Client story Ahead of Schedule with Insight & Microsoft: Simtra’s Cloud-First Strategy Fuels Global Mission
Client
Simtra Biopharma Solutions (Simtra), a carve-out that provides sterile fill and finish services to manufacture life-saving injectable medications globally.
Industry: Biopharma CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization)
Challenge
Build an entire IT infrastructure from scratch during a two-year carve-out to meet strict TSA exit deadlines.
Outcomes
Simtra unified global IT management and increased agility with Azure®, reduced desktop deployment time from 12 hours to 45 minutes, and exited their TSA on time.
Solutions: Microsoft Azure, Modern infrastructure, Migration
Born from a carve-out, Simtra knows what it takes to drive toward a bold and future-forward mission — and it starts with strategically reimagining their entire IT infrastructure.
More than a name change, a two-year deadline to exit their Transaction Services Agreement (TSA) was seen as a catalyst to build a new, globally compliant IT infrastructure designed for scale and growth. For Doug Miller, Global Director of Cloud and Infrastructure at Simtra, the mandate was clear, but the process was complex and carried significant financial penalties for failure.
Simtra needed a partner who understood the stakes and who could adapt beyond packaged repeatable offerings to solve unique carve-out problems across two continents (Bloomington, Indiana USA and Halle, Westfalen, Germany). The immediate goal was a fast, functional separation for 3,300 users and 1,800 desktops.
The solution: Cloud-first strategy and zero-touch IT
Insight partnered with Simtra to deliver a comprehensive, phased approach focused on speed, efficiency, and cloud modernization.
Phase 1: Global identity and collaboration migration
The first priority was establishing a new, independent identity. Insight executed a global migration for approximately 2,700 employees over a single weekend, establishing:
- A new Entra ID and enterprise credentials
- New Office 365®, SharePoint®, and Microsoft Teams® environments, establishing core collaboration space and allowing employees to receive their new company email addresses
So often IT leaders hear why we can’t do something. Insight said, let's figure it out. Let’s make it happen.”
Doug Miller
Global Director of Cloud and Infrastructure,
Simtra BioPharma Solutions
Phase 2: Azure cloud foundation and modernization
As a cloud-first company, Simtra needed its infrastructure built on leading practices. Insight designed and established a robust Azure® infrastructure with Azure® Virtual WAN to meet complex global regulatory requirements, including those for business operations in Europe. They also successfully migrated Simtra off a costly on-premises environment to a more efficient remote desktop session and desktop virtualization solution.
Desktop deployment that changed the game
Not only was Simtra able to stand up a new IT organization on Azure®, but they also revolutionized their desktop deployment strategy — moving from a legacy, hours-long, engineering-intensive process to a modern, zero-touch deployment model.
Miller reflects on the success: "Our new deployment model doesn't require any IT engineering support to deploy a desktop. Users can follow a guide, answer a few questions, log in with their username and password and their laptop is up and functioning in about 30 to 45 minutes — with no IT intervention at all.”
This radical shift not only saved thousands of hours in engineering time but also dramatically reduced support costs. When an issue arises, the help desk can simply issue a new device, knowing the user can be fully operational in less than an hour without data loss.
Outcomes: Execution and peace of mind
The collaboration resulted in a successful exit from the two-year TSA, avoiding millions in potential fees.
Miller emphasizes the value of having a partner who wasn't constrained by rigid processes: "So often IT leaders hear why we can’t do something. Insight said, let's figure it out. Let’s make it happen.”
Ultimately, the greatest success was achieving the goal under pressure and guaranteeing business continuity. For Simtra, it’s a triumph that’s hard to measure in simple metrics.
Today, Simtra has successfully executed a massive global IT transformation — one that includes migrating ~64 terabytes of data, establishing a modern, cost-efficient, cloud-first environment, and desktop solution that continues to drive efficiency.
"The greatest compliment I can give is that I've never had to contemplate what the ramifications were of not accomplishing these goals…because we were able to partner together and execute," Miller says.
As Simtra accelerates their growth to fulfill their purpose to bring life-saving drugs to customers’ patients worldwide, their infrastructure will seamlessly scale to meet that bold ambition.
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By Insight Editor / 16 Jan 2026 / Topics: Modern infrastructure , Microsoft Azure , Migration
