Active Super Multi-Region Azure Hosting Case Study

Active Super - Multi-region Azure Hosting Solution

Protecting Active Super with Multi-Region Azure Hosting

Deepend implemented a multi-region Azure architecture for Active Super that delivered automated failover and zero site downtime during an approximately 12-hour data centre outage.

Industry: Financial Services, Superannuation

Services: Intelligent Platforms & AI Systems

Target Audiences: Regulated financial services organisations that need resilient, always-available customer-facing digital platforms

Year: 2024

Deepend were the perfect digital product partner – a great mix of strategic delivery at speed, whilst paying the necessary attention to the underlying technical platform and security requirements we are held to as a Financial institution.

Chantal Walker - Chief Customer Officer (Active Super)

Overview

Australia's superannuation industry is a robust and essential part of the national economy, with total assets exceeding $3.9 trillion as of March 2024.

This comprehensive system, designed to secure Australians' retirement, includes industry funds, retail funds, public sector funds, and self-managed super funds (SMSFs). Industry funds are particularly significant, holding $1,349 billion, which accounts for 35% of the total superannuation assets, highlighting their critical role in the financial landscape.

Active Super is a prominent player within this thriving sector, known for its strong performance and member-focused approach. With a substantial share of the market, Active Super has consistently delivered competitive returns and innovative investment options. Its commitment to sustainability and ethical investment practices sets it apart, aligning with the growing trend towards responsible investing in the industry. Active Super's strategic initiatives and robust management continue to enhance its position as a leading super fund in Australia.

Deepend reviewed Active Super’s Azure architecture and designed a secondary production environment in Australia South-East. Azure Front Door Premium, health probes and database geo-replication were configured to monitor the primary region and automatically redirect users if a fault was detected.

The Challenge

Active Super was required to keep key customer information available online while operating in an increasingly hostile cyber environment.
In late 2022, Deepend observed a rise in cyber incidents, including distributed denial-of-service attacks, creating a material risk of website downtime and regulatory exposure.

The Opportunity

A multi-region Azure architecture could remove the primary region as a single point of failure and strengthen service continuity without relying on a third-party DDoS mitigation platform.

SEAMLESS FAILOVER

Deepend combined Azure Health Probe, Front Door priority routing and a fully replicated secondary region to create an automated failover architecture. If the primary environment became unavailable, users were redirected to the backup region without disrupting the customer experience.

Sample of Azure Front Door displayed on laptop

Sample of code for Primary and secondary regions

What We Delivered

Azure architecture review
Multi-region hosting strategy
Azure Front Door Premium implementation
Secondary production environment
Database geo-replication
Automated health monitoring
Priority-based traffic routing
DDoS resilience
Web application firewall and VNET integration
Failover and continuity architecture

Impact

Zero site downtime during an approximately 12-hour data centre disruption
Automated failover from the primary to secondary Azure region
Service continuity maintained throughout the outage
APRA compliance maintained during the incident
Reduced dependence on third-party DDoS mitigation products

Value and Impact

Automated failover capabilities

Implemented a resilient, multi-region hosting solution with automated failover capabilities. Ensured zero site downtime during a major data center outage, preserving service continuity.

Smart traffic rerouting

Integrated real-time health monitoring and smart traffic rerouting via Azure Front Door. Maintained full APRA compliance and avoided regulatory risk during a 12-hour disruption.

Problem & Insight

The existing hosting model exposed Active Super to the risk that a regional outage or successful DDoS attack could interrupt access to information customers were expected to be able to reach online. Deepend identified that resilience needed to be designed at the infrastructure level rather than relying on manual intervention after an incident.

Strategy & Experience Design

The experience principle was simple: failover should be invisible to customers. The architecture prioritised automated monitoring and traffic rerouting so users could continue accessing the site without disruption.

Technology & Delivery

Azure Front Door Premium was configured as the multi-region load balancer, using priority routing to send traffic to the primary region while it remained healthy. Azure Health Probe continuously monitored the site, while database geo-replication kept the secondary environment aligned with the latest production content. The solution complemented Active Super’s existing web application firewall and VNET security controls.

Results

The architecture was tested in August 2023 when the Australia East data centre experienced a cooling-system fault. The health probe detected the outage and Azure Front Door redirected traffic to the secondary region, which remained active until normal operations resumed roughly 12 hours later. Active Super experienced no website downtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Deepend improve Active Super’s website resilience?

Deepend implemented a multi-region Azure hosting architecture using Azure Front Door Premium, health monitoring and database geo-replication. The setup automatically redirected traffic if the primary region became unavailable.

What happened when Active Super’s primary Azure region went offline?

During an August 2023 cooling-system fault in the Australia East data centre, Azure Health Probe detected the outage and Front Door redirected traffic to the secondary region. Active Super experienced no website downtime.

What role did Azure Front Door play in the solution?

Azure Front Door acted as the multi-region load balancer. It used priority routing to send traffic to the primary region under normal conditions and automatically divert users to the secondary region when required.

How did the multi-region solution support APRA compliance?

The architecture helped Active Super maintain access to required online information during a significant infrastructure disruption. The live case study states that APRA compliance was maintained throughout the outage.

Why use multi-region Azure hosting for a financial services website?

Multi-region hosting reduces the risk that a single regional outage or cyber incident will make a customer-facing platform unavailable. For Active Super, it provided automated failover, service continuity and stronger infrastructure resilience.