WGU E025 Performance Assessment (PA)
Enterprise Hybrid Cloud and Secure Network Design
Full Detailed Rubric-Aligned Business Scenario and Solution Document
Scenario Organization: Apex Manufacturing Corporation
Prepared for: WGU E025 Performance Assessment
Purpose: Design and document a secure hybrid cloud and network solution for a realistic business
scenario.
Note: This is an original scenario and solution framework intended for study, drafting, and PA preparation.
Replace names, assumptions, and diagrams with your assigned WGU scenario details if your course
provides a specific case.
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
,1. Executive Summary
Apex Manufacturing Corporation (AMC) is a mid-sized manufacturing and industrial automation
organization that has outgrown its current on-premises infrastructure. The company operates a
headquarters office in Dallas, two manufacturing plants in Texas, three regional distribution centers, and a
growing remote workforce of field engineers, sales personnel, and support staff. AMC depends on
enterprise resource planning, inventory management, file services, identity services, manufacturing
support systems, and customer-facing applications to maintain daily operations.
AMC currently uses a traditional data center model with aging servers, limited storage capacity,
fragmented security monitoring, and a legacy remote-access VPN. The existing environment creates
operational risk because server provisioning is slow, backups are not geographically resilient, remote
access lacks modern identity controls, and the organization has limited visibility into endpoint, network, and
cloud security events.
The recommended solution is a secure hybrid cloud architecture using Microsoft Azure integrated with
AMC on-premises systems. The design includes segmented local networks, Azure Virtual Networks, site-
to-site VPN connectivity, Azure Firewall, Microsoft Entra ID integration, multi-factor authentication, role-
based access control, centralized logging, Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Azure
Backup, and Azure Site Recovery. This design improves availability, strengthens security, supports
business growth, and reduces the need for additional capital investment in physical data center expansion.
The proposed architecture aligns with common WGU E025 PA expectations by documenting the business
problem, current-state limitations, target-state network design, hybrid cloud connectivity, cloud services,
security controls, risk mitigation, implementation plan, disaster recovery strategy, and justification for
design decisions.
2. Business Scenario
2.1 Organization Overview
Category Details
Organization Name Apex Manufacturing Corporation (AMC)
Industry Manufacturing and industrial automation equipment
Employees Approximately 1,200 employees
Remote Users Approximately 500 remote employees and field engineers
Primary Location Corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas
Additional Locations Manufacturing Plant A, Manufacturing Plant B, Distribution
Center East, Distribution Center West, Distribution Center
Central
IT Staff 24 employees supporting infrastructure, security,
applications, networking, and service desk functions
Primary Business Systems ERP, inventory management, file services, SQL databases,
identity services, production support systems, reporting
tools, customer portal, remote-access services
AMC produces industrial automation components and provides maintenance services to customers across
several regions. The company’s revenue and customer base have increased steadily, but its technology
environment has not scaled at the same pace. Leadership wants a solution that preserves critical on-
premises systems while extending selected workloads into the cloud.
2.2 Current-State Infrastructure
Component Current State Issue
Data Center On-premises server room at Hardware refresh is overdue and
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
, headquarters power/cooling capacity is constrained
Compute VMware virtual hosts with several Limited capacity and increased
aging physical servers maintenance risk
Storage SAN storage at 85% utilization Expansion is expensive and backup
windows are too long
Identity On-premises Active Directory Limited conditional access and no
consistent MFA enforcement
Remote Access Legacy VPN using username and Higher credential-theft risk and poor
password user experience
Security Monitoring Separate firewall, endpoint, and server No centralized SIEM or correlated
logs alerting
Backup Local backup appliance and periodic Recovery is slow and disaster
offsite copy recovery testing is inconsistent
Branch Connectivity MPLS and internet circuits with Single points of failure at smaller sites
inconsistent redundancy
2.3 Business Problem
AMC’s business problem is that its current infrastructure is not secure, scalable, or resilient enough to
support continued growth. The root causes are aging data center hardware, limited network segmentation,
weak remote-access authentication, fragmented monitoring, and inadequate disaster recovery. The
symptoms include slow server provisioning, rising maintenance costs, inconsistent remote access,
increased downtime risk, and limited visibility into security events.
A full cloud migration is not appropriate because some manufacturing support systems require local
connectivity and low latency at plant locations. A fully on-premises refresh is also not ideal because it
requires large capital expenditures and does not solve geographic disaster recovery requirements. A
hybrid cloud design is therefore the best fit because it combines local control for latency-sensitive systems
with cloud scalability, security services, and resilient backup and recovery capabilities.
3. Project Goals and Success Criteria
3.1 Business Goals
1. Modernize AMC’s infrastructure while preserving required on-premises systems.
2. Improve cybersecurity posture using identity-based controls, segmentation, encryption, and monitoring.
3. Reduce infrastructure management cost by moving appropriate workloads to cloud services.
4. Support secure remote access for employees, administrators, and field engineers.
5. Improve disaster recovery through cloud replication and geographically separate backups.
6. Support future business expansion, including additional distribution centers or acquisitions.
3.2 Measurable Success Criteria
Metric Target
Availability 99.95% availability for critical business applications
MFA Adoption 100% MFA enforcement for administrators, remote users,
and cloud portal access
Disaster Recovery RTO of 2 hours and RPO of 15 minutes for Tier 1 systems
Cost Savings At least 20% reduction in annual infrastructure operating
cost compared with a full on-premises refresh
Security Visibility Centralized logging and alerting for network, identity,
endpoint, and cloud resources
Scalability Ability to support 50% user and workload growth over three
years
User Experience Remote access solution supports secure access without
reducing productivity
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
Enterprise Hybrid Cloud and Secure Network Design
Full Detailed Rubric-Aligned Business Scenario and Solution Document
Scenario Organization: Apex Manufacturing Corporation
Prepared for: WGU E025 Performance Assessment
Purpose: Design and document a secure hybrid cloud and network solution for a realistic business
scenario.
Note: This is an original scenario and solution framework intended for study, drafting, and PA preparation.
Replace names, assumptions, and diagrams with your assigned WGU scenario details if your course
provides a specific case.
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
,1. Executive Summary
Apex Manufacturing Corporation (AMC) is a mid-sized manufacturing and industrial automation
organization that has outgrown its current on-premises infrastructure. The company operates a
headquarters office in Dallas, two manufacturing plants in Texas, three regional distribution centers, and a
growing remote workforce of field engineers, sales personnel, and support staff. AMC depends on
enterprise resource planning, inventory management, file services, identity services, manufacturing
support systems, and customer-facing applications to maintain daily operations.
AMC currently uses a traditional data center model with aging servers, limited storage capacity,
fragmented security monitoring, and a legacy remote-access VPN. The existing environment creates
operational risk because server provisioning is slow, backups are not geographically resilient, remote
access lacks modern identity controls, and the organization has limited visibility into endpoint, network, and
cloud security events.
The recommended solution is a secure hybrid cloud architecture using Microsoft Azure integrated with
AMC on-premises systems. The design includes segmented local networks, Azure Virtual Networks, site-
to-site VPN connectivity, Azure Firewall, Microsoft Entra ID integration, multi-factor authentication, role-
based access control, centralized logging, Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Azure
Backup, and Azure Site Recovery. This design improves availability, strengthens security, supports
business growth, and reduces the need for additional capital investment in physical data center expansion.
The proposed architecture aligns with common WGU E025 PA expectations by documenting the business
problem, current-state limitations, target-state network design, hybrid cloud connectivity, cloud services,
security controls, risk mitigation, implementation plan, disaster recovery strategy, and justification for
design decisions.
2. Business Scenario
2.1 Organization Overview
Category Details
Organization Name Apex Manufacturing Corporation (AMC)
Industry Manufacturing and industrial automation equipment
Employees Approximately 1,200 employees
Remote Users Approximately 500 remote employees and field engineers
Primary Location Corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas
Additional Locations Manufacturing Plant A, Manufacturing Plant B, Distribution
Center East, Distribution Center West, Distribution Center
Central
IT Staff 24 employees supporting infrastructure, security,
applications, networking, and service desk functions
Primary Business Systems ERP, inventory management, file services, SQL databases,
identity services, production support systems, reporting
tools, customer portal, remote-access services
AMC produces industrial automation components and provides maintenance services to customers across
several regions. The company’s revenue and customer base have increased steadily, but its technology
environment has not scaled at the same pace. Leadership wants a solution that preserves critical on-
premises systems while extending selected workloads into the cloud.
2.2 Current-State Infrastructure
Component Current State Issue
Data Center On-premises server room at Hardware refresh is overdue and
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
, headquarters power/cooling capacity is constrained
Compute VMware virtual hosts with several Limited capacity and increased
aging physical servers maintenance risk
Storage SAN storage at 85% utilization Expansion is expensive and backup
windows are too long
Identity On-premises Active Directory Limited conditional access and no
consistent MFA enforcement
Remote Access Legacy VPN using username and Higher credential-theft risk and poor
password user experience
Security Monitoring Separate firewall, endpoint, and server No centralized SIEM or correlated
logs alerting
Backup Local backup appliance and periodic Recovery is slow and disaster
offsite copy recovery testing is inconsistent
Branch Connectivity MPLS and internet circuits with Single points of failure at smaller sites
inconsistent redundancy
2.3 Business Problem
AMC’s business problem is that its current infrastructure is not secure, scalable, or resilient enough to
support continued growth. The root causes are aging data center hardware, limited network segmentation,
weak remote-access authentication, fragmented monitoring, and inadequate disaster recovery. The
symptoms include slow server provisioning, rising maintenance costs, inconsistent remote access,
increased downtime risk, and limited visibility into security events.
A full cloud migration is not appropriate because some manufacturing support systems require local
connectivity and low latency at plant locations. A fully on-premises refresh is also not ideal because it
requires large capital expenditures and does not solve geographic disaster recovery requirements. A
hybrid cloud design is therefore the best fit because it combines local control for latency-sensitive systems
with cloud scalability, security services, and resilient backup and recovery capabilities.
3. Project Goals and Success Criteria
3.1 Business Goals
1. Modernize AMC’s infrastructure while preserving required on-premises systems.
2. Improve cybersecurity posture using identity-based controls, segmentation, encryption, and monitoring.
3. Reduce infrastructure management cost by moving appropriate workloads to cloud services.
4. Support secure remote access for employees, administrators, and field engineers.
5. Improve disaster recovery through cloud replication and geographically separate backups.
6. Support future business expansion, including additional distribution centers or acquisitions.
3.2 Measurable Success Criteria
Metric Target
Availability 99.95% availability for critical business applications
MFA Adoption 100% MFA enforcement for administrators, remote users,
and cloud portal access
Disaster Recovery RTO of 2 hours and RPO of 15 minutes for Tier 1 systems
Cost Savings At least 20% reduction in annual infrastructure operating
cost compared with a full on-premises refresh
Security Visibility Centralized logging and alerting for network, identity,
endpoint, and cloud resources
Scalability Ability to support 50% user and workload growth over three
years
User Experience Remote access solution supports secure access without
reducing productivity
WGU E025 Hybrid Cloud PA Scenario - Apex Manufacturing Corporation
