Azure Cloud Migration for Public Health Infrastructure Modernization

Hybrid Identity, Secure Azure Networking, and VMware-to-Cloud Transformation

The Challenge: Modernizing Aging Infrastructure While Meeting State Security Requirements

This Maryland public health department needed to modernize its aging on-premises infrastructure while maintaining strict compliance with Maryland state security, identity, and networking requirements. Its VMware-based environment was approaching end-of-life, creating growing concerns around hardware support limitations, rising licensing costs, and long-term sustainability.

At the same time, the health department’s environment was tightly integrated with the State of Maryland’s identity and access management framework, requiring careful coordination around Microsoft Entra ID synchronization, PCNS agent deployment, and hybrid identity governance. The health department also needed to ensure that all Azure-bound traffic continued to pass through existing Palo Alto firewalls for inspection and regulatory compliance.

Additional challenges included limited in-house Azure experience, compressed project timelines, aging systems nearing warranty expiration, and the need for improved visibility into security, governance, and operational costs. Stakeholders established an aggressive implementation timeline with a targeted production go-live date of October 11, creating additional urgency around planning, testing, and execution.

To address these challenges, the health department partnered with Data Networks to execute a secure and scalable Microsoft Azure cloud migration initiative designed to modernize infrastructure while preserving operational continuity and compliance.

The Solution: Secure Microsoft Azure Cloud Migration with Hybrid Identity Integration

Data Networks delivered a comprehensive Microsoft Azure cloud migration solution focused on securely transitioning critical workloads from the existing VMware environment into Microsoft Azure while aligning with statewide governance and security requirements.

The engagement began with extensive project coordination involving the health department, the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT), Cloudforce, and Network Maryland to establish implementation milestones, validate change requests, and confirm networking and identity prerequisites.

To support secure hybrid connectivity, Data Networks configured the Azure side of a site-to-site VPN tunnel between Microsoft Azure and the health department’s on-premises firewall infrastructure. Azure User-Defined Routes (UDRs) were deployed to direct identity-related traffic— including DNS, LDAP, Kerberos, and Microsoft Identity Manager services— through the existing Palo Alto inspection framework.

Data Networks also provisioned and configured Azure-hosted domain controllers, including DNS integration, Active Directory replication, FSMO role management, and synchronization validation between on-premises and cloud-based systems.

A key component of the project included deployment and validation of the Microsoft Password Change Notification Service (PCNS) agent to ensure seamless password synchronization between the health department’s on-premises environment and Microsoft Entra ID infrastructure. The solution aligned with the State of Maryland’s broader identity governance requirements while improving authentication consistency across hybrid workloads.

The project additionally included Azure virtual machine migration services, Azure network architecture design, Microsoft licensing reconfiguration, DHCP scope migration to Juniper SRX platforms, IP address management updates, and extensive coordination with state-managed firewall and routing teams.

Throughout the implementation, Data Networks worked to minimize operational disruption while maintaining security validation, workload compatibility, and compliance readiness across all migrated services.

The Outcome: A Scalable, Secure, and Cloud-Ready Public Health Environment

This Microsoft Azure cloud migration project established a secure and resilient cloud foundation that positions the health department for long-term modernization, operational scalability, and improved governance.

By migrating away from aging VMware infrastructure, the health department reduced reliance on unsupported hardware and legacy systems while improving flexibility, security visibility, and future scalability. Azure-native capabilities now provide stronger support for budgeting, auditing, compliance monitoring, and workload governance across the environment.

The implementation of secure VPN connectivity, Azure routing controls, Microsoft Entra integration, and centralized identity synchronization strengthened the health department’s overall cybersecurity posture while maintaining alignment with Maryland state standards.

Following successful migration and validation, Data Networks also assisted with the decommissioning of legacy on-premises infrastructure, cleanup of obsolete Active Directory objects, retirement of outdated DNS and DHCP configurations, and operational transition planning.

To support long-term success, Data Networks delivered detailed documentation, IP mapping inventories, configuration exports, Change Request tracking, and knowledge transfer sessions covering Azure management, hybrid identity architecture, VPN routing behavior, DHCP migration, and support escalation workflows.

Tags: SLG, local, government, healthcare, data center, datacenter