Azure Hosting & Managed Support
Cost-Controlled & Compliant
Liverpool-based Azure and security specialists serving Chester, Warrington, Macclesfield, Crewe, and across Cheshire.
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Why Cheshire Organisations Struggle With Azure
Whether you're a SaaS scale-up in Chester, a fintech in Macclesfield, or a professional services firm in Warrington, Azure typically sits alongside strict compliance targets. Without specialist oversight the bills climb and Secure Score stalls.
Hidden Azure Waste
Without FinOps guardrails it's easy to run oversized VMs, premium storage tiers, and test environments indefinitely. Our diagnostics routinely uncover 20-30% efficiency opportunities even before deep re-architecture.
Compliance Drag
Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, and insurance questionnaires expect Secure Score evidence, conditional access policies, and tested backups. Generic MSPs bolt security on at the end; we design from security-first blueprints.
Remote Call Centres
National providers route you through tiers of support that rarely understand your environment. We remain Liverpool-based, 30-45 minutes from most Cheshire sites, and give you direct access to the architects who build your runbooks.
Organisations in Cheshire typically invest £8k-£15k per month on Azure once workloads mature. Without dedicated oversight, cost drift and compliance drift arrive together—something our paid assessments surface before it impacts margins.
Assessments, Managed Infrastructure & Migrations
Paid Assessments & Well-Architected Reviews
A deep dive into Secure Score, cost, identity, networking, and backup resilience. You receive a prioritised roadmap plus clarity on which costs belong to Microsoft versus our team.
- Well-Architected + Secure Score review
- Cost & capacity modelling
- CIS / Cyber Essentials gap analysis
- Migration readiness checklist
Managed Azure Infrastructure
Ongoing SOC-backed support, patching, cost controls, and compliance reporting. Best suited to organisations that want to keep internal IT teams but need Azure specialists on retainer.
- 24/7 monitoring & incident response
- Secure Score hardening & policy automation
- Cost dashboards with "from" pricing clarity
- Quarterly recovery testing
Azure Migration & Modernisation Projects
Structured migrations aligned with the playbooks already documented on hiltcloud. Includes landing zone setup, identity alignment, and handover packs for your internal team.
- Landing zone & governance build
- Application & data migration waves
- Security & SOC integration
- Runbooks + training for handover
Why Cheshire Businesses Choose HiltDigital
Unlike commodity MSPs, we're security specialists who happen to be excellent at Azure. Plus we're a Microsoft CSP Indirect Reseller & AI Cloud Partner—giving you direct access to Microsoft support and better pricing.
❌ National MSPs (Layer 4, ICT Solutions, etc.)
- Generic Azure hosting (not security-first)
- "Request a quote" pricing (hide costs)
- Call center support (Birmingham, London)
- No cost optimization (they profit from waste)
- Security as an "add-on"
- Not Microsoft partners (resell only)
✅ HiltDigital (Security Specialists)
- Security-first Azure architecture
- Transparent pricing (£3k-£4.8k/month)
- Liverpool-based (30 mins from Chester)
- Guaranteed cost savings or 3 months free
- 24/7 SOC monitoring included
- Microsoft CSP Indirect Reseller & AI Partner
Unlike generic MSPs, our Microsoft partnership gives you direct escalation to Microsoft support, better Azure pricing through CSP agreements, and early access to AI/Copilot features.
Pricing That Separates Management Fees From Azure Consumption
Every number below is a HiltDigital management fee. Your Azure consumption and Microsoft licences remain on your own tenant and invoices.
Assessments & Reviews
- Secure Score + Well-Architected review
- Cost/consumption modelling
- Roadmap & implementation sequence
- Credited against onboarding
Managed Azure Infrastructure
- 24/7 monitoring & response
- SOC access + Secure Score hardening
- FinOps reporting + shared-savings option
- Quarterly recovery & compliance reviews
Azure Security Bundle
- Managed infrastructure + SOC
- Secure Score & CE+ playbooks
- Cost optimisation with shared-savings
- Quarterly Well-Architected tune-ups
*Azure consumption, Microsoft licences, and Marketplace items remain on your own tenant and are billed directly by Microsoft. Prices shown are management fees and will vary with resource capacity and compliance scope.
Illustrative Cheshire Scenarios
Examples below show how our playbooks apply in practice. They reference anonymised or lab environments because our Cheshire pilot cohort is currently opening.
£1,100/month efficiency target
18-person SaaS firm running PaaS + SQL workloads. Well-Architected review highlighted idle test environments, premium disks, and no reservation strategy. Applying our FinOps recommendations would reduce spend by ~22% while improving Secure Score by 14 points.
Secure Score to 82/100
Identity protections, privileged access workstations, and Defender for Cloud recommendations built into the managed service. Demonstrates how our Secure Score hardening plan supports Cyber Essentials Plus readiness inside 10 weeks.
Hybrid migration roadmap
Factory workloads staged into Azure using our migration templates: landing zone, ExpressRoute design, backup policies, and SOC onboarding. Shows how we separate Microsoft consumption from our professional services fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Azure costs split between Microsoft and HiltDigital?
Microsoft invoices you directly for Azure consumption, licences, and Marketplace items. HiltDigital invoices a management fee (from £3,200/month) that covers SOC coverage, architects, reporting, and compliance support. Both lines are shown separately in every proposal.
Are the assessments really paid?
Yes. Charging for assessments means we can take the time to review identity, data, networking, and governance properly. The fee (from £1,200 + VAT) is credited to your first month if you retain us for managed services or migrations.
Do you currently have reference clients in Cheshire?
Our Cheshire landing pages are launching as we open a pilot cohort. Reference calls will be available once the first projects complete; until then we share anonymised deliverables so you can see the depth of our work.
Can we keep our existing IT provider?
Absolutely. Most organisations retain their internal IT team or incumbent MSP. We plug in as the Azure and security layer, sharing Secure Score targets, runbooks, and SOC workflows so everyone understands the boundary.
What happens after the assessment?
You receive a prioritised roadmap, a split of Microsoft vs management fees, and a choice between managed infrastructure, migration support, or both. You can implement with us, your team, or another partner—the deliverables are yours either way.
Serving Cheshire From Liverpool
Remote-first delivery with onsite workshops available across Cheshire on request.
Also supporting Liverpool, Wirral, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire engagements.
Ready To See Exactly Where Azure Spend Can Improve?
Book a paid Azure Efficiency Assessment. You'll leave with a prioritised roadmap, security score uplift plan, and a clear split between Microsoft charges and our management fee.
Book Your Azure Assessment
£1,200 + VAT (credited to onboarding if you proceed)
