architecture-overview.md

Cloud-Native Insurance SaaS Platform Architecture

graph TD

    A[Web & Mobile Applications] --> B[Azure Front Door & WAF]
    B --> C[API Gateway / API Management]

    C --> D1[Identity & Access Service]
    C --> D2[Policy Administration Service]
    C --> D3[Workflow & Orchestration Service]
    C --> D4[Product Configuration Service]
    C --> D5[Notification & Communication Service]

    D1 --> E1[(Azure SQL Database)]
    D2 --> E2[(Azure SQL Database)]
    D3 --> E3[(Cosmos DB)]
    D4 --> E4[(Azure Blob Storage)]

    D1 --> F[Azure Service Bus]
    D2 --> F
    D3 --> F
    D4 --> F
    D5 --> F

    F --> G1[Integration Layer]
    F --> G2[Reporting & Analytics]
    F --> G3[Audit & Compliance Services]

    G1 --> H[External Insurance Providers / Brokers]

    D1 --> I[Azure Monitor & Application Insights]
    D2 --> I
    D3 --> I
    D4 --> I
    D5 --> I

    J[GitHub Actions CI/CD Pipelines] --> K[Azure Kubernetes Service / App Services]

    K --> D1
    K --> D2
    K --> D3
    K --> D4
    K --> D5

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Architecture Overview

This architecture represents a scalable cloud-native insurance SaaS platform built on Microsoft Azure using a microservices-based approach.

Entry & Security Layer

Client applications route through Azure Front Door and Web Application Firewall (WAF) to provide:

• global traffic routing
• security protection
• load balancing
• secure external access

API Management centralises routing, authentication, throttling, and service exposure.

Core Platform Services

The platform is separated into independently deployable domain services including:

• Identity & Access Management
• Policy Administration
• Workflow & Orchestration
• Product Configuration
• Notifications & Communications

This approach improves scalability, resilience, deployment flexibility, and team ownership.

Data & Storage

Different storage technologies are used depending on workload requirements:

• Azure SQL Database for transactional policy and customer data
• Cosmos DB for scalable workflow and event-driven processing
• Azure Blob Storage for document and file management

Event-Driven Integration

Azure Service Bus enables asynchronous messaging between services and external integrations.

This supports:

• loose coupling
• improved scalability
• resilient processing
• workflow orchestration
• enterprise integration patterns

External Integrations

The Integration Layer connects with external insurance providers, brokers, third-party APIs, and enterprise systems.

Observability & Reliability

Azure Monitor and Application Insights provide:

• telemetry
• tracing
• monitoring
• alerting
• operational visibility

DevOps & Platform Engineering

Applications are deployed through GitHub Actions CI/CD pipelines into Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and Azure App Services.

This enables:

• automated deployments
• scalable infrastructure
• consistent release processes
• operational maturity
• faster delivery cycles

Engineering Leadership Considerations

The platform design supports:

• multiple Scrum teams
• distributed onshore, offshore, and nearshore delivery models
• scalable SaaS delivery
• engineering governance
• delivery predictability
• operational resilience
• continuous improvement practices