How a Top Pharma Company Transform Its Data Center Exit with Cloud Strategy

Client

A leading healthcare company

Year

2024

Stack

Azure, Azure NetApp Files (ANF), Terraform (IaC), Azure DevOps, Azure Firewall, Azure Network Security Groups, Exabeam, Jira Service Management, Azure Monitor

⸻ Business Impact

A Critical Inflection Point Exiting the Data Center

Our customer is a global leader in healthcare. The company faced a critical inflection point as its data center was set to close and decided to migrate its servers to Azure Cloud.

MobiLab successfully migrated all servers, efficiently within a tight deadline. The challenge wasn’t just migrating 200 servers or 60 GxP-regulated systems to the Cloud—it was ensuring compliance, continuity, and scalability in the process.

By designing and implementing a GxP-compliant Cloud Foundation and rearchitecting storage with Azure NetApp Files, MobiLab helped our customer modernize its IT operations, reduce compliance risks, and lay the groundwork for future innovation.

Key Results

A Future-Proof GxP Cloud Foundation

Built a secure, scalable Cloud environment aligned with regulatory requirements, empowering our customer to scale its operations independently.

Cost and Operational Transparency

Introduced Cloud FinOps best practices, providing clear visibility into Cloud expenditure while optimizing resource usage.

Accelerated Migration with Minimum Business Interruption

Migrated 200 servers and 50 TB of data seamlessly within the strict timeline.

Streamlined Storage and Compliance

Leveraged Azure NetApp Files (ANF) for cost-efficient workload storage with improved performance and installed diligent GxP-qualified compliance practice.

⸻ STARTING POINT

Navigating an Unforgiving Timeline and Strick Compliance Requirement

Background

Our customer’s on-premises data center supported 6,000 users across critical applications, including regulatory-compliance. With the datacenter’s closure, the transition was non-negotiable. However, the move to the Cloud also presented an opportunity to modernize infrastructure and reduce operational complexity.

Market Context

The pharmaceutical sector is highly regulated, requiring stringent compliance measures. GxP standards govern the data integrity and reliability of systems, creating a significant complexity in Cloud migrations.

Project Scope and Methodology

In the past, our customer relied on traditional on-premises solutions without the advantages of the scalability and flexibility of Cloud environments. The datacenter closure underscored the limitations of this approach. After MobiLab’s migration efforts, our customer benefits from a Cloud-native environment with improved compliance, security, and operational transparency.

MobiLab delivered a comprehensive solution, including:

  • A GxP-qualified Cloud Foundation built with Azure Governance and Architecture.
  • Modernized storage infrastructure via Azure NetApp Files (ANF), reducing complexity and ensuring performance.
  • FinOps dashboards for cost control and transparency.
  • Consolidation of existing AVD environment to the defined Cloud Foundation

Facing an unforgiving timeline, we identify two key challenges:

  • We need to develop a highly efficient communication protocol to make sure all stakeholders, including third-party security consultants, are always on the same page.
  • We need to use an agile method and develop solutions quickly to any issues that might occur during the project to ensure that there is no delay.

Building on this, we developed the Cloud Adoption Framework to outline our scope and defined the roadmap.

Cloud Adoption Framework

⸻ MILESTONES

Building a GxP-compliant Cloud Foundation

MobiLab developed a secure and scalable Cloud architecture tailored to meet GxP requirements. This included workshops to align stakeholders on compliance protocols, meticulous documentation for audit readiness, and the deployment of infrastructure a (IaC) to standardize configurations.

Modernizing Storage with Azure NetApp Files (ANF)

The shift to ANF simplified storage management for GxP and non-GxP data. By integrating high-performance batch processing, our customers gained faster access to actionable insights while maintaining compliance with stringent regulatory standards.

Introducing FinOps for Cost Optimization

Cost transparency was critical for our customer’s Cloud Adoption. MobiLab implemented FinOps dashboards, enabling real-time tracking of resource utilization and spending and fostering more strategic budget decisions.

Empowering Through Expertise: Upskilling and Cloud Operations

Post-migration, MobiLab provided a Hypercare period to resolve any immediate issues and transitioned operations to our customer’s Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE). We delivered a series of targeted upskilling workshops to ensure long-term success and self-sufficiency. These sessions equipped our customer’s team with the expertise to navigate and manage their new Cloud environment confidently.

Beyond training, we added further Enterprise Cloud-native Operations (ECNO) support. These initiatives provided a robust framework for managing Cloud resources and streamlining operations. Enable our customer’s team to have a shorter innovation and development cycle without dealing with infrastructural development and operations.

⸻ Conclusion

A New Standard for Compliance and Innovation

The project didn’t just solve a logistical problem—it redefined how our customer approaches IT infrastructure. Through strong collaboration and robust project management, we delivered efficient results while fostering trust and seamless communication with our customer’s team.

What our customer’s new Cloud environment now offers

➞  Regulatory Confidence

A GxP-compliant framework that simplifies audits and upholds the highest standards of data integrity.

➞ Future-Readiness

A scalable, flexible architecture designed to grow alongside our customer’s business needs.

➞  Operational Excellence

Streamlined processes and modernized storage that reduce costs while enhancing performance.

➞  Cost Optimization

FinOps practices for ongoing visibility and management of Cloud expenditures.