Azure Consulting Services

Azure Consulting Services | RaftLabs

See our work

  • Azure infrastructure designed before a single resource is provisioned

  • Migrations scoped to your existing Microsoft stack -- AD, Office 365, Dynamics

  • Cost reviews typically identify 30--40% of spend as reducible

Recent outcomes

Voice AI · Research

Text-based interviews converted to automated phone calls

6× deeper insights

AI Automation · Ops

Manual invoice OCR across 40+ gas stations

20k+ txns day one

Loyalty · Retail

SuperValu & Centra loyalty platform with receipt validation

1,062 users in 4 weeks

SaaS · Logistics

Multi-carrier shipping hub for Indonesian eCommerce

2,000+ shipments yr 1
4.9 / 5 on ClutchSee all work

Recognition

Sound familiar?

  • Your team is already deep in the Microsoft stack but your cloud is a mess of manually configured Azure resources nobody fully understands?

  • You need to migrate a workload to Azure for compliance reasons but you don't have the in-house expertise to do it without breaking things?

  • Your Azure bill doubles every quarter and no one can explain exactly why?

In short

RaftLabs provides Azure consulting services covering infrastructure design, migration from on-premises or AWS workloads, Azure-native application development, and cloud cost optimisation. The studio works with Microsoft-aligned organisations and compliance-sensitive industries where Azure's certification coverage matters. Most Azure consulting engagements run 4--12 weeks depending on migration complexity.

Trusted by

Vodafone
Nike
Microsoft
Cisco
T-Mobile
Aldi
Heineken
GE

RaftLabs helps businesses design, migrate to, and build on Microsoft Azure -- from architecture reviews of existing environments to greenfield Azure-native applications built for production from day one.

Most Azure cost and configuration problems come from environments that were never properly designed. Resources provisioned manually through the portal, no infrastructure as code, no cost alerts, no naming conventions. The fix is architecture and discipline, not more Azure credits.

Capabilities

Azure consulting services

  • 01

    Azure infrastructure design

    Architecture design before any resource is provisioned. We map out compute, networking, identity, storage, and security requirements, then produce an infrastructure blueprint covering service selection, cost model at current and projected load, and the decisions that are cheap to reverse now but expensive after build. You sign off on the design before development starts.

  • 02

    Migration from on-premises or AWS

    Moving existing workloads to Azure -- whether from on-premises servers, VMware, or AWS. We assess each workload (lift-and-shift vs. re-architecture vs. retire), build the migration plan, execute the data migration and cutover, and validate the target environment before decommissioning the source. Active Directory synchronisation, SQL Server migrations to Azure SQL Managed Instance, and compliance validation included.

  • 03

    Azure-native application development

    Applications built to use Azure-native services from the first commit. Azure App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Service Bus, and Azure Cognitive Services chosen based on workload characteristics. Not applications that get lifted from a server and dropped into Azure unchanged -- applications designed for managed services from the start.

  • 04

    Azure Active Directory and Entra ID

    Identity architecture for organisations that run on the Microsoft stack. Azure AD / Entra ID configuration, single sign-on integration with Office 365 and Dynamics, conditional access policies, and B2B collaboration for organisations with external partners. For applications that need to authenticate against your corporate directory, we build that integration correctly once rather than patching it repeatedly.

  • 05

    Azure DevOps and CI/CD

    Azure DevOps Pipelines or GitHub Actions on Azure for automated testing, staging deployment, and production releases. Infrastructure as code in Bicep or Terraform so your environment is version-controlled and reproducible. Environments separated at the subscription level, not by naming convention. Your team inherits pipelines they can modify, extend, and run without depending on us.

  • 06

    Azure cost optimisation

    A structured review of your existing Azure environment: what's deployed, what's actually used, what's sized correctly, and what's generating spend with no clear owner. Rightsizing recommendations, reserved instance analysis for predictable workloads, and policy configuration to prevent unchecked spend from new resources. Cost reviews typically identify 30--40% of spend as reducible without touching the application.

  • 07

    Compliance and security posture

    Azure is the preferred cloud for government, healthcare, and financial services because it holds the widest set of compliance certifications -- ISO 27001, SOC 2, FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others. We configure Azure environments to meet specific compliance requirements: network isolation, encryption at rest and in transit, audit logging, and the security controls each framework requires. Not compliance theatre -- documented configurations that hold up to audit.

Process

How Azure consulting engagements run

Five steps from initial assessment to a production Azure environment your team can operate independently.

  1. Week 1
    01

    Environment assessment

    For existing Azure environments: we audit what's deployed -- every resource, every cost driver, every configuration gap. For greenfield builds: we gather your workload requirements, existing Microsoft stack, compliance obligations, and growth projections. Output is a written assessment and a list of the decisions that shape everything downstream.

