Create IT designs, builds, and migrates systems to the cloud as part of the development and modernisation work we do with our clients. Whether you are starting a new system from scratch, moving an existing platform off on-premises infrastructure, or scaling for international growth, we work as an embedded team and build for the cloud from the first line of architecture. Cloud is not a separate project. It is how we build.
Most cloud transformation failures share the same root cause: cloud was treated as a migration project rather than an architectural decision.
You migrate a server to the cloud and call it transformation. But the system was not designed for cloud elasticity, so it does not scale under load. The costs are not lower because the architecture was not rethought. The team does not know how to operate it because they were not part of the transition.
We approach cloud differently. When we design a new system, we design it cloud-native from the start: serverless where appropriate, containerized where it makes sense, using managed cloud services to remove operational overhead. When we migrate an existing system, we do not simply lift and shift: we assess what needs to be rearchitected to actually benefit from the cloud environment.
And because we work as embedded teams inside our clients' product organizations, cloud infrastructure evolves continuously alongside the business, not in isolated projects that end and leave a gap.
We design systems for the cloud from the ground up: event-driven architectures using Azure Event Hubs, Azure Service Bus, or Kafka; serverless processing with Azure Functions or AWS Lambda; containerized workloads with Docker on Azure Container Apps or AWS Elastic Container Service; managed databases including Azure SQL, Azure CosmosDB, and AWS RDS.
Cloud-native design means the system is elastic by default, scales to demand, and does not require your team to manage servers.
We migrate existing systems from on-premises infrastructure or legacy hosting to Azure or AWS. This includes application hosting, database migration, storage migration, and network configuration.
For hospitality groups managing multiple properties and international markets, we have migrated portal infrastructure to Azure, integrating with reservation systems, ERP, and CRM, with performance improvements measurable in page load times across international markets.
For systems that need to handle variable load efficiently (e-commerce billing at peak, notification platforms at scale, batch processing), we design serverless architectures that scale automatically and charge only for actual usage.
For systems that need portability and consistent deployment environments, we containerize with Docker and deploy to managed container services on Azure or AWS.
We use cloud-native integration services: Azure Logic Apps, Azure Data Factory, Azure API Management, Azure Event Grid, and AWS Lambda, as components within broader system architectures. Integration and cloud infrastructure are rarely separate concerns in our work.
We implement CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and monitoring from the start of every cloud engagement. Deployments are automated. Monitoring is built in: typically New Relic for real-time performance visibility. Rollback procedures are tested before go-live.
This is not an optional add-on. It is the only way we know how to run cloud systems that teams can operate confidently after the initial build.
The Pestana Group (90+ units across 15 countries, 3 million guests per year) needed its web and e-commerce infrastructure to support international growth. Five portals were migrated to Microsoft Azure IaaS, with integrations to Opera Reservation System, SAP, Microsoft CRM, payment systems, and global distribution channels. Page load times from international markets such as Brazil were reduced to approximately half. Adding a new hotel to the platform moved from a complex operation to a matter of days.
The project was a finalist at the European Microsoft SharePoint Awards in the category of Most Innovative Cloud Solution.
Worten (the leading consumer electronics retailer from Sonae Group, 230+ stores in Portugal and Spain) needed to decouple billing from its order fulfilment workflow and build a solution capable of handling peak loads at the scale of Black Friday and the complexity of international expansion. Create IT designed a cloud-first, serverless architecture on AWS: Lambda Functions, S3, Docker .NET Core on AWS Elastic Container Service. The solution scales elastically to demand and removes the infrastructure management burden from the Worten team.
*"The elasticity offered by the solution architecture, combined with the AWS infrastructure, will allow Worten to adapt the infrastructure quickly to the needs of its internationalisation process and peak loads, in any scenario analogous to the period of a Black Friday."*
Luís Belo, Technical Manager at Create IT
TourTailors, a tour operator specialising in self-guided tours in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, partnered with Create IT to replace a system that could no longer support their growth. We built TripPlan: a custom platform covering customer requests, itinerary design, travel budgeting, roadbook creation, and email interaction, integrated with ERP, website, and communications systems. Technology: C#, .NET, React, MSSQL, AWS, and Azure.
The next phase of the engagement includes migrating the solution fully to the cloud, eliminating dependence on local infrastructure. Create IT has been working with TourTailors for approximately four years, with a full-time embedded team of six people.
A major retail organization needed a centralized platform to manage all customer communications across SMS, email, push notifications, in-app messages, and WhatsApp. The platform was built cloud-native on Azure: App Service, Azure SQL, CosmosDB, Event Hubs, Data Factory, and Container Apps. It handles 60 million in-app notifications per week, 2.8 million SMS, and 700,000 push notifications, serving 50+ internal development teams.
Our cloud engagements span:
❯ Retail and e-commerce: Sonae Group (Worten billing on AWS, Q-Commerce on Azure, Communications Hub on Azure): ongoing embedded teams
❯ Hospitality and tourism: Pestana Group (Azure IaaS migration across 15 countries), Tour Tailors
❯ Healthcare: Hospital da Luz / Luz Saúde
Cloud capability is present in most of our long-term client engagements. Where a client builds and evolves digital systems, cloud infrastructure is part of that work.
We do not deliver cloud readiness reports and leave. We design the architecture, build the system, deploy it, and stay as an embedded partner to operate and evolve it. Cloud infrastructure is part of our delivery, not a separate consulting engagement.
60 million events per week through Azure Container Apps and Event Hubs. Serverless billing at Black Friday load on AWS. Five portals supporting 3 million guests per year across 15 countries on Azure IaaS. These are not proofs of concept or pilot projects. They are production systems.
We hold Microsoft Solutions Partner status for Digital and App Innovation (Azure). We have delivered production serverless workloads on AWS. We recommend the right platform for the client's context, not the one we prefer.
Monitoring, CI/CD pipelines, containerization, automated testing, and rollback procedures are not afterthoughts. They are part of every cloud system we deliver. Your team inherits something it can operate and extend.
Whether you are designing a new cloud-native system, moving off on-premises infrastructure, or building for international scale, start with a conversation about what you need and what you are working with.