Virginia Credit Union accelerates Microsoft 365 cloud migration
“Bizzdesign has been instrumental in helping us achieve our Microsoft 365 cloud migration goals. It has brought much-needed structure and discipline to our processes, and, most importantly, our team genuinely enjoys using the tool, and it’s made things happen.”
Country: United States
Industry: Financial services
Company size: 900 employees
Revenue: USD 7.58 billion in total assets
Results:
Virginia Credit Union (VACU), chartered in 1928, was founded by state employees to help members save money and access loans. Starting with 170 members and 50 loans, VACU grew significantly over the years. In 2024, it merged with Member One Federal Credit Union, becoming the third-largest credit union in Virginia with nearly $8 billion in assets, approximately 500,000 members, and 37 branches across the state.
Microsoft’s strategic shift towards cloud services prompted VACU, as a customer, to evolve with this change. As the tech giant decommissioned support for older on-premises Office versions, VACU needed to migrate systems and platforms from their data center to the Microsoft 365 cloud.
This move would allow VACU to leverage new features and capabilities unavailable in their legacy on-premise systems and benefit from continuous updates, enhanced collaboration tools, and improved security measures.
To effectively manage the transition, VACU’s enterprise architecture team, made up of three architects, began by outlining the migration process. Upon reviewing a detailed periodic table of Microsoft 365 components and features – a complex grid displaying various integrated elements – the team quickly recognized the interconnectedness of the systems. With numerous dependencies and data flows, it became clear that a comprehensive mapping of the entire architecture was necessary to define the path forward.
Attempting to map such complexity with a two-dimensional tool such as Microsoft Visio was insufficient. Bizzdesign Horizzon’s robust functionality for visualizing and managing complex systems made it the ideal tool for VACU’s solution architecture needs, particularly in facilitating their Microsoft 365 cloud migration project.
Virginia Credit Union subsequently undertook a large-scale cloud migration project, transitioning key systems from on-premises infrastructure to the Microsoft cloud. Using Bizzdesign Horizzon, the team created a detailed model of the complex architecture, revealing OneDrive’s critical role in enabling data flow across Microsoft’s ecosystem.
By isolating OneDrive as a focal point, the team developed a structured plan to manage the migration’s complexity. They broke down the complete picture into manageable components and modeled the physical layer, accounting for integration with on-premise systems, data movement, and application access.
Bizzdesign’s AI-powered features, including the How-to Coach and AI Smartpack, supported the creation of detailed solution descriptions and system visualizations. These tools effectively broke down complex architectural designs into understandable narratives for documentation and presentations to the Architecture Review Board. The ability to export filtered views of OneDrive’s components simplified stakeholder communication and review processes.
“With our enterprise architecture tool driving improved visibility and alignment, we accelerated our Microsoft 365 cloud migration, leading to faster decision-making and significant cost savings.”
Seamless business continuity with a unified architecture
VACU accelerated its migration from on-premise systems to the cloud using Bizzdesign Horizzon. The tool’s unified view enabled the team to prioritize critical systems like OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams, speeding up decision-making and reducing the time required to bring these systems online. This ensured smooth business operations without disruption.
Accurate mapping of a target state to gain clarity
Using Bizzdesign Horizzon, the team accurately mapped system interrelationships, providing a clear understanding of the current state and required changes. The detailed architecture diagrams improved confidence in the migration plan and aligned stakeholders on scope and direction.
Identifying redundancies and optimizing licensing costs
VACU leveraged Bizzdesign Horizzon to identify and eliminate system redundancies, streamline operations, and reduce overlaps. This approach also enabled unified licensing, accurately estimating costs by grounding decisions in a comprehensive view of system usage.
Standardizing architectural decisions with ArchiMate
Bizzdesign Horizzon’s adoption of ArchiMate standards allowed VACU to establish discipline and structure in architectural decisions. The tool mapped application relationships and business contexts, creating a referenceable architecture supporting innovation, aligning strategies, and simplifying stakeholder communication for future transformations.