  2. Week 1--2
    02

    Architecture and migration plan

    We produce the infrastructure blueprint: service selection, network topology, identity architecture, naming conventions, cost model, and compliance controls. For migrations: the workload inventory, migration sequence, rollback plan, and cutover timeline. You review and sign off before any resource is created.

  3. Weeks 2--6
    03

    Infrastructure build with Bicep or Terraform

    Every resource defined in version-controlled infrastructure as code -- no click-ops. Staging and production environments created from the same codebase with environment-specific configuration. State managed in a remote backend. You inherit infrastructure you can modify and rebuild from scratch, not a set of manually configured resources that only one person understands.

  4. Weeks 4--10
    04

    Migration execution and validation

    Data migration, application cutover, and Active Directory synchronisation executed against the migration plan. Each workload validated in the Azure target environment before the source is decommissioned. Compliance controls tested against the relevant framework requirements. No cutover until the target environment passes validation.

  5. Final week
    05

    Handover and operational documentation

    Runbooks for the most common operational tasks. Cost alerts and Azure Monitor dashboards configured before handover. Your team trained on the infrastructure -- how it's structured, how to modify it, and where to look when something goes wrong. The goal is an environment your team can run without depending on us.

Azure infrastructure should be an asset, not a monthly surprise on your cloud bill.

Tell us your current Azure situation -- existing environment or greenfield build, workloads involved, and any compliance requirements. We'll scope the engagement and give you a cost estimate before work starts.

Talk about your Azure project

Related services

What clients say

What clients say about working with us

Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.

Niccolo Pescetelli
Niccolo Pescetelli
Co-founder & Director, PSi

Working with RaftLabs felt like having an extension of our own team. They're extremely nimble and responsive, adapting quickly to changing startup needs. I highly recommend them, especially for small and mid-sized companies.

01 / 14

Recent work

Projects that started like yours

Loyalty · Retail

SuperValu and Centra needed a loyalty platform. We shipped one that acquired 1,000+ users in 4 weeks.

We built an AI-powered loyalty platform for Musgrave's SuperValu and Centra that automates receipt validation with 99.9% accuracy, acquiring 1,062 users in 4 weeks.

Read case study
AI OCR Loyalty Platform for SuperValu and Centra
Gas Station Management Software Case Study

AI-powered OCR scaling gas station operations to 20k+ daily transactions

This purpose-built gas station inventory management software uses AI-based OCR to automate invoice processing and unify inventory, sales, and vendor tracking. Designed for scale, it gives owners real-time control across 40+ locations, without disrupting existing POS systems.

Read case study
AI Phone Agent To Conduct Voice Interviews at Scale

AI phone agents conducting automated voice interviews at global scale

We rebuilt a text-based AI interview platform as a voice-first system that conducts automated phone interviews globally, removing user friction and surfacing richer insights through natural conversations.

Read case study
Multi Carrier Shipping Software

Multi-carrier shipping SaaS: 2,000+ shipments across 70+ countries in year one

We developed a multi-carrier shipping SaaS solution in Indonesia, helping fast-growing eCommerce businesses ship globally with ease. Integrated with Shopify, it offers instant Aramex, FedEx, DHL, and UPS rate comparisons, automated fulfilment, and end-to-end shipment management.

Read case study
See all projects

Still curious?

A focused Azure consulting engagement -- architecture review, migration planning, or cost optimisation -- typically runs £5,000--£20,000. A full migration from on-premises or AWS to Azure, including infrastructure build, data migration, and cutover, runs £20,000--£80,000+ depending on the number of workloads and compliance requirements.

A lift-and-shift migration of a single application with straightforward dependencies typically takes 4--8 weeks. Re-architecting for Azure-native services (Azure Functions, AKS, Azure SQL Managed Instance) takes 8--16 weeks. Migrations involving Active Directory synchronisation, legacy on-premises dependencies, or compliance validation take longer.

Both. We run Azure architecture reviews on existing environments -- documenting what's deployed, identifying misconfigurations, and producing a remediation plan. We also design and build greenfield Azure infrastructure from scratch using Bicep or Terraform.

Core compute: Azure VMs, Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure App Service, Azure Functions. Data: Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Data Factory. Identity: Azure Active Directory, Entra ID. DevOps: Azure DevOps Pipelines, GitHub Actions on Azure. Monitoring: Azure Monitor, Application Insights. We work across all major Azure service families.

RaftLabs works with Azure as a technical delivery partner, not as a Microsoft reseller. We are vendor-neutral -- if a workload is better served by AWS or GCP, we say so. For organisations with existing Microsoft agreements, we work within your existing licensing structure.

Work with us

Tell us what you need. We'll tell you what it would take.

We scope Azure Consulting Services | RaftLabs in 30 minutes. You walk away with a clear cost, timeline, and approach. No commitment required.

  • Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
  • Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
  • Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
  • 60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
  • All conversations are NDA-protected.