Azure Cloud Platform Engineering & DevOps Transformation
Lead Solution Architect embedded for 12+ months with large Queensland Government department, providing enterprise architecture leadership across complex transformation programs to prevent technical debt, close security gaps, and mature internal architecture capability while delivering projects on time and within threshold.
Case Details
Client: Queensland Government
Start Day: 01/08/2025
Tags: Solution Architecture, Cloud / DevSecOps Engineering
Project Duration: 6 months (ongoing)
Client Website: qld.gov.au
Let’s Work Together
Call us directly, submit an online request or email us!
Client Story
A large Queensland Government agency was facing a critical capability gap. They were implementing a new, more secure Azure cloud environment designed to handle PROTECTED information—a significant step up in complexity and compliance requirements from their existing infrastructure.
The challenge wasn’t a lack of ambition or budget. It was capacity and capability. The agency had 6+ projects running across the organisation, all needing to leverage this new secure cloud platform, but they didn’t have the internal cloud engineering expertise to architect and deliver it at the level required for government security standards.
Without this expertise embedded in their team, projects were at risk. Each needed secure, compliant Azure infrastructure built to strict government requirements—ISM controls, Essential Eight, and the ASD Secure Cloud blueprint for PROTECTED information. The agency needed someone who could not only build the infrastructure but transfer that knowledge to their internal team as part of day-to-day operations.
Traditional consulting approaches—workshops, documentation handovers, defined project engagements—weren’t going to cut it. They needed deep technical capability working alongside their people, building both infrastructure and organisational knowledge simultaneously.
Our Approach
InnovateX embedded a Principal Cloud DevOps Engineer directly into the agency’s operational team. Not as an external consultant running a defined project, but as part of their team—working with their staff daily on real infrastructure challenges across multiple concurrent projects.
Discovery & Prioritisation
We started by assessing the current state across the organisation. Rather than building infrastructure in isolation, we worked with project teams to understand what was actually needed, what was being used most frequently, and where the capability gaps were most critical. This assessment informed how we prioritised the development of reusable infrastructure modules—focusing first on the components that would deliver value across multiple projects immediately.
Foundation: Requirements-Driven Architecture
Before building any infrastructure, another InnovateX resource had established comprehensive Functional Requirements (FRs) and Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) specific to the agency’s security posture and compliance obligations. These requirements became the foundation for everything we built—ensuring every module, every component, every configuration aligned with what the agency actually needed to meet ISM, Essential Eight, and ASD Secure Cloud standards for PROTECTED information.
Enterprise BICEP Registry Development
We established a private enterprise BICEP registry within the organisation—a centralised library of over 20 infrastructure-as-code modules covering all types of Azure PaaS services. Each module was architected around the established FRs and NFRs, making them:
- Compliant with government security requirements by default
- Reusable across all projects in the organisation
- Tailored to the agency’s specific internal security standards
- Version-controlled and documented for long-term maintainability
This meant any project team could deploy secure, compliant infrastructure using proven patterns rather than reinventing the wheel or creating security gaps.
Hands-On Infrastructure Deployment
While building these reusable modules, we were simultaneously deploying production infrastructure across the agency’s projects. This included:
- Private networking architecture using private endpoints
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation for security posture management
- Site-to-site VPN connectivity for hybrid environments
- Premium Azure Firewall configuration for advanced threat protection
- Multi-region reliability architecture for business continuity
- Data and infrastructure recoverability practices across regions
All infrastructure was deployed as code—achieving 100% infrastructure-as-code capability across the organisation.
Embedded Knowledge Transfer
The embedded approach meant knowledge transfer happened organically through daily collaboration rather than formal training sessions. Working alongside internal staff on real infrastructure challenges provided:
- Tighter understanding of ambiguous requirements through ongoing dialogue
- Easier, piecemeal knowledge transfer as part of doing the work
- Quality control from both InnovateX and the client’s perspective
- Flexibility that wouldn’t exist in a defined project with standardised governance processes
This approach built genuine capability—internal staff weren’t just learning about cloud infrastructure, they were building and managing it alongside an expert.
