GuardRail for Microsoft Azure

Optimisation, governance and assurance for Azure

Continuous governance and assurance for your Microsoft Azure estate, providing independent visibility across cost, risk, security, and architectural alignment. GuardRail ensures your Azure estate remains predictable, compliant, and financially defensible as it evolves.

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GuardRail for Azure

Maintaining control as you scale

As Azure environments grow and mature, governance can struggle to keep pace. Decisions are made across multiple teams, cost ownership can become blurred, and risk accumulates without being clearly understood, assessed, or approved. 

GuardRail provides confidence that Azure performance, cost, risk and security remain under control and in line with the organisational objectives.
Outcomes

Continuous governance and oversight


Deliver visibility across Azure cost, risk, security, and architectural alignment.

GuardRail’s structured governance layer shifts organisations from reactive management to deliberate control. Have confidence that nothing in your Azure estate is unmanaged, misunderstood or overlooked.
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Simplified security

Ensure ongoing secure-by-default configurations in Azure and architectural alignment with best practices. 
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Amplify capability

Augment your team with additional Azure expertise and knowledge to provide oversight, insight and targeted interventions.
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Optimise spend

Highlight cost inefficiencies and establish visibility of spend across your Azure estate to deliver predictable forecasting and control. 
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Perform

Ensure your Azure architecture design follows best practices, underpins your organisational objectives, and remains fit for purpose as you scale.

Find out more about the outcomes we drive for customers using technology.
Control

Governance and oversight

Through detailed onboarding and consistent monthly governance activity, GuardRail shifts organisations from reactive Azure management to deliberate control.

GuardRail highlights cost inefficiencies, governance gaps, and architectural risks, giving leadership teams confidence that nothing in their Azure estate is unmanaged, misunderstood, or overlooked.


Aligned to control, not consumption

Delivered on a fixed commercial model that is not linked to Azure consumption. GuardRail ensures governance remains focused on long-term control as an environment evolves.

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Optimisation, governance and assurance


Steady-state governance and assurance for Azure

Continuous oversight, governance and assurance across cost, risk and security. Run day-to-day operations with confidence, knowing the right controls and visibility are in place.
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Predictable
cost-control

Highlight cost inefficiencies, ensure optimised architecture for your workloads as you scale and create forward visibility for predictable cost-control.

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Secure-by-default
configurations

Deliver secure-by-default configurations in your Azure estate as scale and complexity grow. Consistent monthly governance ensures you are aligned with security best practices.

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Architectural
best-practice

Expert oversight ensures your Azure architecture remains aligned to your performance objectives and policies without impeding your development or agility.

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Aligned to control,
not cost

GuardRail uses a fixed commercial model that is not linked to Azure consumption. This ensures governance remains focused on the long-term control of the environment as it evolves.

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Become proactive
not reactive

Azure platforms can develop at pace, and GuardRail shifts leadership teams from reactive management and firefighting issues to early visibility and active control.

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Clear ownership
and responsibilities

GuardRail offers Azure oversight and assurance, giving teams confidence that governance is deliberate and effective, without blurring operational ownership or accountability.

GuardRail lifecycle


Comprehensive onboarding and management

GuardRail’s structured lifecycle moves organisations from initial validation and baseline understanding into steady-state governance and ongoing assurance. The service is intentionally designed to provide oversight, insight and targeted interventions, rather than day-to-day platform management.
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Pre-Contract validation


Service fit confirmed, scope bounded.

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Onboarding and baseline


Estate understood and governed.

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Steady-State governance


Monthly oversight and optimisation.

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Change and
evolution


Guardrail adapts to estate growth.

Offboarding: If the service is no longer required, GuardRail provides a clean, auditable exit.

Optimisation, governance
and assurance

Every Azure estate is different, and GuardRail is designed to reflect that. Delivered through a structured lifecycle, the service applies governance in a way that aligns to your environment, priorities, and maturity, ensuring control remains effective as your platform grows.


Accountability and ownership

GuardRail can be tailored to the requirements and maturity of each Azure estate, supported by structured success measures, transparent savings metrics, and regular monthly reporting and review, ensuring oversight and governance remain evidence-based, outcome-focused, and aligned with organisational priorities, policies, and best practice as the environment evolves.


GuardRail capability overview:

> Predictable cost-control
> Secure-by-default configurations
> Architectural alignment and best-practice
> Monthly reporting and review

Governance and assurance

Let's discuss your requirements

Speak directly with our cloud experts for tailored advice and guidance on how GuardRail can support your Azure estate.

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Why DCS?

Azure expertise and a relentless focus on customer outcomes

 

Proven experience
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Over 18 years of experience in building secure, resilient cloud, data protection and cyber security solutions.
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DCS underpins the IT strategy for a range of leading organisations in retail, healthcare, government, and finance.
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We've developed award-winning technology and processes for data protection and security.
Technical expertise
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Accredited, Azure expertise and experience to provide informed governance, insights and recommendations.
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Responsive, UK-based, engineer-led service desk to provide escalation support with complex issues.
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ISO 27001 & Cyber Essentials certified, with inclusion on the G-Cloud 14 framework.
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We're relentlessly focused on our customers' outcomes and how we can achieve them through technology.

FAQs

Explore common questions and learn how GuardRail provides clear governance and assurance across Azure environments.