Software delivery, by the numbers
01
- software products shipped
- 100+
02
- average time to first production release
- 12 weeks
03
- rated by clients on Clutch
- 4.9/5
04
- years delivering software for established businesses
- 9+
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.
According to Gartner, the average organisation wastes approximately 35% of its cloud spend, with poorly optimised environments wasting as much as 55%. For Azure specifically, that waste almost always traces back to the same root cause: environments built without an architecture plan, then left to accumulate orphaned resources and oversized compute.
Capabilities
Azure consulting services
01Azure 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.
02Migration 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.
03Azure-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.
04Azure 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.
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.
06Azure 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.
07Compliance 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.
Why us
Why teams choose RaftLabs
01Senior engineers build what they scope
The engineers who assess your Azure environment also build the solution. No bait-and-switch, no offshore handoff after the contract is signed. The team you meet in week 1 ships in week 12.
02Fixed price before development starts
We scope the work, calculate the cost, and lock it in writing before any development starts. A scope change is a change request: priced, agreed, or dropped. It never absorbs into the project and appears on the final invoice.
039 years and 100+ products shipped
Clients include Vodafone, T-Mobile, Aldi, Nike, Cisco, and Lockheed Martin. Track record across Azure, AWS, SaaS, mobile, automation, and enterprise platforms in healthcare, fintech, logistics, and hospitality.
04Compliance built in from the start
GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP - compliance requirements are scoped in week 1, not retrofitted before launch. We have shipped HIPAA-compliant Azure environments for US healthcare clients and GDPR-compliant infrastructure for European markets.
Process
How Azure consulting engagements run
Five steps from initial assessment to a production Azure environment your team can operate independently.
- Week 1
01Environment 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.
- Week 1-2
02Architecture 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.
- Weeks 2-6
03Infrastructure 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.
- Weeks 4-10
04Migration 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.
- Final week
05Handover 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.
