Enterprise Cloud Migration & Data Centre Exit (Global Reach Group)
The Situation
Global Reach Group, a regulated financial services organisation, operated its entire IT estate from third-party hosted data centres using a traditional infrastructure and cost model. The organisation made a strategic decision to migrate its end-to-end IT services to Microsoft Azure Public Cloud to support an OPEX-based operating model, improve resilience and security, and decommission all legacy co-location infrastructure.
The scope was significant: 63+ business-critical applications with complex enterprise integrations, aggressive timelines, strict security and regulatory requirements, and zero tolerance for disruption to live financial services operations.
The Task
As Senior Project Manager, I was accountable for leading the end-to-end cloud migration and data-centre exit, covering application migration, network transformation, security uplift, identity and access management, service transition, and full BAU readiness. The programme required coordination across internal teams, multiple third-party vendors, and cloud partners, while maintaining uninterrupted business operations.
The Action / Approach
I structured the work as a multi-stream cloud transformation programme, establishing clear governance, RAID management, financial tracking, and phased migration planning aligned to business cycles.
I led requirements definition and acceptance criteria, drove infrastructure discovery and application dependency analysis, and defined migration strategies across IaaS, SaaS, and limited PaaS workloads. The programme included the design and implementation of Azure subscription structures, network segmentation, security controls, identity and access management (SSO, RBAC), and connectivity using ExpressRoute and site-to-site VPNs for head office and branch locations.
I coordinated the migration of compute, storage, and enterprise services, including Active Directory integration, DHCP/DNS, file services, print services, and application platforms, while implementing high availability and disaster recovery for all production systems. Development, SIT, and UAT environments were created in Azure to support controlled testing and cutover.
A key focus was security and regulatory compliance. I led cyber-security assessments and identity risk reviews, implemented mitigations for high-risk findings, and coordinated the deployment of firewalls, IDS/IPS, endpoint protection, vulnerability scanning, SIEM monitoring, and secure web proxy services. GDPR and information-security requirements were embedded throughout the solution design.
In parallel, I delivered a full migration from on-premise file shares to Office 365, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive, enabling modern document management and collaboration. I managed multiple suppliers and partners, including network providers, cloud specialists, and security vendors, negotiating schedules and resolving dependencies under tight delivery timelines.
Finally, I oversaw the complete decommissioning of all legacy co-location infrastructure, including servers, storage, networks, security platforms, monitoring tools, and messaging systems, and led service transition and knowledge transfer to ensure full BAU readiness.
The Result
The programme successfully migrated all production systems to Microsoft Azure with zero downtime and zero incidents attributed to the migration. The organisation exited its legacy data-centre environment completely, achieving a secure, resilient cloud platform aligned to its strategic move to an OPEX operating model.
Security posture and regulatory compliance were strengthened through improved identity controls, monitoring, and disaster recovery. Business operations continued uninterrupted throughout cutover, and the programme was recognised by senior leadership for delivery quality, operational readiness, and execution under aggressive timelines.
