Enterprise-scale reference architecture, subscription vending, cost breakdown, hybrid integration. Fixed-fee deployments from EPC Group.
Last updated by Errin O'Connor, Founder & Chief AI Architect, EPC Group
Azure Landing Zone is a preconfigured Azure environment aligned with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework, providing subscription topology + identity + network + governance + logging + cost management. EPC Group fixed-fee tiers: Starter (single-region, up to 5 subs), Enterprise (multi-region, subscription vending, up to 50 subs), Enterprise + Hybrid (ExpressRoute + Azure Arc + hybrid governance); each tier is a fixed fee set at scoping. Runtime Landing Zone cost is a monthly retainer scoped to the estate. Enterprise-Scale is the reference architecture for 20+ subs; CAF Ready fits smaller. Subscription vending removes most manual subscription-provisioning overhead. Security incidents drop 60-70% vs organic Azure growth.
An Azure Landing Zone is a preconfigured Azure environment aligned with Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework (CAF) best practices, providing: (1) Subscription topology (management groups + subscriptions organized by workload/environment). (2) Identity + access management (Azure AD/Entra ID + PIM + RBAC). (3) Network topology (hub-and-spoke or virtual WAN, Azure Firewall, DDoS protection). (4) Governance (Azure Policy assignments, initiatives, Microsoft Defender for Cloud). (5) Logging + monitoring (Azure Monitor + Log Analytics Workspace + Sentinel). (6) Cost management (Budgets + alerts + tag-based cost allocation). A properly deployed Landing Zone accelerates workload onboarding by 60-80% and prevents governance drift.
EPC Group fixed-fee tiers: (1) Starter Landing Zone (4 weeks) - single-region hub-spoke, basic governance, up to 5 subscriptions. (2) Enterprise Landing Zone (8 weeks) - multi-region, full CAF enterprise-scale, subscription vending, comprehensive governance, up to 50 subscriptions. (3) Enterprise + Hybrid Landing Zone (12-16 weeks) - all Enterprise features plus ExpressRoute + on-premises integration + Azure Arc + hybrid governance. Each tier is a fixed fee quoted after a scoping call. Deployment cost is one-time; runtime Azure cost depends on workload volume, typically $2K-$10K/month for the Landing Zone infrastructure itself (excluding your actual workloads).
Enterprise-Scale is the reference architecture Microsoft uses for large enterprise Azure deployments; CAF Ready is the getting-started variant. Enterprise-Scale fits organizations planning 20+ subscriptions, multi-region deployment, complex compliance requirements (HIPAA/FedRAMP/PCI), or 100+ Azure engineers. CAF Ready fits smaller organizations (under 20 subscriptions, single region, standard compliance). EPC Group defaults to Enterprise-Scale for any client planning enterprise Azure adoption; it costs the same to deploy well vs poorly, and Enterprise-Scale prevents rework 12-18 months later when the organization outgrows CAF Ready.
Subscription vending is an automated process for provisioning new Azure subscriptions with governance and networking pre-configured. Instead of a manual multi-week process, a workload owner submits a request (name, department, budget, network zone) and receives a fully-configured subscription within 15 minutes. The subscription automatically lands in the correct management group, gets Azure Policy assignments, is connected to the hub network via peering, has cost budgets + alerts configured, and is ready for workload deployment. Enterprise Landing Zone deployments include subscription vending as a core component - typical enterprises save $50K-$150K/year in operational overhead once vending is running.
Landing Zone security benefits: (1) Consistent policy enforcement - every subscription automatically gets tag requirements, allowed region restrictions, TLS 1.2 minimums, and dozens of other guardrails via Azure Policy initiatives. (2) Centralized network security - all traffic routes through hub firewall with next-gen inspection. (3) Identity segmentation - workload subscriptions cannot cross-access without explicit RBAC grants. (4) Centralized logging - all Azure resources auto-emit logs to a central Log Analytics + Sentinel. (5) Regulated-industry baselines - HIPAA / FedRAMP / PCI-specific policy assignments are prebuilt. Result: organizations report 60-70% reduction in security incidents compared to organic Azure growth without a Landing Zone.
Enterprise + Hybrid Landing Zone includes: (1) ExpressRoute connectivity (typically 1-10Gbps to on-premises datacenter). (2) Azure Arc registration of on-premises servers + Kubernetes clusters (unified Azure Portal management). (3) Azure Files + Azure NetApp Files for high-performance file storage bridging cloud + on-premises. (4) Windows Admin Center integration. (5) Azure Site Recovery for DR from on-premises. (6) Azure Backup for cloud-based backup of on-premises workloads. Hybrid Landing Zone is essential for organizations with 3+ years of remaining on-premises workloads or industry-specific requirements (legacy manufacturing systems, hospital electronic health records, government classified networks).
EPC Group 4-phase engagement methodology: (1) Discovery + Design (2 weeks) - review current-state Azure usage, identify workload portfolio, design subscription topology + network architecture. Deliverable: Landing Zone design document + fixed-fee proposal. (2) Foundation Deployment (4 weeks) - deploy management group hierarchy, hub network, identity + governance framework, initial policy assignments, logging + monitoring. (3) Workload Onboarding (2-4 weeks) - migrate 3-5 initial workloads into Landing Zone to prove the model. (4) Operations Handoff (2 weeks) - runbook documentation, subscription vending automation, training for internal cloud team. Total: 10-14 weeks with senior architect leadership throughout.
A two-week discovery delivers the Landing Zone design and a fixed-fee proposal for the foundation deployment. Call (888) 381-9725.
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