Justin Burton

About

Enterprise Cloud Leadership

Results-driven Cloud Architect with deep expertise in Microsoft Azure, enterprise identity management, and cloud security. Proven track record designing and implementing Azure Landing Zones, custom Azure Policy frameworks, and hybrid identity solutions at scale. Led statewide cloud transformation initiatives including Express Route deployments, Azure Virtual Desktop rollouts, and Zero Trust security implementations for 2,500+ users. Adept at aligning cloud strategy with organizational security policies and driving adoption of modern infrastructure across government agencies.

Core Competencies

What I Bring

☁️ Cloud Architecture

Azure Landing Zones, Azure Policy, Express Route, Azure Virtual Desktop, Nerdio Enterprise Manager

🔐 Identity & Security

Entra ID Multi-tenant, Conditional Access, MFA/SSPR, Entra ID P2 Governance, Lifecycle Management, Zero Trust

🖥️ Infrastructure

Microsoft 365, Microsoft Intune, SCCM, Hyper-V, Citrix, Network Security

⚙️ Data & DevOps

MSSQL, Oracle, PowerShell, SSIS, AWS, Microsoft Sentinel, Defender for Endpoint/Cloud

🤝 Leadership

Project Management, Vendor Partnerships, Microsoft FastTrack, Team Mentorship, Stakeholder Engagement

Experience

Career Timeline

Cloud Specialist II MS Dept. of Information Technology Services Oct 2023 — Present

Completed setup of a new Statewide Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft for Zero SKU Azure Services, establishing the foundation for scalable cloud adoption across state agencies.
Designed and stood up a statewide Azure Landing Zone, providing a secure, compliant, and scalable cloud architecture for multi-agency workloads.
Created custom Azure Policy definitions and initiatives aligned with Mississippi's Enterprise Security Policy, enforcing compliance at scale.
Led the transition from VPN egress to a multi-region Express Route circuit, improving network reliability, performance, and security.
Spearheaded the initiative with Nerdio to implement Nerdio Enterprise Manager for Azure Virtual Desktop Services.
Providing strategic guidance on the upgrade from Entra ID Free to P2 with Governance and Lifecycle Management.

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Information Resource Manager Mississippi Department of Health Jan 2020 — Apr 2021

Managed authentication and access for 2,500 employees, contractors, and third-party vendors in a hybrid AD/Entra ID infrastructure.
Developed an automated user provisioning system using PowerShell Universal Dashboard and MMC.
Led the digitization of approval processes across 20+ departments with DocuSign, PowerForms, and Teams.

Database Administrator Mississippi State Dept. of Health Apr 2015 — Jan 2019

Managed and optimized 400+ Oracle and MSSQL databases across eight physical servers supporting 20+ state health agencies.
Led migration of Mississippi's 10M+ record immunization registry from on-prem Oracle to AWS.
Directed migration of STD Surveillance database from FoxPro to MSSQL using SSIS for validation.
Configured Central Management for 40+ MS SQL instances, enabling unified management without third-party tools.

Microsoft FastTrack Engagement

Migrated entire Health Department Exchange environment (2,000+ accounts) to Microsoft 365.
Implemented MFA and SSPR agency-wide; designed and deployed Conditional Access Policies.
Performed AD cleanup of 5,800 accounts → ~2,600 verified users for SCCM deployment.

Systems Engineer Think Anew (Contract) Jul 2013 — Apr 2015

Contract DBA for Mississippi Department of Health. Designed Citrix PoC for NextGen EHR deployment.

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Earlier Career

President — Burton Consulting, Inc. 2012 — 2013

System Support Engineer — May and Company, LLC 2010 — 2011

Data Center Engineer — Venture Technologies 2007 — 2008