Azure Consulting Services — Architecture, Security & AI for the Enterprise

Azure Consulting That Starts with Architecture, Not Guesswork

Every Azure deployment tells a story. Some tell the story of a team that planned ahead — layered foundations, identity-first security, codified infrastructure, and clean separation of concerns. Others tell the story of a portal click-fest that grew into a tangle of resource groups nobody wants to touch.

Big Hat Group builds the first kind. We design and deploy Azure environments grounded in enterprise architecture patterns, Terraform-based Infrastructure as Code, and Microsoft’s Zero Trust security model — purpose-built for organizations running Windows 365 Cloud PCs, Microsoft Intune, and AI agent workloads.

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Azure Consulting Services

🏗️ Landing Zone Architecture & Design

The foundation determines everything. We design Azure landing zones using Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework as a starting point — then customize for your specific workload mix, compliance requirements, and operational model.

• Subscription topology — management group hierarchy, subscription segmentation by environment and workload
• Network architecture — hub-and-spoke or Virtual WAN, with DNS, firewall, and inspection design
• Identity foundations — Entra ID tenant design, Conditional Access policy sets, Privileged Identity Management
• Policy governance — Azure Policy assignments for tagging, allowed regions, SKU restrictions, and security baselines
• Resource naming and tagging standards — consistent conventions that support cost allocation, ownership tracking, and automation
• Monitoring foundations — Log Analytics workspaces, diagnostic settings, and alert routing

We don’t hand you a reference architecture PDF. We deploy a working foundation into your Azure subscription, validated with terraform plan and documented in code.

🔐 Security Hardening & Zero Trust

Azure security isn’t a feature you turn on — it’s an architecture pattern that starts at the identity layer and extends through every resource.

• Entra ID hardening — Conditional Access policy design, PIM activation workflows, break-glass accounts, cross-tenant access settings
• Network security — NSG rule design, Azure Firewall policy, Private Endpoints for PaaS services, DNS Private Zones
• Key Vault architecture — secrets, certificates, and key management with RBAC access policies and rotation schedules
• Defender for Cloud — security posture management, regulatory compliance dashboards, and workload protection
• CIS benchmark alignment — mapping your configuration to CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark controls
• Least privilege RBAC — custom role definitions scoped to resource groups, not subscriptions

Our security approach follows a simple principle: encrypt everything, authenticate everything, log everything, trust nothing.

⚙️ Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

Portal deployments don’t scale, aren’t repeatable, and can’t be audited. We codify your Azure infrastructure in Terraform — version-controlled, peer-reviewed, and deployed through CI/CD pipelines.

• Layered Terraform architecture — foundations, networking, identity, platform services, and application workloads in separate state files with clean dependency chains
• Module development — reusable, tested modules for common patterns (Key Vault, networking, DNS zones, policy assignments)
• State management — Azure Storage backend with lease protection, state locking, and environment isolation
• CI/CD integration — GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps pipelines with plan on PR, apply on merge, and drift detection
• Preflight validation — terraform validate, what-if analysis, and permission checks before any deployment touches production
• Drift detection and remediation — scheduled plans that identify out-of-band changes and generate remediation PRs

We’ve deployed 9,300+ lines of Terraform HCL across 10 layers for production Azure environments — from foundation networking through AI Foundry workloads. Our W365Claw Terraform module automates Windows 365 Azure infrastructure specifically.

☁️ Azure for Windows 365 & Intune

Windows 365 Cloud PCs depend on Azure infrastructure that most organizations don’t have in place. We build the Azure foundation that makes Cloud PC deployments reliable, secure, and manageable.

• Azure Network Connections (ANC) — spoke networks for Windows 365 with proper DNS, routing, and connectivity validation
• Custom image infrastructure — Azure Compute Gallery, image build VMs, and Bicep-automated image pipelines
• Private DNS zones — privatelink zones for Key Vault, Storage, Azure ML, and other PaaS services used by Cloud PCs
• Intune prerequisites — Entra ID device registration, Autopilot network requirements, and conditional access dependencies
• Cost modeling — Cloud PC sizing, network egress estimation, and Azure Hybrid Benefit optimization

This is where our Windows 365 training and Azure consulting converge — the Azure infrastructure and the Intune management layer are designed together, not bolted together after the fact.

🤖 Azure for Enterprise AI & OpenClaw

Organizations deploying AI agents need Azure infrastructure that enforces data residency, controls costs, and provides observability. We design the Azure AI stack for enterprise governance.

