[DRAFT] Common components

Cloud Infrastructure Platform (CIP)

Part of
Architecture: work in progress collection
Last reviewed
7 September 2026
Owner
Head of Architecture

Cloud Infrastructure Platform

The Cloud Infrastructure Platform (CIP) is the department’s Microsoft Azure cloud hosting offer. It’s managed centrally and provides a highly flexible model that gives services control and consistency over how their business services are hosted.

CIP is a set of principles, processes and technologies that support the development and delivery of cloud computing, applications and services.

The CIP platform is designed using a ‘loosely-coupled’ approach, which enables services to be hosted independently from each other. This means changes can be made without affecting other components.

Benefits include:

  • improving efficiency and consistency for delivery teams
  • reducing implementation times for projects
  • access to best practice templates, automation and customer self-service features
  • quick access to a secure ‘sandpit’ environment

Documentation

Read the platform documentation in the service catalogue, that covers security, access, operations and monitoring.

Request CIP access via the Service Portal (opens in new tab, DfE SharePoint users only) (link opens in new tab), if you do not already have it.

Support

CIP has a support team who handle incidents and requests. Our tiered support operating model makes it easy to accommodate different business requirements. For each service using the platform, a range of support services are provided. All services receive:

  • policy support
  • guidance for security
  • guidance on best practice into production
  • working hours support

Optional support services that can be requested during onboarding are:

  • support for Azure DevOps for new users
  • more extensive support for security / firewalls
  • guidance for Azure engineering

We’ve made costing transparent – each service is assigned an ID linked to its Azure account; this makes it simple to track resources being consumed

Read the team’s wiki (opens in new tab, DfE SharePoint users only) (link opens in new tab), for further information and ways to contact the CIP Engineering team.

You can raise an onboarding request (opens in new tab, DfE SharePoint users only) (link opens in new tab) via the service catalogue.

Roadmap

We’ve moved into the continual improvement phase with ongoing effort to improve our hosting offer, products, services and processes. We’re also moving our services away from our legacy cloud platforms on to the Cloud Infrastructure Platform (CIP). Discovery work to migrate to this central strategic platform has begun.

To deliver an enterprise aligned solution to our customer, we will:

  1. Create a holistic cloud operating model, meeting the needs of both DfE and ESFA platform management and service engineering and delivery teams.
  2. Create tailored principles and processes, ensuring resources offered directly by the Cloud Hosting provider (Microsoft Azure) are consumed and configured in the desired manner.
  3. Define, create, and manage, a selection of services that enable, empower, and protect, delivery teams and the services created by them.
  4. Ensure that services offered to the engineering and delivery teams are fit for purpose, fit for use, isolated from one another, and can be easily discovered and consumed by engineering and delivery teams.

To help us deliver the above, we’ve joined forces with the architecture profession to review our cloud strategy. This includes considering how to evolve as a central provider of cloud services and where topics like ‘multi-vendor’ and containerisation fit with our future thinking.

Further guidance

Read the Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services wiki (opens in new tab, DfE SharePoint users only) (link opens in new tab) or email one of the team: