Future-ready: University of Greenwich cloud-first leap toward 2030

Challenge

The University of Greenwich was managing over 1,000 ageing on-premises virtual machines, leading to increasing operational risks, inefficiencies, and technical debt. This legacy infrastructure had become a barrier to the university’s growth and evolving digital ambitions.

To address this, the university embarked on a strategic infrastructure transformation - migrating from its on-premises data centre to Microsoft Azure. This move laid the foundation for its 2030 digital strategy, with a focus on modernisation, consolidation, and future scalability.

Key requirements included:

rationalising and optimising infrastructure and workloads rather than simple lift-and-shift
reducing capital costs by minimising overall size of the estate and on-prem virtualisation environment hardware and licence renewals
delivering a rapidly scalable modern platform
reducing physical footprint to consolidate and free valuable data centre space

We have undergone a significant transformation of our infrastructure over the past few years. Methods CoreAzure have been fantastic partners on this journey, providing experience and expertise from the outset. Their strategic guidance and technical depth have helped modernise our digital ecosystem, unlocking new possibilities for learning, research, and connectivity. The Azure platform now provides a flexible, scalable foundation that supports our goals for innovation, inclusion, and digital excellence.

Paul Butler, Executive Director & Chief Information Officer, University of Greenwich

Solution

Over a three-year time frame, the joint team (University of Greenwich IT and CoreAzure) successfully implemented a comprehensive migration strategy using a phased agile approach comprising of:

infrastructure modernisation: complete assessment and rationalisation of the IT estate
strategic re-platforming: 85% of workloads migrated to Azure
technology consolidation: Transition from on-prem virtualisation environment to Azure native services, including shared SQL cluster
mature processes: Fully managed and monitored environment with clear ownership, regular reviews and cost management
capability building: heavy investment in upskilling programmes and knowledge transfer to in-house teams.

The project emphasised the importance of early engagement, extended timelines for proper knowledge transfer, and a focused joint team specialisation in specific technology areas and change.

Impact

The University of Greenwich’s cloud-first transformation delivered significant operational and strategic gains.

Operational benefits:

Transition from CAPEX to OPEX model, improving cash flow management
Detailed cost transparency with granular visibility into resource consumption
Substantial reduction in technical debt through infrastructure consolidation
Enhanced system reliability and simplified management through Microsoft-managed services
Mature processes and documentation for the management of the estate

Strategic impact:

Created a modern, scalable platform that supports rapid service deployment, innovation, and future growth
Established foundation for enhanced student experience initiatives
Positioned the university to progress towards its 2030 digital strategy
Modernised remote desktop services replacing costly legacy systems and delivering further efficiencies

This transformation not only resolved immediate technical challenges but also positioned the university for sustained innovation, operational excellence, and long-term digital success