From Legacy Infrastructure to a Secure Azure Foundation.
Mission-critical trading platform Azure migration project
The Client
A UK-based energy trading organisation operates a mission‑critical trading platform supporting its power and gas trading activities. The platform integrates with a broad ecosystem of external trading venues, market data providers, settlement systems, and internal business applications.
To enable long-term growth, improve resilience, and modernise operations, the organisation initiated a programme to migrate this complex, highly integrated application from on‑premise infrastructure to Microsoft Azure. A key requirement was to preserve functional integrity and vendor support while creating a stronger foundation for future optimisation.
The Challenge
The migration programme was designed to enhance and modernise the existing platform rather than simply replicate on‑premise constraints in the cloud.
Key areas of focus included:
Operational Visibility
Moving from reactive support to proactive insight into platform health and performance.
Infrastructure Agility
Enabling faster, safer scaling, and change without introducing operational risk.
Complex Platform Dependencies
Migrating a highly interconnected application estate without disrupting internal systems or external trading integrations.
Resilience & Recoverability
Establishing cloud-aligned backup and recovery capabilities suitable for a business-critical trading platform.
The CE Approach
Cloud Elemental worked closely with the client throughout the engagement, applying a holistic, end-to-end delivery model focused on reducing risk while strengthening the platform’s long-term operability.
Assessment
Conducted focused discovery workshops and technical reviews to understand the current-state architecture, integrations, and operational workflows
Assessed infrastructure, database, monitoring, and recovery capabilities to identify risk areas and improvement opportunities
Design
Defined a cloud-aligned target architecture to improve resilience, security, and operational visibility
Designed secure network routing between users, application tiers, and databases
Established clear migration, backup, and recovery patterns aligned with Azure best practice
Implementation
Built and deployed the Azure landing zone and supporting infrastructure
Delivered database migration and upgrade activities with minimal disruption
Implemented baseline monitoring, alerting, and cost-visibility capabilities
Enablement
Aligned operational responsibilities and support models between teams
Embedded cloud-ready operational patterns into existing BAU processes
Ensured the platform could be confidently operated, supported, and evolved post-migration
Our Solution
Azure Architecture
The solution introduced a well‑structured Azure landing zone with secure routing between trading users, application components, and database services.
Network design was aligned to both security and performance requirements, ensuring controlled access paths and minimal latency for critical workloads.
Database & Storage Design
Oracle database deployed on Azure virtual machines, aligned with vendor support and licensing requirements
Upgrade of the Oracle database to version 19c as part of the migration, reducing technical risk and extending platform longevity
Structured storage design using Azure managed disks
Clearly defined export and import processes to support a controlled and auditable database migration
- Logical Volume Management (LVM) implemented to separate Oracle data, logs, and backups across dedicated volumes, enabling online resizing and simplified capacity management
This approach ensured database integrity while modernising a traditionally complex and high‑risk component of the platform.
Monitoring & Alerting
Azure Monitor and Log Analytics agents deployed across all virtual machines
Baseline monitoring for infrastructure health, database availability, and storage utilisation
Proactive, email‑based alerting to notify operational teams of potential issues
These capabilities delivered immediate improvements in visibility and responsiveness without introducing unnecessary tooling complexity.
Operational Alignment
Clearly defined separation of responsibilities between Cloud Elemental and internal teams
Lightweight automation and scripting to support migration and operational tasks
Operating patterns designed to integrate cleanly with existing business‑as‑usual processes
Our Results
Enhanced Platform Resilience & Availability
A modern Azure foundation reduced single points of failure and strengthened recovery capabilities.
Improved Operational Visibility
Centralised monitoring and alerting enabled faster detection, diagnosis, and resolution of issues.
Future-Ready Architecture
The platform is now positioned for enhanced disaster recovery, automation and continuous optimisation.
Greater Cost Control & Internal Capability
Azure-native cost visibility and embedded knowledge transfer improved financial governance and enabled confident day-to-day platform ownership.
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