Launching new IT projects in 30 minutes with Azure DevOps

Steps towards the changing of the guard

With many new projects in the pipeline carried out by development teams from different backgrounds, the organisation looked for a reliable and automatic way of granting the right permissions to numerous users in as little time as possible.

A process that would usually take up a few days if done manually.
And as the space in their data centre had its limits too, they found it challenging to operate at full capacity. That in turn stifled the start and progress of the projects, and so they searched for a more efficient and economical alternative to the costly on-premises infrastructure.

Additionally, the involvement of internal teams and external users required a greater deal of cost control and traceability across projects. Compliance and security were also a concern.

The client looked for a reliable way to:

• Accelerate its workload
• Automate project onboarding
• Build a secure and cost-effective deployment environment

Making these improvements would allow them to operate more efficiently and react faster to new challenges.

Help from cloud technologies

After learning about the organisation’s requirements in more detail, SoftwareOne recommended moving the data to the cloud, which addressed most of the client’s concerns.

With all resources migrated to Azure, project owners would be able to launch projects on-demand and grant permissions to selected members in a matter of minutes.

Additionally, the client’s staff was offered a series of “Ops to DevOps” workshops to get insight into cloud governance best practices for accelerating project onboarding, monitoring costs, as well as keeping the resources safe.

To best support the activities of the organisation, SoftwareOne focused on 3 priorities:

1. Adopting the Azure DevOps platform for collaborating and onboarding new projects automatically with all the necessary permissions.
2. Migrating on-premises data to the cloud for greater scalability and cost optimisation.
3. Sharing knowledge and experience of Azure DevOps with hands-on training sessions for the client’s development teams and ICT staff.

With the project goals agreed on, it was time to put them into practice.

Simplifying operations with technology

First, all the necessary resources from the on-premises data centre were migrated to the Azure cloud. Now the client’s development teams can store their code in a safe environment and automate deployments fast while keeping up with best CI/CD practices.

By introducing a cloud governance model and infrastructure covered by all compliance rules, it was possible to set up and configure a Landing Zone. This solution gave the organisation the ability to add subscriptions, resource groups and virtual networks with consistent rules and standards implemented by default.

As some external users were also going to take part in multiple projects, they were granted permission to the cloud space with access secured with Multi-Factor Authentication based on Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

Now, to make sure that the cloud environment is managed safely and cost-effectively, SoftwareOne’s team keeps updating and maintaining the services. When needed, its consultants take part in developing applications. These solutions include software for risk management, border security and an educational platform for end-users.

Getting more things done with the cloud

Thanks to the fully secure and compliant infrastructure, project owners can successfully onboard multiple projects with all required resources and permissions that are automatically granted to assigned users. Instead of days spent on a manual setup, the launch now takes up to 30 minutes. That saves the admins a lot of time that can be used elsewhere.

But there is another advantage to this automation. Granting access manually always carries the risk of human error. However small the possibility, it is best mitigated by a well-programmed solution. And that is especially important when the reputation of international institutions is at stake.

The overall standardisation on the Azure DevOps platform also made a huge difference. As development teams have one dedicated work template, they can focus on their job without having to learn the ropes each time a new project starts.