CURRENT OPENINGS

State Agency

Challenge

Multi-Account Cloud Platform with Automated Policy Enforcement & Remediation for Strict Government Requirements

Overview

A U.S. state-level agency engaged Zion Cloud Solutions to build a modern multi-account cloud platform with automated policy enforcement and remediation in order to meet strict governance, security and regulatory requirements. Leveraging ZCS’s cloud native, security-first approach, the agency achieved a highly controlled, compliant environment structured for scale and operational consistency.

Background

  • Operating under stringent compliance and governance mandates (e.g., state regulations, data protection, audit requirements).
  • Multiple cloud accounts, environments and services without consistent policy enforcement or remediation automation.
  • Manual processes for enforcing security policies, detecting drift, and performing cutover / platform changes.
  • Risk of non-compliance, drift, or mis-configuration in production, which could lead to security incidents or regulatory penalties.

Zion Cloud Solutions was selected based on its government experience and capabilities for secure cloud native platforms.

Goals

  1. Build a multi-account cloud platform (e.g., for separate departments, business units or functional domains) that supports consistent governance, security and operational standards.
  2. Implement automated policy enforcement and remediation so that any drift, mis-configuration or non-compliance is detected and corrected automatically (or flagged for rapid response).
  3. Achieve a “well-architected” posture: secure, scalable, efficient — aligned with frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework or equivalent state standards.
  4. Enable faster provisioning, standardized account roll-out, compliance by design, and reduced operational risk.

Zion Cloud Solutions Approach & Solution Components

ZCS applied a governance-centric cloud modernization engagement, combining cloud architecture, policy automation, account management, and remediation tooling.

1) Platform & multi-account design

  • Defined a cloud landing zone: multiple accounts (or subscriptions) per business domain, with centralized logging, monitoring, identity and access control.
  • Designed account-factory patterns: standardized provisioning of new accounts adhering to baseline security / governance controls.

2) Policy automation & remediation

  • Deployed policy-as-code frameworks (e.g., cloud provider policy tools, custom scripts) to enforce compliance of configurations (networking, IAM, encryption, logging).
  • Built automated remediation flows: when drift or non-compliance is detected (e.g., disabled encryption, open ports, insecure IAM roles), the system triggers corrective action or alerts.
  • Rehearsed and hardened the cutover/roll-out of policy changes via staging and dry-runs.

3) Monitoring, logging & “well-architected” operations

  • Implemented central logging, metrics, alerts across accounts to provide visibility into compliance state, configuration drift, policy violations.
  • Set up dashboards and reports for leadership and audit teams.
  • Leveraged ZCS’s “Security First” and “Cloud Services” approach.

4) Change management & training

  • Trained internal agency teams on new account provisioning workflows, policy dashboards, remediation workflows.
  • Created documentation and playbooks for policy updates, incident handling, audit responses.

Technical Architecture (Summary)

  • Cloud provider: Likely an enterprise public cloud (e.g., Azure or AWS) with a multi-account/subscription architecture.
  • Landing zone: Shared services account (identity, logging, governance), multiple child accounts for business units, a sandbox account for testing.
  • Policy/Compliance layer: Policy engines (cloud native + third-party) integrated with CI/CD for policy changes, remediation scripts.
  • Monitoring & Operations: Centralized SIEM/log analytics, dashboards, alerting across accounts for policy violations, security events, drift.
  • Automation: Infrastructure-as-Code for account provisioning and baseline configuration; automated remediation/investigation for drift.

Details above built from common best-practice aligned with ZCS’s capabilities in secure cloud platforms for government.

Outcomes & Business Impact

  • The agency now has a multi-account, well-architected cloud platform with standardized controls and governance built in from day one.
  • Automated policy enforcement and remediation have dramatically reduced manual audit and compliance burden—leading to faster provisioning and fewer mis-configurations.
  • Improved security posture and compliance readiness—reducing risk of audit findings, regulatory penalties or security incidents.
  • Enhanced operational efficiency: teams can spin up new business unit accounts more quickly, with confidence that baseline controls are enforced.

Conclusion

By partnering with Zion Cloud Solutions, the agency built a robust, compliant, cloud-native platform tailored for government scale and complexity. The multi-account architecture, combined with automated policy enforcement and remediation, transformed how they manage cloud governance—reducing risk, improving speed and enabling secure, scalable operations.

Conclusion