Expert · October 2026
Available for contract & freelance engagements
Azure architecture, engineered to enterprise standard.
I'm Grant Palmer, Director Consultant for Cloud Architecture at GCWP IT Solutions. I design Azure landing zones, plan migrations, and deliver cloud transformation for organisations that need it done properly — on a contract or freelance basis.
Landing zonesHub-and-spokeHybrid identityTerraform IaC
Azure migrationAzure Virtual DesktopDefender for CloudBackup & recovery
Credentials
Microsoft certified, and current.
Two decades of delivery, backed by Microsoft's own architect-level certification. Each credential links to its live record on Microsoft Learn.
Expert · October 2026
Associate · October 2026
Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
Verify on Microsoft Learn →
What I do
Three ways to bring me in.
A fixed-scope design, a full transformation programme, or hands-on delivery when you need an experienced pair of hands on the ground.
Azure Architecture & Landing Zones
Cloud Adoption Framework–aligned designs. Hub-and-spoke and Virtual WAN topologies, identity and governance that scale, and high-level designs your teams can build from.
Explore landing zone services →Migration & Cloud Transformation
Assessment through to cutover. Azure Migrate planning, wave sequencing and pragmatic roadmaps that move workloads to the cloud while keeping risk and cost under control.
Explore migration services →Terraform & Platform Engineering
Terraform infrastructure-as-code, automation and hands-on delivery. Bring me in to fill a gap, lead a workstream, or get a stalled programme moving again.
Explore platform engineering →
Representative outcomes
Architecture that teams can operate after handover.
Examples of the practical outcomes I deliver. Client details remain confidential.
A governed Azure foundation
Management groups, policy, identity and hub connectivity documented as a repeatable platform pattern.
A sequenced route to cloud
Workload assessment, dependency-led migration waves and cutover planning aligned to business risk.
Infrastructure teams can change safely
Terraform modules, delivery workflows and operational documentation designed for long-term ownership.
Experience
Selected enterprise cloud engagements.
Selected engagements, shown anonymised - full detail on LinkedIn.
- Designed and implemented the network topology for new Azure Landing Zones - the secure, scalable foundation for all cloud resources.
- Led automation of Entra ID migration from on-premises identity, with minimal operational disruption.
- Built reusable Terraform modules and GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines for consistent, repeatable deployment.
- Designed enterprise backup and recovery for Active Directory and Entra ID (Commvault Cloud), including an isolated recovery environment in a second Azure region and a full forest-recovery runbook.
- Delivered a third-party Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environment with full Terraform automation.
- Translated information security requirements into deployable technical controls, working directly with InfoSec.
OutcomeSecure landing-zone foundations, automated identity migration and resilient multi-region recovery underpinning a live Critical National Infrastructure transformation programme.
Core capabilities
Enterprise Azure, delivered to a consistent standard.
› Cloud Adoption Framework
› Hub-and-spoke & Virtual WAN
› Entra ID & RBAC
› Management groups & governance
› Terraform / IaC
› Azure Migrate
› Landing zone design
› Network topology
Grant Palmer
Director Consultant — Cloud Architecture
Who you'd be working with
Cloud done to a standard that survives an audit.
I'm an Azure architect who thinks in outcomes, not just infrastructure. Across more than twenty years in enterprise IT - the last decade delivering on Azure - I've learned that the hard part of a migration is rarely the technology; it's making the right architectural calls under real constraints of cost, risk, compliance and time, and being able to stand behind them to the people who own the budget.
I own target-state architecture end to end - the reference patterns, the decision records, the trade-offs - and I keep them anchored to what the business actually needs rather than what's technically interesting. I'm as comfortable presenting a design and its cost implications to a steering committee as I am sequencing a cutover, and I pay close attention to the commercial detail that often gets overlooked: cloud spend and budget transparency, and the third-party contracts and governance that keep a programme defensible.
My work has been concentrated in environments where getting it wrong is expensive - critical national infrastructure, financial services, regulated energy. That's shaped how I operate: deliberate, well-documented, and built for the team that inherits it. Whether you need target-state architecture for a programme or an experienced pair of hands to steady one that's drifting, I bring both the technical depth and the commercial judgement to do it properly.
Professional profile
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Get in touch
Let's talk about your engagement.
Whether it's a fixed-scope design or an ongoing contract, the fastest way to start is a short call. No obligation — just a conversation about what you need.