Skip to content

Azure Cloud Adoption Framework

The Azure Cloud Adoption Framework is a comprehensive set of guidance, best practices, and tools that helps organizations plan, implement, and optimize their journey to the cloud. It enables teams to align business and technical strategies, ensuring a smooth transition to Azure and the achievement of desired outcomes.

Image title

Azure Cloud Adoption Framework

The framework provides a structured, step-by-step approach to cloud adoption, supporting organizations from strategy definition through ongoing management and optimization.

Key Methodologies

Define Strategy

Objective: Establish business justification and expected outcomes.

Actions:

  • Identify motivations (e.g., cost savings, agility, scalability)
  • Set measurable goals (e.g., ROI, reduced downtime)
  • Develop a business case and secure stakeholder buy-in

Plan

Objective: Align actionable adoption plans with business outcomes.

Actions:

  • Assess existing IT landscape (apps, infrastructure, data)
  • Identify skill gaps and training needs
  • Set migration priorities and success criteria

Ready

Objective: Prepare your cloud environment for planned changes.

Actions: - Design and deploy Azure Landing Zones - Define governance and compliance policies - Establish identity, security, and networking baselines

Adopt

Objective: Migrate and modernize workloads.

Paths:

  • Migrate: Move workloads to Azure with minimal changes
  • Innovate: Modernize using cloud-native technologies (e.g., AKS, Azure Functions)

Secure

Objective: Continuously improve security posture.

Actions:

  • Modernize security practices
  • Prepare for incidents and responses

  • Apply CIA principles (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability)

  • Confidentiality: Restrict access to sensitive data using encryption and access controls

  • Integrity: Protect data from unauthorized changes to ensure reliability
  • Availability: Maintain system uptime and accessibility for authorized users

Govern

Objective: Maintain control and compliance while enabling agility.

Actions: - Apply governance frameworks (Azure Policy, Blueprints) - Monitor compliance - Manage costs proactively

Manage

Objective: Optimize operations and drive continuous improvement.

Actions:

  • Monitor and alert (Azure Monitor)
  • Automate tasks (Azure Automation)
  • Conduct regular reviews for performance and cost optimization

Real-World Use Case

Scenario:
A retail company migrates its e-commerce platform to Azure to scale during peak times and reduce operational costs.

Steps:

  1. Strategy: Set business goals (e.g., minimize downtime, optimize costs)
  2. Plan: Assess infrastructure, create a migration roadmap using Azure Migrate
  3. Ready: Deploy landing zones for security and scalability
  4. Adopt: Migrate platform using Azure Site Recovery
  5. Innovate: Implement serverless order processing with Azure Functions
  6. Secure: Monitor and protect resources (Azure Security Center)
  7. Manage: Track performance (Azure Monitor, Application Insights)
  8. Govern: Apply policies to ensure compliance

Benefits

  • Structured Approach: Roadmap for successful cloud adoption
  • Scalability: Optimize workloads for Azure’s elasticity
  • Cost Optimization: Control and reduce cloud spending
  • Security: Implement robust protection for resources
  • Operational Excellence: Enhance monitoring and management

Resources