Case Study: Transforming Restaurant Operations with Azure Virtual Desktop

The organization, a pioneer in the restaurant industry, is renowned for its award-winning destination restaurants. The company has a rich history of providing amazing food, excellent service, and unbeatable views. Today, the business operates 17 award-winning restaurants and an event production company that offers complete event services for corporate and special events. With fewer than 1,000 employees and operating from the West Coast of the United States, the organization needed a robust and flexible IT solution to maintain its high standards and support its multiple locations. Enter Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and RSM.

Challenges

Operating 17 restaurants across various locations with long hours and high demands posed significant IT challenges for the organization. These challenges included:

– Ensuring seamless operations across all locations.
– Providing secure and efficient access to applications and data.
– Managing IT costs effectively.
– Supporting the staff with reliable IT support.

To address these challenges, the organization partnered with RSM to implement Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and migrate their on-premises file servers to Azure and on-prem SQL servers to Azure SQL PaaS.

Solution

RSM leveraged the Azure Well-Architected Framework to design, implement, and manage an AVD environment tailored to the unique needs of the organization. The process involved several key phases:

1) Analysis and Planning
RSM conducted a comprehensive analysis of the organization’s existing IT infrastructure and business requirements. This included:

– Assessing current application usage and performance.
– Identifying key business processes and workflows.
– Evaluating network and security requirements.
– Estimating the potential cost savings and ROI of migrating to AVD.
– Planning the migration of on-premises file servers to Azure and on-prem SQL servers to Azure SQL PaaS.

2. Application and Server Migration
-With a clear understanding of the organization’s needs, RSM began the migration process. This involved:

– Migrating critical business applications to the Azure cloud.
– Ensuring compatibility and performance optimization for AVD.
– Moving on-premises file servers to Azure, providing scalable and secure file storage.
– Migrating on-prem SQL servers to Azure SQL PaaS, enhancing database performance and management.
– Configuring user profiles and access controls to maintain security and compliance.
– Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for enhanced security.

3. Management and Optimization
– RSM used the Azure Well-Architected Framework to ensure the AVD environment was cost-effective, reliable, and scalable. Key actions included:

– Cost Management: Implementing Azure Cost Management and Billing to monitor and control costs. RSM configured auto-scaling to adjust resources based on demand, ensuring the organization only paid for what they used.
– Performance Efficiency: Utilizing Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to continuously monitor performance and identify areas for optimization.
– Security: Deploying Azure Security Center and Azure Sentinel to provide advanced threat protection and security monitoring.
– Operational Excellence: Establishing best practices for ongoing management and maintenance of the AVD environment.

Support

RSM’s 24×7 helpdesk was critical to the success of the project. With restaurants operating long hours and across multiple locations, the helpdesk provided:

– Round-the-clock support for IT issues and incidents.
– Proactive monitoring and maintenance to prevent downtime.
– Quick resolution of any AVD-related issues to ensure seamless operations.
– Regular updates and patches to keep the AVD environment secure and up-to-date.

Results

The implementation of Azure Virtual Desktop, along with the migration of on-prem file servers to Azure and on-prem SQL servers to Azure SQL PaaS, brought several benefits to the organization:

– Enhanced Flexibility: Staff could securely access applications and data from anywhere, enabling remote work and improving operational efficiency.
– Cost Savings: The organization realized significant cost savings through optimized resource usage and reduced IT infrastructure costs.
– Improved Security: Advanced security features and proactive monitoring ensured the organization’s data and applications were protected.
– Reliable Support: The 24×7 helpdesk provided peace of mind, ensuring any issues were promptly addressed and operations remained smooth.

Conclusion

Through the strategic implementation of Azure Virtual Desktop, the migration of on-prem file servers to Azure, and on-prem SQL servers to Azure SQL PaaS, RSM helped the organization transform its IT infrastructure. This resulted in cost savings, enhanced flexibility, and improved security. The 24×7 support provided by RSM ensured the organization could maintain its high standards of service across all locations, ultimately contributing to the continued success of its award-winning restaurants.

Thomas Turner

Thomas supports middle-market companies to achieve their security and compliance goals with a focus on Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure solutions. Let’s talk if you’re interested in Defender for Cloud, Defender for Endpoint, Insider Risk Management, Communication Compliance, Azure/Microsoft Information Protection, and more under the Microsoft 365 E5 or Azure Security & Compliance stack.