Marque Group Solutions (MGS) has successfully migrated its diverse hosting environments to Microsoft Azure, thanks to a strategic partnership with managed service provider Node4.
MGS’s rapid growth through mergers and acquisitions resulted in a fragmented IT landscape — some operations relied on costly on-premises hosting, others on AWS, and parts managed by Node4 — necessitating a unified, flexible cloud approach.
“Our Microsoft tech stack and existing familiarity with Azure created a strong case for migration. We wanted a pragmatic, best-practice approach that avoided simply duplicating our current setups or lifting and shifting everything. We aimed to optimise each application’s placement to ensure performance, cost-efficiency, and future agility,” said Nathan Eavy, Director of Technology at MGS.
Partnering with Node4, MGS began with detailed technical assessments and collaborative workshops, ensuring strategic planning aligned with their business goals.
“Node4’s expertise was crucial,” said Eavy. “They guided us through Azure best practices, setting up landing zones, and configuring infrastructure — helping us develop in-house skills so we can handle future migrations independently. They also caught simple missteps, like unnecessary application running costs, that could have inflated bills.”
Despite some challenges — such as delays caused by issues with their previous infrastructure provider — the partnership remained steadfast.
“Node4 kept a steady head and supported us every step, even as we faced tight timelines. Their team’s professionalism made all the difference,” added Eavy.
Now, with the core migration complete, MGS plans to undertake smaller, in-house projects like re-architecting systems for greater cloud-native performance, using insights and support from Node4. The company has already seen notable benefits: faster processes — overnight tasks that took eight hours now finish in two — and improved cost management, thanks to Node4’s billing analytics tools providing detailed visibility into resource consumption.
According to Eavy, “we’re only just beginning to unlock the full potential of cloud scalability. The ability to precisely manage costs and scale on demand is a game-changer for us.”
Looking ahead, Eavy sees ongoing collaboration with Node4 as vital to further digital transformation initiatives, including data lake and warehouse projects.
“Our relationship with Node4 has evolved into a trusted partnership that supports our growth and innovation. Their consultative approach and expertise will be key as we continue to adapt and expand in the cloud,” said Eavy.
