Maximize Your Microsoft Azure Investment
Microsoft Azure offers enterprises a tightly integrated cloud for organizations heavily invested in Microsoft technologies — but navigating licensing complexity, hybrid identity, and cost optimization across Azure's 200+ services requires expertise that goes beyond what Microsoft's account team provides.
What RLM Delivers on Microsoft Azure
RLM advises enterprises on Azure architecture, Microsoft licensing optimization (M365, EA, CSP), hybrid cloud design, and Azure cost governance — independent of Microsoft's sales organization.
How We Approach Microsoft Azure
A structured path through the Microsoft Azure decision — current-state discovery, shortlist and benchmark, commercial negotiation, then support until it is actually working.
Azure Footprint & Licensing Assessment
We assess your Azure spend, EA/CSP agreement structure, Azure Hybrid Benefit utilization, reserved instance coverage, and licensing optimization opportunities across your Microsoft agreement.
Architecture & Landing Zone Design
We advise on Azure Landing Zone architecture, management group hierarchy, policy governance, and the hub-spoke network topology that scales securely as your Azure footprint grows.
Microsoft 365 & Azure Integration
M365 and Azure share identity (Entra ID) and security tooling. We advise on integrating M365 and Azure governance, Defender XDR configuration, and the conditional access policies that secure both environments.
Cost Optimization & EA Renegotiation
Azure costs are heavily influenced by EA structure, Azure Hybrid Benefit, Reserved Instances, and Savings Plans. We advise on optimization and represent your interests in EA renewal negotiations.
Microsoft Azure Evaluation Criteria
Before committing to any Microsoft Azure platform, these are the points worth forcing a straight answer on.
Licensing Complexity
Azure pricing interacts with EA, CSP, Microsoft 365, and on-premises licenses (Hybrid Benefit, BYOL). Evaluate the licensing model that minimizes total Microsoft spend across Azure and M365.
Hybrid Identity with Entra ID
Most enterprises have on-premises Active Directory. Evaluate the Entra ID Connect architecture, password hash sync vs. federation, and the conditional access policies appropriate for your security requirements.
Azure Policy & Governance
Azure Policy, Management Groups, and Blueprints provide the governance layer for multi-subscription environments. Evaluate governance maturity before scaling to production workloads.
Reserved Instance Coverage
Azure Reserved VM Instances and Savings Plans provide 30-50% discounts over pay-as-you-go. Evaluate your coverage ratio and the commitment terms appropriate for your workload stability.
Defender for Cloud Posture
Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides CSPM and workload protection across Azure and hybrid environments. Evaluate Secure Score and the coverage of Defender plans for your workload types.
Disaster Recovery to Azure
Azure Site Recovery and Azure Backup are common DR targets. Evaluate RTO/RPO capabilities and cost against your DR requirements before committing to Azure as a DR destination.
"RLM helped us rationalize our multi-cloud spend and identify over $1.2M in annual savings. Their approach was methodical and unbiased — exactly what we needed."
Every engagement is measured against the baseline we establish at the start — not against a vendor’s projection.
Where This Matters Most
Sector-specific considerations we see repeatedly in cloud and managed services engagements.
A Sample of the Cloud & Managed Services Providers We Evaluate
RLM is vendor neutral. These are among 600+ providers in our evaluation set — inclusion here is not an endorsement, and we are paid by the provider you choose, not by any provider in particular. How that works →
Thinking About Microsoft Azure?
Start with a no-cost conversation with an RLM cloud advisor — vendor neutral, no agenda, just clarity on the right path forward.
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