GERRY GUNTER

AZURE ARCHITECTURE / FIELD NOTES / WORKING PROOF

ABOUT
PORTRAITIMAGE PLACEHOLDER / 04:05

GERRY GUNTER / PERSONAL PRACTICE

GERRY GUNTER

AI at the center.
Humans in control.

Azure Modernization Advisor · Architect · Implementation Partner

I'm Gerry Gunter. I use an AI-centered, human-governed Core Stack to help technology leaders turn Azure decisions into working, explainable systems and keep improving them after launch.

DESIGNIMPLEMENTSUSTAINTRANSFORM
WHY I WORK THIS WAY ↓
01 / GERRY

WHO I AM

I work where architecture becomes accountable execution.

I'm an independent Azure modernization advisor and hands-on implementation partner. I help CIOs, CTOs, architects, platform teams, security leaders, and operators make consequential cloud decisions, prove them in working environments, and turn them into repeatable delivery and operating patterns.

My work sits across architecture, software delivery, platform engineering, security, reliability, cost, data, AI, and ITSM. I care less about installing another isolated tool than about connecting the people, decisions, controls, and evidence required to operate an IT system responsibly.

02 / METHOD

WHY THE CORE STACK

AI-CENTERED / HUMAN-GOVERNED

I use one Core Stack because enterprise change loses context at every handoff.

Design lives in documents, implementation in delivery tools, operations in monitoring platforms, security in separate queues, and change history in ITSM. When those records drift apart, leaders cannot easily explain why a system looks the way it does, whether it is working, or what should improve next.

My Core Stack reconnects that chain. Azure DevOps carries intent and controlled change; Azure services supply identity, policy, security, telemetry, cost, and recovery evidence; ITSM preserves enterprise decisions; and AI helps people understand the whole system quickly enough to act well.

01

AI is the cornerstone

It gives every stage a shared reasoning layer for retrieval, analysis, correlation, explanation, and recommendation.

02

People retain authority

Architecture, risk, access, spend, production change, incident response, and recovery remain accountable human decisions.

03

Evidence closes the loop

Intent, source, tests, controls, deployment, health, cost, incidents, and lessons stay connected instead of disappearing at handoffs.

The Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework's five pillars, Reliability, Security, Cost Optimization, Operational Excellence, and Performance Efficiency, remain active decision lenses across every stage.

03 / LIFECYCLE

HOW I APPLY IT

ONE METHOD / FOUR CONTINUOUS STAGES

AI enhances the work. People remain accountable for the outcome.

Across the design, implementation, sustainability, and transformation of IT systems, AI expands what people can understand and improve; it does not replace ownership, judgment, or authorization.

01

HUMAN INTENT / AI-AUGMENTED OPTIONS

Design

AI retrieves standards, compares patterns, and exposes tradeoffs. People define the outcome, risk boundary, architecture, and proof that matter.

02

REVIEWED CHANGE / CONTROLLED EXECUTION

Implement

AI helps analyze code, tests, policy, and change context. Engineers review the work; approved pipelines and controls execute it.

03

CONNECTED SIGNALS / ACCOUNTABLE RESPONSE

Sustain

AI correlates service, security, cost, and incident evidence. Owners decide the response, authorize remediation, and verify recovery.

04

COMPOUNDED LEARNING / HUMAN DIRECTION

Transform

AI finds recurring friction and reusable improvements. Leaders choose what becomes a module, policy, platform capability, or roadmap priority.

04 / PRACTICE

WHAT I BRING TO THE WORK

STRATEGY CLOSE TO IMPLEMENTATION

Broad enough to govern the system. Hands-on enough to test the idea.

01

Cloud architecture

  • Microsoft Azure
  • Azure Well-Architected Framework
  • Compute, data & networking
  • Backup & recovery
  • Cost management
  • Architecture evidence
02

Delivery + platforms

  • Azure DevOps full suite
  • Infrastructure as Code
  • Bicep
  • Terraform
  • GitOps / Flux
  • Platform Engineering
03

Security + governance

  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • RBAC
  • Key Vault
  • Azure Policy
  • Microsoft Defender for Cloud
  • Microsoft Sentinel
  • Compliance Evidence
04

Reliability + operations

  • Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
  • Progressive Delivery
  • Azure Monitor
  • Log Analytics
  • Managed Prometheus / Grafana
  • OpenTelemetry
  • SRE
05

AI + integration

  • Azure OpenAI Service
  • Azure AI Search
  • Azure Machine Learning
  • AI-Assisted Operations
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Azure API Management
  • Logic Apps & ITSM

START WITH THE METHOD.

See the Core Stack, then watch it govern one Azure resource at a time.

READ THE CORE STACK ↗