Cloud Foundation

Built on Microsoft Azure.

iCura is architected on Microsoft Azure using cloud-native services that provide scalability, enterprise-grade security, resilience and AI capabilities for regulated health and social care organisations.

Azure
OpenAI
AI Search
AI Document Intelligence
App Service
Database for PostgreSQL
Service Bus

Why Microsoft Azure?

More than infrastructure. A cloud foundation.

Azure gives iCura a single, coherent foundation for enterprise applications, AI, security, identity, messaging, monitoring, analytics, compliance and global scalability.

Enterprise Applications

A hosting platform built for continuous availability at national scale.

AI

Governed large language models grounded in your own operational data.

Security

Defence-in-depth controls trusted by regulated industries worldwide.

Identity

Enterprise-grade authentication and access control for every user.

Messaging

Reliable event delivery connecting every product in the platform.

Monitoring

Live telemetry across application, infrastructure and AI performance.

Analytics

Real-time insight generation across every site an organisation runs.

Compliance

Infrastructure built to meet the assurance frameworks regulated care demands.

Global Scalability

The same architecture that runs one service scales to a national group.

Architecture Principles

Ten decisions that shape every release.

Cloud Native

Built for Azure from the first line of code, not lifted and shifted onto it.

AI First

Intelligence is a core layer of the architecture, not a bolted-on feature.

Security by Design

Every layer assumes it will be tested, and is built to withstand it.

API First

Every capability is available through a governed, documented interface.

Event Driven

Products communicate through governed events, not tight coupling.

Multi Tenant SaaS

One platform, securely isolated per organisation, at any scale.

Explainable AI

Every AI output shows the reasoning behind it in plain language.

Human in the Loop

High-risk actions always route to a person before they take effect.

Operational Intelligence

Raw data becomes a live operational picture, not a static report.

Enterprise Scalability

The same architecture serves a single service and a national group.

Interactive Architecture

From request to insight.

Every request iCura handles moves through the same governed stack — twelve layers, each with a distinct responsibility.

01

Users

Care teams, managers and families access iCura from any device.

02

Azure Front Door

Global entry point providing routing, load balancing and DDoS protection.

03

Application Gateway

Layer 7 routing and web application firewall in front of every request.

04

Next.js Portal

The web experience every user interacts with, rendered close to the user.

05

.NET APIs

Governed application services enforcing business logic and permissions.

06

Enterprise Services

Shared services for identity, notifications and cross-product workflows.

07

iCura Modules

Core, WorkOps, CRM, 360 and the rest of the connected product universe.

08

Azure Service Bus

Events move between modules without tight coupling between them.

09

Azure AI Services

Azure OpenAI and AI Search reason over live operational data.

10

Data Layer

PostgreSQL, Redis and Blob Storage hold operational, cache and document data.

11

Monitoring

Azure Monitor and Application Insights watch every layer continuously.

12

Security

Entra ID, Key Vault and Defender for Cloud protect the entire stack.

Azure Services

Fourteen services, one governed platform.

Azure Front Door

The global entry point for every request made to iCura.

  • Global load balancing
  • DDoS protection
  • TLS termination

Keeps the platform fast and available, wherever a user connects from.

Azure App Service

Hosts iCura's application layer with enterprise scalability.

  • Managed hosting
  • Auto-scaling
  • Zero-downtime deployment

The platform scales from one service to a national group without re-architecture.

Azure Container Apps

Runs iCura's background services and event processors.

  • Serverless containers
  • Event-driven scaling
  • Isolated workloads

Background processing scales independently from the main application.

Azure Service Bus

Coordinates events and automations across every iCura module.

  • Reliable messaging
  • Event ordering
  • Cross-module coordination

A change in one product reaches every dependent product, reliably.

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Stores operational data with resilience and point-in-time recovery.

  • Managed relational storage
  • Automated backups
  • High availability

The operational system of record stays consistent and recoverable.

Azure Blob Storage

Durable storage for documents, evidence packs and care records.

  • Document storage
  • Evidence retention
  • Tiered access

Every document and evidence pack is stored durably and retrievable on demand.

Azure OpenAI

Powers iCura's governed AI reasoning and natural language insights.

  • Large language model access
  • Governed prompting
  • Enterprise data boundaries

AI reasoning happens inside iCura's own governed enterprise boundary.

Azure AI Search

Grounds AI answers in your organisation's own care and compliance records.

  • Semantic search
  • Vector indexing
  • Permission-scoped retrieval

AI answers are grounded in your data, not general internet knowledge.

Azure AI Document Intelligence

Extracts structured data from care documents, forms and policies.

  • Document parsing
  • Form extraction
  • Structured data output

Paper-based and scanned records become usable, structured data.

Azure Key Vault

Protects secrets, keys and certificates across the platform.

  • Secret management
  • Key rotation
  • Certificate lifecycle

Credentials are never exposed in application code or configuration.

Azure Monitor

Provides real-time platform health and performance observability.

  • Infrastructure metrics
  • Alerting
  • Health dashboards

Issues are caught and resolved before they affect care delivery.

Application Insights

Tracks application performance and errors down to the individual request.

  • Request tracing
  • Error tracking
  • Performance profiling

Engineering teams can diagnose issues with precision, not guesswork.

