Study Guide of Microsoft AZ-900 Exam

16.4. Case Study: Azure for a Financial Services Firm

The financial services industry is subject to rigorous regulatory standards, requires high levels of security, and demands near-constant availability and performance. In this case study, we will examine “FinServCo,” a fictitious but representative financial services firm, and its journey to Azure cloud to address its business needs and objectives while navigating the complexities of the financial industry.

Background and Initial Challenges

FinServCo is a global financial services firm that provides a wide range of services including banking, asset management, and insurance. With its operations spread over multiple countries, it faced various challenges:

● Data Security and Privacy: Handling sensitive financial data requires adherence to various compliance standards like PCI DSS, GDPR, and others.
● Legacy Systems: Outdated infrastructure and applications were causing performance bottlenecks and limiting the company’s ability to innovate.
● Scalability: Difficulty in scaling resources during peak financial periods, leading to customer dissatisfaction during critical times like financial year-ends or market volatility spikes.
● Cost Control: Managing and maintaining on-premises data centers was becoming prohibitively expensive.

Why Azure?

Azure was chosen due to its global reach, comprehensive compliance coverage, and a broad set of services that cater specifically to the needs of financial institutions. Moreover, Azure’s commitment to security and privacy, as evidenced by its numerous certifications, made it a suitable choice for FinServCo’s stringent requirements.

Planning and Compliance

The first phase for FinServCo involved a detailed assessment of its applications and data, identifying which could be moved to the cloud and which would need to be refactored or replaced. They took advantage of Azure’s compliance documentation and its Blueprint service to help map out a secure and compliant architecture.

Strategy for Migration

FinServCo decided on a hybrid cloud approach, maintaining some critical operations on-premises while moving others to Azure. They started with less sensitive workloads to ensure a smooth transition.

Implementation and Execution

A range of Azure services was utilized in FinServCo’s transition:

● Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): For hosting legacy applications that required a lift-and-shift approach to the cloud without significant changes to the code.
● Azure SQL Database: For high-performance, managed, and scalable database services that could handle FinServCo’s complex transactions.
● Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): To orchestrate containerized applications, allowing for easy deployment and management of microservices-based applications.
● Azure Blockchain Service: To explore new financial services like smart contracts and secure multiparty transactions.

Security and Compliance

● Azure Active Directory (Azure AD): To manage user identities and create secure access to applications on-premises and in the cloud.
● Azure Key Vault: To safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by FinServCo’s applications.
● Azure Sentinel: For a scalable, cloud-native SIEM providing intelligent security analytics across the enterprise.