Ocorian boosts Microsoft Azure use 500% after ANS overhaul

Ocorian has increased its use of Microsoft Azure by about 500% following a cloud transformation with ANS, expanding its Azure estate from two subscriptions to 19.

The financial services group, which works with 9,000 clients and administers £275 billion in assets, has made cloud central to its technology strategy as it moves more data and services onto Microsoft's platform. It provides fund administration, corporate services and private client support to an international client base.

As its Azure environment grew, Ocorian's earlier architecture created challenges around permissions and the separation of applications and services. It sought a new structure that could support further growth without adding operational strain.

ANS redesigned the Azure environment and built what the companies described as an enterprise landing zone. The work was completed without downtime, and ANS also supported Ocorian staff in managing and maintaining the new setup.

The expansion to 19 subscriptions gives Ocorian more scope to separate workloads and apply governance across its cloud estate. It also leaves the group better placed to assess newer Microsoft tools, including Microsoft Foundry, as it considers how to use artificial intelligence.

Cloud strategy

The increase highlights how central public cloud infrastructure has become for financial services groups managing growth while maintaining control over data and applications. For firms in regulated markets, cloud architecture decisions can affect resilience, oversight and the speed at which new systems are introduced.

Ocorian said the changes were driven by a need to build stronger foundations as its use of Azure evolved. Its cloud estate had been expanding as more internal services and client-related functions moved onto the platform.

Stuart Geddes, Chief Information Officer at Ocorian, said: "Cloud is probably our single most important piece of infrastructure. How we use cloud is how we're going to win, so as our use of Azure evolved rapidly, we needed to make sure we had the right foundations in place to scale.

"We are now a cloud-ready, cloud-centric organisation. Every time we look at growth, new capability or new capacity, we go to Azure first. We trust ANS to help us grow and to be a strategic partner for us."

Growing demands

The project reflects a broader pattern of financial services companies revisiting earlier cloud deployments as initial migrations give way to more complex operating environments. Expanding from a small number of subscriptions to a larger estate can improve separation between business functions, but it also increases the need for clear governance and access controls.

For Ocorian, the move appears aimed at creating a framework for further expansion rather than simply increasing cloud consumption. The new architecture gives it a base for growth and the adoption of newer technologies.

That includes exploring Microsoft Foundry, suggesting the group is considering how AI tools might fit into its operations. Companies in financial and administrative services have been examining such systems for uses ranging from internal process support to data handling, although adoption is often shaped by compliance requirements and governance standards.

Neil Stewart, Senior Enterprise Account Executive at ANS, said: "As organisations move more of their operations and services into the cloud, they need an environment that can scale without creating additional complexity.

"Our work with Ocorian has been a true partnership. We've combined our Azure expertise with a deep understanding of their business and the regulated environments in which they operate, while working alongside their teams to build their own capabilities. The result is a flexible foundation that can support Ocorian's continued growth and help it take advantage of new technologies, including AI."