Cloud Architects Expert
Landing zones: the foundation every workload inherits
A landing zone is the governed foundation — identity, networking, logging and subscription or account design — that application teams deploy into. Cloud Architects Expert designs that foundation on Azure, AWS and Google Cloud. Cloud Launchpad, published on this site, is how we automate the deployment.
Why a landing zone first
Without a landing zone, teams recreate networking, identity and security decisions for every project. That increases cost, delays delivery, and creates uneven risk. The Azure landing zone definition we already publish applies on AWS and Google Cloud as well: a pre-configured, governed place for workloads.
A good landing zone is opinionated enough to be safe and flexible enough for real application patterns, including Kubernetes on AKS, EKS or GKE and the FinOps tags and subscriptions that make spend attributable.
What we design
Identity: Entra ID, AWS IAM and Google Cloud IAM, including how workforce and workload identities enter the platform.
Network: hub-and-spoke or equivalent segmentation, private connectivity, and the paths that every new workload inherits instead of inventing.
Guardrails: policy as code so the landing zone refuses the exception by default. These are architecture decisions, not an ongoing posture-assessment programme.
Infrastructure as code: Terraform, Bicep and Ansible, including the Cloud Launchpad templates this site already describes for AWS and Azure.
What happens after the foundation is live
Application teams deploy into the landing zone. Platform operations — the page on this site — keeps the foundation current. FinOps uses the same account and tag design so invoices have owners.
Ongoing cloud security posture, zero trust programmes and SOC 2 evidence are not this engagement. That work is handed to our sister company Seya Group.
Frequently asked questions
What is an Azure landing zone?
An Azure landing zone is a pre-configured, governed foundation for workloads — identity, networking, security, logging and subscription design — so applications land in a consistent, controllable environment.
What does an AWS landing zone include?
A typical AWS landing zone includes account structure, identity federation, logging, networking, security baselines and guardrails so workloads can be deployed consistently across environments.
Does Cloud Launchpad deploy the landing zone?
Yes. Cloud Launchpad is this site's automated landing-zone deployment, built with Terraform and Ansible. The landing-zone engagement is the design; Launchpad is one way to put that design in place.
Who owns security posture after go-live?
Architecture-level identity, network and guardrail decisions stay with Cloud Architects Expert. Ongoing posture assessments, zero trust programmes and SOC 2 evidence are handled by Seya Group.