• Azure AI Foundry — project configuration, model deployments, endpoint management, and capacity planning
• Azure OpenAI Service — GPT-4o, embedding models, and content filtering with regional deployment for data residency
• Azure AI Search — vector indexes for agent memory, semantic search configuration, and index lifecycle management
• Application Insights — OpenTelemetry instrumentation, custom metrics, and GenAI semantic convention tracing
• Key Vault integration — API keys, connection strings, and certificates stored with RBAC and rotation policies
• Cost controls — token budgets, model tier routing, and consumption monitoring through Azure Monitor

For OpenClaw deployments, we ensure every byte of AI inference, embedding storage, and telemetry stays within your Azure tenant — no data routes through third-party endpoints.

💰 Cost Optimization & FinOps

Azure spend grows faster than most teams expect. We implement cost governance from day one — not as an afterthought when the CFO asks questions.

• Cost allocation model — tagging strategy that maps Azure spend to business units, projects, and environments
• Budget alerts and caps — Azure Cost Management budgets with action groups for threshold notifications
• Reserved instance analysis — identifying commitment opportunities for consistent workloads (VMs, SQL, Cosmos DB)
• Right-sizing recommendations — Azure Advisor integration with regular review cycles
• Orphan resource cleanup — identifying and removing unattached disks, unused IPs, empty resource groups
• Terraform cost estimation — infracost integration in CI/CD for cost impact analysis before deployment

How We Work

Phase 1 — Discovery & Assessment

Review your current Azure environment, identify gaps against target architecture, and prioritize based on risk and business impact. Deliverable: assessment report with prioritized recommendations.

Phase 2 — Architecture Design

Design target-state architecture with network diagrams, identity model, policy framework, and Terraform module structure. Deliverable: architecture decision records (ADRs) and design documents.

Phase 3 — Implementation

Deploy infrastructure through Terraform with full CI/CD pipeline. Each layer is validated with preflight checks, applied incrementally, and documented in code. Deliverable: working Azure environment with IaC repository.

Phase 4 — Knowledge Transfer & Handoff

Train your team on the Terraform codebase, operational runbooks, monitoring dashboards, and day-2 procedures. Deliverable: operational documentation and recorded walkthroughs.

Why Big Hat Group for Azure Consulting

Azure Consulting FAQ

What Azure services do you specialize in?

We focus on Azure infrastructure for enterprise endpoint management and AI workloads: networking (VNet, DNS, Firewall), identity (Entra ID, Conditional Access, PIM), governance (Policy, RBAC, Cost Management), AI (Azure AI Foundry, OpenAI Service, AI Search), and compute infrastructure for Windows 365 and application workloads.

Do you use Terraform or Bicep?

Primarily Terraform with the AzureRM provider. We use Bicep selectively for Azure-native scenarios (ARM template deployments, custom image pipelines) where Terraform’s abstraction adds unnecessary complexity. The choice depends on your team’s existing skills and toolchain.

Can you work with our existing Azure environment?

Yes. Most engagements start with an assessment of your current environment. We identify gaps, prioritize remediation, and implement changes incrementally — we don’t insist on starting from scratch.

What does Azure consulting cost?

Engagements are scoped based on complexity. A landing zone assessment and design typically runs 2–4 weeks. Full implementation with Terraform varies by scope. Contact us for a discovery call to discuss your specific needs.

Do you provide ongoing Azure support?

Yes. After implementation and handoff, we offer retainer-based support for Terraform module updates, security posture reviews, cost optimization cycles, and architecture guidance as your workloads evolve.

How does Azure consulting relate to your Windows 365 and OpenClaw services?

They’re interconnected. Azure provides the foundation (networking, identity, AI services), Windows 365 runs on that foundation (Cloud PCs managed by Intune), and OpenClaw operates inside the Cloud PC (AI agent workloads). We design all three layers together so they work as a coherent stack — not three separate projects.

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Start Your Azure Engagement

👉 Book an Azure Discovery Call

👉 Microsoft Intune Consulting — endpoint management on your Azure foundation

👉 OpenClaw Enterprise Deployment — AI agents on Windows 365 Cloud PCs

👉 OpenClaw Consulting — architecture, skills, and managed hosting

👉 OpenClaw for Microsoft 365 Productivity — workflows, tools, and memory

👉 Windows 365 Training — learn Cloud PC deployment hands-on

👉 W365Claw on GitHub — open-source Terraform for Windows 365 infrastructure