Azure Hosting & Managed Support
Cost-Controlled & Compliant
Wirral-based Azure and security specialists serving Preston, Blackburn, Lancaster, Burnley, and across Lancashire. You get paid assessments, managed infrastructure, and migration support with transparent pricing and security-first architecture.
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Thinking about moving? Start with what it would actually involve.
Send over a rough list of what you are running now. Servers, where the email lives, the line-of-business software, roughly how many people. I will come back with what the move looks like, what it would take, and how long it needs. No charge for that conversation and no obligation after it.
Independent, on the Wirral, Microsoft partner. You deal with Eric, and the person who scopes the move is the person who runs it, so nothing gets lost between a salesperson and a delivery team.
Why Lancashire Organisations Struggle With Azure
Whether you’re a SaaS scale-up in Preston, a fintech in Lancaster, or a professional services firm in Blackburn, 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. Azure environments like this typically carry 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 are based on the Wirral on the Wirral, a short drive from most Lancashire sites, and give you direct access to the architect who builds your runbooks.
Azure spend in Lancashire tends to grow steadily 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
You get three core Azure services: paid assessments up front, followed by managed Azure infrastructure or structured migration projects when you need ongoing help.
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.
- Continuous monitoring, incident response in working hours
- Secure Score hardening & policy automation
- Cost dashboards with “from” pricing clarity
- Quarterly recovery testing
Azure Migration & Modernisation Projects
Structured migrations using Well-Architected blueprints. 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 Lancashire Businesses Choose HiltDigital
Unlike commodity MSPs, we’re security specialists who happen to be excellent at Azure. Plus we’re a Microsoft 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 centre support (Birmingham, London)
- No cost optimisation (they profit from waste)
- Security as an “add-on”
- Not Microsoft partners (resell only)
HiltDigital (Security Specialists)
- Security-first Azure architecture
- Transparent pricing
- Wirral-based, a short drive from Preston
- Cost savings guarantee, reviewed quarterly
- SOC monitoring (available as a paid upgrade) monitoring included
- Microsoft Partner 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
- Continuous monitoring, response in working hours
- 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 Lancashire Scenarios
Examples below show how our playbooks apply in practice. They reference anonymised or lab environments because our Lancashire pilot cohort is currently opening.
Priced on scope 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 (Priced on scope) 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 (Priced on scope) is credited to your first month if you retain us for managed services or migrations.
Do you currently have reference clients in Lancashire?
Our Lancashire 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 Lancashire From Wirral
Remote-first delivery with onsite workshops available across Lancashire 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
Priced on scope (credited to onboarding if you proceed)
Azure cloud services across the North West
This is the page for Lancashire. For the service in general, see Azure cloud services. Or pick the area closest to you: