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Cloud Matrix IT had been managing Azure VMs manually for several years, relying on internal expertise but lacking centralized visibility and optimization guidance.
A Windows 11 migration created urgency to modernize management while ensuring performance, scalability, and cost control.
As a growing MSP, Cloud Matrix IT needed deeper Azure subject matter expertise and a scalable backend platform to confidently sell and expand Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) services.
Solution
Cloud Matrix IT deployed Nerdio Manager for MSP within its own Azure tenant to centralize VM and AVD management across clients.
Nerdio’s onboarding engineers provided step-by-step migration guidance, environment optimization planning, and cost-saving recommendations.
Centralized management, automation, and ongoing proactive support improved efficiency by 50%+ and increased margins by 15–30% without changing client pricing.
From manual Azure management to strategic optimization
Cloud Matrix IT, a managed services provider supporting small and midsize businesses across the United States, had been gradually expanding its Azure footprint. For two to three years, the company had been manually managing Azure VMs for a key client. It worked, but it wasn’t optimized.
“Our footprint with Azure VM management is relatively small,” said founder and CEO Richard Stephens. “We’ve been doing it manually for probably two or three years now.”
When a Windows 11 migration requirement surfaced, the need for a more structured, scalable approach became clear. Richard already knew Nerdio from industry events, but this time, the timing was right to finally make the move.
For a CEO selling Azure Virtual Desktop services to small and midsize businesses, expertise matters.
Confidence to sell and scale
Azure Virtual Desktop is powerful, but management can be complex. Selling it requires confidence not only in the technology itself, but in the backend execution.
“The Nerdio team definitely makes you a lot more confident selling these types of services,” Richard said. “There are a lot of technical pieces you have to translate. Having a group of folks that’s wonderful to work with and that gives you confidence.”
Nerdio Manager for MSP became the centralized layer Cloud Matrix needed. Instead of navigating multiple tenants and manual configurations, everything now lives in one place.
“Having everything in one place where you don’t have to go into different tenants, that’s probably the biggest piece for us,” Richard said.
For his team, that consolidation alone created meaningful efficiency gains.
A 50%+ efficiency lift
Before Nerdio, scaling Azure meant manual processes, repeated logins, and fragmented oversight. Now, automation and centralized control are built in.
When asked about efficiency improvements, Richard didn’t hesitate.
“I would say at least 50%,” he said. “Definitely.”
Nerdio Auto-Scaling and optimized resource planning reduced manual oversight, while step-by-step onboarding guidance ensured the platform was implemented correctly from day one.
Even after deployment, support didn’t stop. “They would just check in out of the blue,” he said. “That’s very rare — to have support that goes the extra few hundred miles.”
Improving margins without raising prices
One unexpected but important differentiator: Nerdio Manager for MSP runs directly within Cloud Matrix IT’s Azure environment.
“We host it in our own Azure tenant,” Richard said. “You’re not at the mercy of someone else’s data center. As long as Azure has uptime, we’re good to go.”
From a security perspective, that control matters.
“It’s the same security protocols we already have in place for our tenant. You’re in control of the triggers and access.”
For an MSP selling trust, architecture becomes a competitive advantage.
A partner that enables growth
Looking ahead, Richard sees Nerdio as a foundational piece to Cloud Matrix IT’s 2026 strategy.
“It really sets us up to push getting clients more into the cloud,” he said. “Even if we run into hiccups, we’ve got somebody that we can call on easily.”
For Cloud Matrix IT, Nerdio is a growth enabler.
And for Richard, the biggest differentiator remains simple:
“I just can’t say enough about working with them from a support standpoint. That’s the biggest positive of the relationship.”
Scaling secure enclaves for the future
Looking ahead, C3 is utilizing Nerdio Manager for MSP to standardize and scale its secure enclave architecture. The goal: one hardened golden image and shared policy sets that can be applied across multiple CMMC clients.
“As an MSP, one of the most exciting things is standardization,” Thomas said. “With Nerdio Manager, we’ll be able to deploy one set of policies for all our compliance customers and know it’s deployed 100%. Instead of building everything from scratch for each client, we’ll be able to click deploy and have a proven, compliant setup.”
That shift is expected to dramatically reduce onboarding time for new enclave customers. “Today, onboarding a new client is a very manual process,” Thomas explained. “With Nerdio Manager, it’s probably more like an 80% time savings.”
Read the full customer story
See how Cloud Matrix IT boosts Azure margins by up to 30% and gains confidence with Nerdio Manager
