How Atlas Technica Worked with an Early Stage Quant Fund to Modernize their IT Infrastructure
Case Study
Case Study
An early-stage, SEC-registered quantitative fund partnered with Atlas Technica to rapidly establish a secure Microsoft 365 foundation, introduce Windows 365 Cloud PCs for consistent end-user experience, and deploy a right-sized Azure platform tailored to Linux based research workflows and centralized data access. This setup emphasized governance, segmentation between productivity and research environments, and a stepwise path to reduce reliance on home-hosted Linux infrastructure without disrupting any existing workflows. The engagement hit a March functional milestone, then stabilized and closed in early April 2025 for a clean transition into a steady-state operations and ongoing optimization.
The client began their onboarding with a lean team of under 10 users, SEC regulated responsibilities, and a strategic desire to keep tight control over research environments while adopting a managed baseline for identity, collaboration, and security. This combination required a pragmatic approach: implement a strong governance and compliance posture for the firm at large, while preserving autonomy and performance characteristics where the research stack demanded it.Prior to onboarding with Atlas, leadership operated unmanaged, home-hosted Linux servers linked via Tailscale and asked for Azure-hosted Linux resources backed by performant shared storage. Windows 365 Cloud PCs would act as secure jump boxes, separating productivity from research compute while maintaining low friction access to resources. The onboarding plan explicitly recognized these patterns to prevent disruption as trust, telemetry, and governance matured.
Atlas established the Microsoft 365 tenant and applied managed protections aligned to the firm’s regulatory profile. Given the startup context and staged rollout of compliance tooling, Atlas Technica’s Cyber Bundle offering complete with endpoint protection, network monitoring, SIEM with 24/7 managed SOC was deployed to support audit readiness and ongoing operational reporting, with cadence and scope designed to scale as the team grew.In parallel, Atlas standardized collaboration and identity under Microsoft 365 and ensured the operating model could support future archiving and journaling requirements typical for regulated investment firms. This enabled the environment to evolve toward the desired compliance posture without rework, while keeping early operations streamlined for a small team.
Windows 365 Enterprise Cloud PCs were deployed for users to provide a consistent, governed desktop experience, regardless of their local device or location. By design, Cloud PCs also served as clean jump points into research resources where appropriate, helping the team preserve necessary isolation between day-to-day productivity and their research environment. This structure supported rapid onboarding while reinforcing access boundaries that would be important as the firm scaled.To accommodate user experience and latency considerations, Atlas documented regional placement options for Cloud PCs such as relocating to the UK where beneficial, while preserving reliable VNet communication with Linux resources in Azure. This plan ensured any future regional updates would not come at the cost of network access or control.
Atlas deployed a compact Azure estate dedicated to the research tier, migrating Linux virtual machines built from the client’s image guidance so toolchains, libraries, and kernel settings matched the team’s baseline from day one. A centralized, readoptimized data layer was exposed only to the Linux tier to minimize latency and reduce blast radius, enforcing access from research subnets while keeping productivity environments segmented.Storage was intentionally designed to support two validated access patterns without architectural churn: shared reads over Azure Files using NFS for datasets and models, and local highIO workloads backed by managed disks on specific VMs when lowlatency scratch or writeheavy operations were required; this allowed the environment to tune performance and cost as usage stabilized. This approach created a clear runway for cost control and iterative performance optimization as research workloads matured.Operationally, the existing connectivity model was preserved: Tailscale agents remained on the Linux hosts to maintain established peertopeer access patterns and avoid disruption to researchers’ workflows. Monitoring and governance were aligned to the existing configuration, outlining a logical path to bring additional Linux workloads into Azure over time once performance, trust, and telemetry targets were met.
Procurement, scheduling, and quality control were coordinated to meet a March functional go-live that aligned with the firm’s launch plan. After acceptance, the Atlas team worked to ensure the project moved through stabilization and closed it in early April 2025, transitioning the client to a steady state to support. This cadence balanced urgency with the rigor needed for a regulated startup.
A secure Microsoft 365 foundation with managed protections and a defined path for bolded audit and operational reporting needs as the firm scales, minimizing rework while preserving speed in the first months of operation.
Windows 365 Cloud PCs are in place for a consistent, governed user experience, with clear separation between daily productivity and research compute to maintain both agility and control.
An Azure-based Linux research environment with centralized, read-optimized storage and controlled connectivity, preserving existing operating patterns (including Tailscale) and documenting a stepwise path to consolidate more Linux workloads in Azure over time without operational shock.
Timely onboarding and acceptance: March functional milestone achieved, stabilization completed, and closed in early April 2025, enabling handoff to support and smooth daily operations.