Case Study: Hamilton City Council achieves cost savings and IT agility with Microsoft Azure

Hamilton City Council makes public cloud move

Hamilton City Council, which manages New Zealand’s fourth-largest city and 25 diverse business units, faced the end of an onshore private cloud outsourcing contract and rising costs from paying for capacity 24/7. The CIO wanted a consumption-based, cloud-first model that would future‑proof substantial Microsoft investments and allow the council to change technologies or partners without lock-in, all under a tight timeline and budget.

Working with Fujitsu and Koorb (now UXC Eclipse), the council moved to a staged hybrid cloud built on Microsoft Azure, Azure Pack and System Center, and migrated Dynamics AX to Azure. The change eliminated excess capacity costs (about NZD$30,000/month savings on AX), enabled shutting down 30–40% of the environment when not needed, improved security and compliance, freed IT to focus on value‑adding projects (CCTV, mobility, Skype for Business), and earned Fujitsu a Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Partner of the Year award.

Hamilton City Council

Eion Hall

Chief Information Officer