Cloud Architecture & Migration
Planning and executing moves to public cloud with tested cutovers and no surprises.
Capability
Cloud & Enterprise IT
Cloud architecture, migration, and operations, plus the networks, identity, and end-user services that agencies run every day.
Overview
Most agencies run a mix of on-premises systems, hosted applications, and one or more public cloud environments. The work is rarely a clean migration. It is a steady program of assessing what exists, deciding what should move, and running everything reliably in the meantime.
HQT's cloud and enterprise IT specialists have designed and operated environments across the major public clouds and traditional data centers. We work in the practical middle ground: infrastructure as code where it pays off, sensible defaults for security and cost, and operational documentation an agency's own staff can maintain after we leave.
Where we help
- Assessing an existing environment and producing a realistic migration or modernization plan
- Designing cloud landing zones with identity, networking, logging, and guardrails in place from the start
- Migrating applications and data with tested cutover and rollback procedures
- Running or augmenting network operations, systems administration, and service desk functions
- Bringing cloud spending under control with tagging, budgets, and rightsizing
- Preparing for StateRAMP or FedRAMP authorized services and documenting shared responsibility
How we approach it
We start by inventorying what is actually running, who depends on it, and what constraints apply, such as CJIS data, HIPAA data, or records retention rules. We then propose a phased plan with clear milestones rather than a single large cutover. Every environment we build is documented, scripted, and handed over with runbooks.
Services
Landing Zones & Infrastructure as Code
Secure, repeatable cloud foundations built from code rather than clicks.
Data Center Consolidation
Reducing the footprint of aging server rooms and colocation contracts.
Network Engineering & Operations
Designing, upgrading, and monitoring the networks that connect agency sites and staff.
Identity & Access Management
Directory services, single sign-on, and multi-factor authentication across agency systems.
End-User Computing
Device management, virtual desktops, and the tools staff use every day.
Cloud Cost Management
Visibility and controls for cloud spending, aligned to budgets and fiscal years.
Disaster Recovery & Continuity
Backup, recovery, and continuity planning that has been tested rather than assumed.
Cloud & Enterprise IT by agency type
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Cities and TownsGetting city systems out of the basement, modernizing networks across facilities, and keeping cloud costs predictable.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for County GovernmentsConsolidating departmental infrastructure and running enterprise services across dozens of independent departments.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Special DistrictsRight-sized infrastructure, identity, and support for agencies without a full IT department.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for EducationIdentity, devices, and infrastructure for districts and colleges managing thousands of users across many sites.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Public Safety AgenciesCloud migration, networks, identity, and recovery for dispatch and records systems that have to stay available and stay within CJIS rules.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Water, Power, and Public UtilitiesCloud migration, site networks, identity, and recovery planning for utility business systems that sit alongside plant control systems.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for Transit and Transportation AgenciesMigrating and running infrastructure for agencies whose dispatch, fare, and roadside systems have no maintenance window.
- Cloud and Enterprise IT for State AgenciesMigration sequencing, landing zones, identity, and cost governance for state agencies moving large legacy portfolios under central IT standards.
Frequently asked questions
Which cloud providers do you work with?
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, including their government regions where data classification requires it. We recommend the provider that fits the agency's existing licensing, staff skills, and compliance needs.
How do you keep cloud costs predictable for a public budget?
Tagging standards, budgets and alerts by department, scheduled shutdown of non-production environments, rightsizing, and a monthly review with finance staff. These controls are set up in the landing zone before the first workload arrives.
Can agency staff maintain what you build?
That is the goal. Environments are defined as infrastructure as code, documented, and handed over with runbooks and training. Nothing depends on knowledge that only HQT holds.
How do you handle CJIS, HIPAA, or other regulated data in the cloud?
The design documents the shared responsibility split between the provider, the agency, and HQT for each control, uses services and regions appropriate to the data, and applies encryption, access control, and logging to meet the applicable policy.
Do you provide ongoing operations?
Yes. We can operate or augment network operations, systems administration, and service desk functions under a support agreement with named contacts and service levels.