Azure Landing Zone Accelerator

Description

Without a landing zone, every Azure team creates their own subscriptions, networks, and security controls — leading to inconsistent configurations, cost sprawl, and audit pain. This engagement deploys the Enterprise-Scale landing zone across the eight CAF design areas defined by Microsoft, using Infrastructure-as-Code with Azure Verified Modules so the platform is version-controlled, repeatable, and ready to scale.

Objectives

Establish a governed Azure platform that every team inherits by default
Centralize networking, identity, security, and monitoring across subscriptions
Enable subscription vending so application teams self-serve safely
Deploy everything as code, version-controlled and pipeline-driven

Outcomes

Enterprise-Scale landing zone deployed across all eight CAF design areas
Management group hierarchy with policy-driven governance in place
Hub-spoke or Virtual WAN network ready for application workloads
Defender for Cloud and Sentinel enabled tenant-wide
IaC repository and CI/CD pipelines handed over to your team

Scope

Azure billing scopes and Microsoft Entra tenant configuration
Management group hierarchy and subscription organization
Identity baseline with PIM, RBAC, and Conditional Access
Hub-and-spoke network with Azure Firewall and private DNS
Defender for Cloud, Sentinel, and Azure Policy initiatives
Bicep or Terraform IaC with Azure Verified Modules
CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions
Two pilot application landing zones to validate the platform

Methodology

Design

Assess current Azure footprint, interview stakeholders, document target architecture across all eight CAF design areas.

Deploy

Build foundation, security, governance, automation, and monitoring in staged rollouts using Infrastructure-as-Code.

Operate

Pilot two application landing zones, hand over runbook and pipelines, then 30-day hypercare.

Microsoft technologies

Aligned to the Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework Enterprise-Scale architecture.

Cloud Adoption Framework Management Groups Microsoft Entra ID Azure Policy Azure Firewall ExpressRoute Private DNS Defender for Cloud Microsoft Sentinel Log Analytics Bicep / Terraform Azure Verified Modules Azure DevOps GitHub Actions

Delivery outline

Phase	Activity	Description
Weeks 1–2	Discovery	Stakeholder interviews across IT, security, finance, and application teams. Target architecture documented and signed off.
Weeks 3–5	Platform foundation	Management groups, identity baseline, resource organization, and hub network deployed (design areas 01–04).
Weeks 5–8	Security & governance	Defender for Cloud and Sentinel enabled, Azure Policy initiatives applied, compliance reporting configured (areas 05–06).
Weeks 7–11	Automation	IaC repository built, CI/CD pipelines configured, Log Analytics and monitoring baselines set (areas 07–08).
Weeks 10–12	Pilot landing zones	Two application landing zones deployed through the vending process to validate end-to-end.
Weeks 12–14	Handover	Platform runbook delivered, two workshops conducted, 30-day hypercare period begins.

Requirements

Agreement — Active Azure EA or Microsoft Customer Agreement (MCA)
Identity — Microsoft Entra ID P1 minimum, P2 strongly recommended
Security — Defender for Cloud Standard tier on platform subscriptions
Admin access — Tenant or Global Administrator available for initial setup
IaC tooling — Decision on Bicep or Terraform, plus Git platform of choice

Participants required

Executive sponsor — Authority over IT, security, and finance
Cloud architect — Decision-making on target architecture
Network architect — Connectivity and hub design sessions
Identity admin — Hands-on for Entra and RBAC
Platform / DevOps lead — Will own the IaC repository post-handover

Ready to build your Azure foundation?