Azure VM & App Hosting — Managed Windows/Linux Cloud Hosting
IT Partner hosts your apps and virtual machines in Microsoft Azure as a turnkey recurring managed service. IT Partner creates and registers the Azure subscription, manages the payment process with Microsoft, provides information about resources and limitations, and conducts health checks of your apps or VMs. Azure consumption is billed At Cost, and each full or partial $1,000 of subscription spend includes 1 hour of IT Partner technical support. The service is managed by Mike Mackey.
What this engagement is
This managed service helps you host apps and virtual machines in Microsoft Azure. You use the power of the cloud while IT Partner manages the Azure subscription and the payment process with Microsoft, and provides support tied to your Azure subscription spend. The service price for the Azure consumption itself is At Cost. Support is included on a spend basis: each full or partial $1,000 that you spend on a subscription gives you 1 hour of IT Partner technical support. For example, if you spend $700, you get 1 hour; if you spend $1,020, you get 2 hours.
Success criteria
What you receive
How the work unfolds
Conduct onboarding kickoff to confirm the client point of contact, billing/subscription requirements, supported workloads, required access, and any known constraints.
Create and register the Microsoft Azure subscription under the agreed managed service model and confirm that billing/payment handling is in place.
Establish required administrative access, support contacts, and basic subscription governance needed for ongoing management and health-check activities.
Review the apps or virtual machines to be hosted or supported under the subscription, confirm resource locations and dependencies, and document any resource or platform limitations identified during onboarding.
Coordinate with the client on required networking and DNS readiness, including any customer-side firewall, routing, load balancer, or DNS changes needed for normal operation.
Perform initial health checks for the hosted apps or virtual machines and communicate findings, known risks, and any recommended next steps that fall inside or outside the managed service scope.
Confirm the ongoing support process, including how spend-based support hours are calculated, how incidents or requests are submitted, and how recurring health checks or subscription reviews will be handled.
Prerequisites
Who does what
IT Partner
- Create and register subscription in Microsoft Azure
- Manage the payment process
- Provide information about resources and limitations
- Conduct health checks of your apps or VM
Your team
- Provide a dedicated point of contact responsible for working with IT Partner and coordinate any outside vendor resources and schedules, as needed
- Configure all networking equipment, such as load balancers, routers, firewalls, and switches
- Provide access to physical and virtual servers and/or systems and services, as needed. Provide remote and/or physical access to facility and systems required to complete work
- Perform changes to internal and external DNS, as required
What's not included
Limitations & technical notes
Frequently asked questions
What is included in IT Partner's Hosting your Windows or Linux VM or App service?
IT Partner hosts your apps and virtual machines in Microsoft Azure as a turnkey managed service: creating and registering the Azure subscription, managing the payment process with Microsoft, providing information about Azure resources and limitations, conducting health checks for your apps or VMs, and providing technical support based on Azure subscription spend.
How does pricing work for this Azure hosting service?
Azure consumption is billed At Cost — you pay what the subscription consumes — and IT Partner manages the payment process with Microsoft. Technical support is included on a spend basis: each full or partial $1,000 of subscription spend includes 1 hour of IT Partner support.
How much technical support is included with the service?
Each full or partial $1,000 spent on a subscription provides 1 hour of IT Partner technical support. For example, $700 in spend provides 1 hour, while $1,020 in spend provides 2 hours.
Is this a one-time project or an ongoing service?
It is a recurring managed service. After the subscription is created and registered, IT Partner continues to manage the payment process, provide resource and limitation information, conduct health checks, and deliver spend-based support on an ongoing basis.
Does IT Partner create the Microsoft Azure subscription for this service?
Yes. IT Partner creates and registers the Microsoft Azure subscription and manages it under the agreed service model, including billing and payments to Microsoft.
Does this service include migrating an existing VM or application into Azure?
No. Migration and deployment of new VMs or services in Microsoft Azure are not included. Those activities are handled as separate IT Partner engagements — for example, the physical server migration or App Service migration services — and this hosting service picks up once the workload is in Azure.
Does IT Partner optimize Azure performance or cost as part of this service?
No. An Azure performance and cost optimization assessment is a separate IT Partner service. Within this hosting service, IT Partner provides information about resources and limitations, but a formal optimization assessment is scoped separately.
What health checks are performed for hosted apps or VMs?
IT Partner conducts health checks of the hosted apps or VMs and communicates findings, known risks, and recommended next steps. The specific checklist and cadence are agreed during onboarding based on your workloads.
What are the client's responsibilities in this service?
Providing a dedicated point of contact, coordinating outside vendors as needed, configuring networking equipment such as load balancers, routers, firewalls, and switches, providing access to required systems and facilities, and performing internal and external DNS changes as required.
Who handles networking equipment and DNS changes?
The client (or the client's designated vendor) configures customer-side networking equipment and performs DNS changes. IT Partner's scope covers the Azure subscription, payments, resource and limitation information, and health checks.
Does this service include guaranteed SLAs or after-hours support?
No. Guaranteed response-time SLAs, after-hours coverage, and continuous monitoring are not part of this service and require a separate agreement. Support within this service is the spend-based hours described above, delivered through the agreed support process.
What happens after the Azure subscription is created and registered?
IT Partner continues managing the payment process, provides information about resources and limitations, conducts health checks, and delivers spend-based technical support. The onboarding process also confirms how incidents and requests are submitted and how recurring reviews are handled.