Fractional Solutions Architect

We fix messy IT, automate the manual work, and secure your systems

AZ Innovations is a senior technical partner for businesses whose technology got complicated: tangled Microsoft 365 and cloud setups, spreadsheet-driven processes, security gaps, and stalled projects. You get an experienced architect on your side, without hiring one full time.

Talk through the problem → See what I fix

The architect who does the work reads your message and replies within one business day. Want proof first? Read a real, anonymized report →

Microsoft Certified

Microsoft 365 Expert Security Operations Identity & Access Azure Administration Endpoint Management Hundreds of Microsoft environments · Top Rated Plus on Upwork · 5.0★ on every client-rated engagement

Microsoft Environment
Risk Scorecard

Illustrative
68/ 100
Needs improvement
  • Legacy authentication enabled for 4 admin accountsHigh
  • HR and finance folders shared with everyoneHigh
  • 22% of license spend unused or oversizedCost
  • Backups assumed, never restore-testedHigh

Every diagnostic ends in a scored record like this one, built from your tenant.

The deliverable, illustrated. The sample report shows a full one →

Evidence with every engagementFixed price, scoped before any workDelivered by the engineer who scopes it

You run a business

Something in your IT is messy, manual, or risky, and you want it handled by someone senior

See the problems we fix →

You run an MSP

A client project needs architecture-level depth your bench does not have this month

For MSPs →

The problems

The mess we get called in for

Most clients do not call with a tidy project description. They call because the technology grew faster than the structure around it. A troubleshooter patches the symptom; a solutions architect looks at the whole picture, finds what is actually wrong, and fixes it properly.

We step in when:

A Microsoft 365 or cloud setup that grew messy over the years and nobody fully understands anymore
Approvals, onboarding, and reporting that still run on email threads and spreadsheets
Too many people with access to too much, and file sharing nobody is confident about
No clear owner for IT: a vendor here, an office manager there, nobody accountable for the whole
A migration or system change everyone agrees is needed and nobody wants to plan
Business systems that do not talk to each other, so your people re-type the same data all day
No documentation and no roadmap, with one person holding the keys to your most critical systems
An MSP that has reached the edge of its in-house Microsoft, security, or cloud depth

How I help

Six ways businesses bring me in

Fractional Solutions Architect

Senior technical ownership on a defined cadence, without the full-time hire.

IT Cleanup & Stabilization

Untangle the setup, fix what is broken, and document how it actually runs.

Workflow Automation

Replace manual approvals, spreadsheets, and re-typing with automated flows.

Security & Risk Reduction

Close the access gaps and prove your controls before someone tests them.

Cloud, Microsoft & Infrastructure Projects

Migrations, tenant moves, and rebuilds, planned before anything moves.

MSP Escalation Partner

White-label senior delivery behind your brand for the projects your bench cannot take.

Where engagements start

Start small: a fixed-price diagnostic

You should not have to sign a big contract to find out what is wrong. Most engagements start with a fixed-price diagnostic: I inspect your environment, document what is actually happening, rank the problems by business impact, and price the fix. Then you decide what happens next. And you do not have to pick the right diagnostic yourself: describe the problem and I will point you at the one that fits, or tell you none does.

Microsoft Estate Risk Ledger

$3,500 fixed

A fixed-scope diagnostic of your Microsoft estate across Microsoft 365, Azure, identity, licensing, infrastructure, and documentation. You get evidence-backed findings in days, ranked by business impact, with a fixed-fee path to remediate what matters most.

Talk through the problem → Read an actual sample report →
See the full scope and deliverables

What the ledger contains

  • A scored risk-and-cost register across identity, data, licensing, and infrastructure
  • The highest-priority findings, ranked and written in plain language leadership can act on
  • A fixed remediation quote, so the next decision is already priced

Every diagnostic is fixed-price, with clear scope and pricing from $3,500 to $5,950. Remediation is optional and quoted from the evidence, typically ranging from $18,000 to $60,000.

Already know what needs fixing? Start with remediation

See all 8 diagnostics →

Cyber insurance & attestation

Pass a Cyber-Insurance Audit

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness

Roll Out Copilot Safely

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Data protection & insider risk

Stop Sensitive Data Leaks

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Shadow AI & agent governance

Know What AI Is Running

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Security operations posture

Are We Actually Being Monitored?

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Migrations & legacy exits

Migrate Without Downtime

See the diagnostic and the fix →

Fit

Who this is for

Clear fit matters. We work best with clients who value clarity, evidence, and senior technical ownership.

This is for you if

  • You want the work done right the first time by a senior technical partner who owns the outcome.
  • You prefer fixed-scope pricing, clear deliverables, and the number up front.
  • You value evidence you can act on: scored findings, tested cutovers, clean documentation, and remediation plans.
  • The work matters enough to require senior judgment: migration, audit readiness, identity security, ransomware recovery, Copilot readiness, or Microsoft estate cleanup.

This is not for you if

  • You need a help desk, per-user support, or 24/7 monitoring: that is an MSP's job, and I work alongside MSPs, not instead of them.
  • You need open-ended staff augmentation with no defined finish line.
  • There is no decision owner or agreed change window on your side yet.

The Deliverables

What we deliver

Documents built from your environment, written so leadership and your technical people can both act on them: scored findings, tested controls, exposure maps, and remediation plans. No generic checklist. No recycled audit template.

Which admin doors are still unlocked, and the order to lock them.

Your sign-in rules, written down and tested, so they survive staff changes.

Where sensitive files sit exposed, before AI tools start reading them.

Swipe to see all three.

How it works

A plain process, run with discipline

We talk through what is broken. I map the risks, gaps, and opportunities, and build the plan. Then I fix, automate, secure, or coordinate the work, and you walk away with cleaner systems, real documentation, and a clearer path forward. Internally, that discipline has a name: ADAPTO.

  1. 01

    Align

    Clarify the business trigger, success criteria, constraints, stakeholders, and ownership model before technical work begins.

  2. 02

    Diagnose

    Inspect the environment, collect evidence, identify gaps, and separate assumptions from what can be proven.

  3. 03

    Architect

    Design the target state across controls, configuration, process, documentation, and operating model.

  4. 04

    Plan

    Sequence the work by priority, dependency, risk, change window, exception, and rollback path.

  5. 05

    Transform

    Implement the agreed changes in controlled, measurable releases with validation at each step.

  6. 06

    Operationalize

    Hand off the runbooks, evidence, ownership model, and maintenance practices needed to sustain the outcome.

See the methodology →

The delivered record

Real engagements, anonymized

Every row is a real delivered engagement, with the real contract value where it can be shown. Hundreds of Microsoft environments sit behind them. The star ratings are client-left reviews on Upwork, where this practice holds Top Rated Plus status and a 100% Job Success score.

See the case studies →

Where we work

US-based, delivering worldwide. Engagements run async-first with scheduled change windows, which suits businesses in the US, the Gulf, and Europe equally well: you get written findings, clear plans, and controlled changes rather than meetings for their own sake.

Start with a 30-minute call

Bring the problem. Leave with a plan

Send the situation as it actually is: half-finished migration, mystery vendor setup, spreadsheet chaos, security worry. The senior architect who would do the work reads it and replies within one business day with a first read, the right starting point, and the price.

Talk through the problem →

What happens next

  1. 1Tell us the situationA few short fields: company size, environment, and what is on fire.
  2. 2A senior engineer repliesWithin one business day, with a first read and, if it is a fit, a private scheduling link.
  3. 3A fixed-fee proposalNamed scope, price and definition of done. No obligation.
Diagnostics Contact