherent platform. In those cases, assessment and redesign are often the fastest route forward.

When does Azure Local make sense?

When latency, data control, regulations or business risk require workloads to stay close — without giving up Azure’s control plane and consistency.

How fast can you deliver?

For greenfield scenarios, a standard landing zone can be deployed in days, with full trajectories typically completed within a few weeks — depending on scope and complexity.

Is this mainly strategic or handson?

Both. We help make the right choices, and we engineer the platform that turns those choices into reality.