Microsoft Entra ID

Enterprise identity and access management for every user.

  • Single sign-on
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Conditional access

Identity is verified centrally, consistently, across the whole platform.

Defender for Cloud

Continuous threat detection and security posture management.

  • Threat detection
  • Vulnerability scanning
  • Security posture scoring

Security risk is monitored continuously, not just at audit time.

AI Platform

Enterprise AI, powered by Azure AI.

Every AI recommendation in iCura passes through the same governed pipeline — explainable at every step, and never final without the right person's sign-off.

iCura AI Platform

Every recommendation, explained and governed

01

Azure OpenAI

Large language models reason over the request in context.

02

Semantic Kernel

Orchestrates model calls, memory and grounding against live data.

03

AI Agent Orchestrator

Coordinates the specific steps needed to fulfil the request.

04

Policy Engine

Checks every proposed action against governance and risk rules.

05

Evidence Generator

Compiles the specific records and reasoning behind the output.

06

Human Approval

Anything above a defined risk threshold waits for a person.

07

Audit Ledger

Every step of the decision is permanently and immutably recorded.

Event-Driven Architecture

One change, felt everywhere it matters.

Azure Service Bus carries operational events between products the moment they happen — no batch jobs, no manual sync.

01

Referral Created

A new referral is logged in iCura CRM.

02

Assessment Scheduled

Azure Service Bus notifies the care team to book an assessment.

03

Care Plan Generated

iCura Core drafts the initial care plan from the assessment.

04

Staff Allocated

WorkOps assigns the right staff based on skills and availability.

05

Family Notified

The Family App shares an update the moment the plan is confirmed.

06

Compliance Updated

iCura 360 reflects the new service in its readiness scoring instantly.

07

Executive Dashboard Updated

Operational Intelligence reflects the change group-wide, live.

Enterprise Security

Eight layers, enforced without exception.

01

Microsoft Entra ID

Every identity is verified centrally before anything else happens.

02

Role Based Access

Each user's role determines exactly what they can see and do.

03

Key Vault

Secrets, keys and certificates are never stored in application code.

04

Encryption

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, without exception.

05

Audit

Every action is recorded in an immutable, tamper-evident trail.

06

Policy Engine

Governance rules are enforced at the point of action, not after.

07

AI Governance

AI outputs are explainable, scoped and routed for approval when needed.

08

Defender for Cloud

Continuous threat detection across the full Azure estate.

Operational Monitoring

Live telemetry, AI monitoring, and performance insight.

Every layer of the platform — application, infrastructure and AI — is watched continuously, not audited after the fact.

Live

Azure Monitor

Live telemetry across every layer of the platform, watched continuously.

Live

Application Insights

Performance insight and error tracking down to the individual request.

Live

Log Analytics

Centralised, queryable logs powering operational and AI monitoring dashboards.

Data Platform

Data separated by purpose, scaled independently.

Operational data, cache, documents and audit records each live in the store built for them — never mixed, never a bottleneck for the others.

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

The operational system of record, with resilience and point-in-time recovery.

Redis Cache

Sub-millisecond access to the data that powers live dashboards and sessions.

Blob Storage

Durable storage for documents, evidence packs and care records.

Audit Store

An append-only store for immutable audit trails, separated from operational data.

Azure AI Search

Semantic search over your organisation's own data, grounding every AI answer.

Azure Adoption Roadmap

Six phases, each adding cloud capability.

Phase 01

Foundation

Core hosting, identity and data services underpinning the platform.

Azure App ServiceMicrosoft Entra IDAzure Database for PostgreSQL
Phase 02

Platform

Connecting products together through governed, event-driven messaging.

Azure Service BusAzure Container AppsAzure Front Door
Phase 03

AI

Introducing governed intelligence grounded in operational data.

Azure OpenAIAzure AI SearchAzure AI Document Intelligence
Phase 04

Enterprise

Hardening security and governance for regulated, multi-site organisations.

Azure Key VaultDefender for CloudApplication Gateway
Phase 05

Analytics

Turning operational data into live, executive-ready intelligence.

Azure MonitorApplication InsightsLog Analytics
Phase 06

Global Scale

Extending the same architecture to serve national and international groups.

Azure Front DoorBlob StorageRedis Cache

“Microsoft Azure enables iCura to deliver secure, scalable and AI-powered operational intelligence for health and social care organisations — while supporting enterprise governance and future innovation.”

Designed for Microsoft Azure

iCura has been intentionally architected to leverage Microsoft Azure services across AI, security, hosting, messaging, observability and enterprise scalability — built to meet the bar enterprise, NHS and investor stakeholders expect from a modern cloud platform.

iCura is built independently on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure. This does not imply Microsoft endorsement or formal partnership.

Azure Service Usage

What each service is actually doing.

Azure OpenAI

Enterprise AI

Azure AI Search

Semantic Search

Azure Document Intelligence

Document Processing

Azure App Service

Application Hosting

Azure PostgreSQL

Operational Database

Azure Service Bus

Event Processing

Azure Monitor

Observability

Ready to see iCura running on Microsoft Azure?

See the architecture, the AI governance model and the security posture in a live walkthrough with our team.