Azure Local HCI

Overview

After the migration of core virtual servers from on-premises to Azure, there was a small footprint of server left on-premises which require close-proximity to services such as CCTV, and other security controls.

City of Parramatta’s internal IT teams were exploring the idea of Azure Stack HCI on Lenovo hardware alongside Cloud Context engineers and Lenovo.

Challenge

The organisation had a small footprint of virtual machines that needed stay within close-proximity to other on-premises services such as cameras, and local storage solutions. Typically, this type of requirement would require organisations to leave a typical three-tier server and storage setup for this small amount of services.

With the recent migration into Microsoft Azure, and the technological advancements that came out of that migration, City of Parramatta and Cloud Context were keen to find solutions that could encompass the best of both worlds.

Our Solution

City of Parramatta and Cloud Context engaged Lenovo to assist with finding the best solution for this problem. Azure Stack HCI allows organisations to manage their on-premises server stack as if they were a node in Microsoft Azure.

All three parties’ engineers worked together to build a bill of materials that met the requirements and the budget of the organisation while also allowing the organisation to continue its’ path down the road of technology advancements.

An Azure Stack solution was landed on and delivered to the organisation where Cloud Context engineers were able to provision the services and manage them efficiently through Microsoft Azure.

The Result

City of Parramatta now has an Azure Stack footprint which can be managed through a single pane of glass with the remainder of their Azure environment. The close-proximity requirements of the services are met, and there is no need for typical on-premises hardware which requires high-maintenance, large run costs, and different skillsets.