Technologies Levereged
Azure Platform Services
- Azure Virtual Networks with private endpoints for secure PaaS connectivity
- Premium Azure Firewall for advanced threat protection and network security
- Site-to-site VPN Gateway for hybrid connectivity
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud for security posture management and threat detection
- Azure PaaS services across compute, storage, data, and integration services
- Multi-region architecture for reliability and disaster recovery
Infrastructure-as-Code & DevOps
- BICEP for all infrastructure definitions (Azure’s native IaC language)
- Private Azure DevOps Artifacts registry for enterprise module library
- Azure DevOps Pipelines for automated infrastructure deployment
- Git for version control and collaboration
- 0+ enterprise BICEP modules covering all Azure PaaS service types
Security & Compliance Frameworks
- ISM (Information Security Manual) controls for PROTECTED information
- Essential Eight security framework implementation
- ASD Secure Cloud blueprint alignment
- Azure Policy for automated governance and compliance enforcement
- Custom security baselines tailored to organisational requirements
Reliability & Optimisation
- Multi-region reliability architecture
- Data and infrastructure recoverability practices across Azure regions
- Infrastructure optimised for availability, resiliency, and cost efficiency
Outcomes & Benefits
Infrastructure Capability Delivered
InnovateX is delivering critical infrastructure across 6+ projects throughout the organisation, providing the cloud engineering capability the agency lacked internally. The secure Azure environment is now operational and actively supporting projects requiring PROTECTED information handling.
Organisational Capability Building
Beyond infrastructure delivery, the embedded engagement is building genuine internal capability. Through daily collaboration on real infrastructure challenges, the agency’s team is developing the cloud engineering expertise needed to manage and extend their environment independently over time.
Enterprise Infrastructure-as-Code
The organisation has achieved 100% infrastructure-as-code capability through the enterprise BICEP registry. Over 20 reusable modules are now available to any project team across the agency, ensuring consistent security baselines, compliance with government requirements, and faster delivery of new infrastructure.
Sustained Value Delivery
The engagement is ongoing (January 2024 – at least EOFY 2025/26), demonstrating sustained value to the department. Architecture leadership isn’t a one-time fix – it’s continuous guidance, governance, and capability development that compounds over time.
Security & Compliance Alignment
All infrastructure—from networking to compute to data services—is built to align with ISM controls, Essential Eight requirements, and the ASD Secure Cloud blueprint for PROTECTED information. Security isn’t an afterthought or manual configuration—it’s automated and enforced through infrastructure-as-code and Azure Policy.
Optimised Cloud Architecture
Infrastructure has been architected and optimised for availability, resiliency, and cost efficiency. Multi-region reliability ensures business continuity, while the reusable module approach prevents duplicate effort and architectural fragmentation across projects.
Sustainable Knowledge Transfer
The embedded approach delivers knowledge transfer that sticks. Rather than formal training sessions disconnected from real work, internal staff are building expertise by working alongside senior cloud engineering capability on production infrastructure challenges. This creates sustainable capability that continues beyond the engagement.
Flexibility & Quality Control
The embedded model provides flexibility that traditional project governance doesn’t allow—responding quickly to ambiguous requirements, adjusting priorities as project needs evolve, and maintaining quality control from both InnovateX and the client’s operational perspective.
Why This Engagement Works:
This isn’t a traditional consulting engagement where external experts deliver infrastructure and documentation before moving on. InnovateX embedded senior cloud engineering capability directly into the agency’s operational team, building infrastructure and internal expertise simultaneously.
Six months in, the engagement is delivering both immediate value—production infrastructure supporting critical government projects—and long-term capability—an internal team developing the skills to manage and extend their secure cloud environment independently.
The combination of deep Azure expertise, government security compliance experience, and genuine embedded knowledge transfer is creating lasting value for the organisation.
About InnovateX Solutions
InnovateX Solutions brings enterprise-grade architecture capability to Queensland organisations of all sizes. Whether you’re a government agency managing complex transformation programs, a council modernising service delivery, or an enterprise navigating cloud adoption – we provide the strategic and technical architecture expertise you need.
We’re approved on the Queensland Government ICT Professional Services procurement panel and LocalBuy for councils across Queensland and Australia, with proven capability delivering architecture leadership in complex government environments.
Need senior architecture expertise?
Let’s have a chat about your architecture challenges – whether it’s program oversight, governance, security frameworks, or capability development.
