Technical Deployment and Customisation Guide

Introduction

propella.ai provides Sidekick, a customisable AI Assistant platform, as a fully managed deployment within a client’s Microsoft Azure environment. Once deployed, Sidekick becomes the client’s secure, internal AI platform for organisation-wide use.

The platform includes Everyday Assistant and Research Assistant by default, with additional AI Assistants available based on client needs. A detailed architecture overview is provided in Appendix A.

This document outlines the key steps and checklists for deploying the Sidekick platform in Azure, covering access configuration, permission management, and automated infrastructure setup. It also includes estimated architecture and consumption costs based on company size. These steps support a smooth and efficient deployment, with clearly defined responsibilities for both the client and propella.ai.

Microsoft Azure Cost Estimate

For Company Size: ~100 Employees

For a detailed cost breakdown, see Appendix B.

For Company Size: 100-300 Employees

For a detailed cost breakdown, see Appendix C.

Note: Estimated consumption costs are calculated based on high usage scenarios. As adoption scales, an increase in cost is anticipated and indicates successful, ongoing engagement with the platform’s capabilities.

Technical Deployment Steps

This section outlines the deployment sequence for Sidekick in Azure. Client teams are responsible for Steps 1–2 and 4. propella.ai handles Step 3.

⚠️ Note: A user with the Privileged Role Administrator role is required for Steps 1–2 and 4.

Step 1: Confirm Azure Subscription (Client):

Ensure an active Azure subscription is available.

Step 2: Configure Microsoft Entra Group (Client):

1. Create a new Entra Group for the project and add the following members:

• Alistair Toms <alistair.toms@propella.ai>
• Yi Xiang Chee <yixiang.chee@propella.ai>
• Vincent Taneli <vincent.taneli@propella.ai>
• Gus McLennan <gus.mclennan@propella.ai>
• Georgie McLennan <georgie.mclennan@propella.ai>
• Riane Elmoustafa <riane.elmoustafa@propella.ai>

2. Assign Contributor and User Access Administrator roles at the subscription level.

1. Under the Conditions section, select Allow user to assign all roles except privileged administrator roles.

   

2. Once finished, go to Subscription > Access Control (IAM) > Condition column for Entra Group under User Access Administrator > View/Edit > Configure and remove User Access Administrator as Constrain role and save the changes.

3. At the Microsoft Entra ID level, go to Microsoft Entra ID > Roles and Administrators:

1. Permanently assign the Application Administrator role.
2. Temporarily assign Privileged Role Administrator.
3. Once app registration is confirmed by propella.ai, revoke the privileged role.

Step 3: Deploy Terraform (propella.ai):

propella.ai will deploy resources using Terraform scripts to ensure consistency and efficiency. This includes:

• Resource provisioning via infrastructure-as-code
• Custom UI configurations
• Creating a resource group and provisioning the Storage Account for knowledge base content
• Sharing the Storage Account name with the client for Step 5

Step 4: Enable Data Steward Access (Client, post-deployment):

• Create a security group named sg_data_steward
• Add designated Data Stewards to the group
• Assign the Storage Blob Data Contributor and Reader role to this group on the provisioned Storage Account (not at the subscription level)

Note: propella.ai will provide the storage account name once deployment is complete.

Appendix A: Architecture Overview

The following diagram illustrates the overall solution architecture for the solution.

Appendix B: Detailed Cost Breakdown for Company Size: ~100 employees

1. Architecture Costs: Basic cost for setting up your Azure environment for the Sidekick Platform.

2. Consumption Costs: The cost is estimated at heavy usage. As usage increases, the cost will go up, which is exactly what you’d expect and want to see.

3. Microsoft Support Cost: $0. Can opt it in as needed

Disclaimer: All prices shown are in Australia – Dollar ($) AUD. This is a summary estimate, not a quote. For up to date pricing information please visit https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/

This estimate was created at 4/7/2025 5:02:09 AM UTC.

Appendix C: Detailed Cost Breakdown for Company Size: 100-300 employees

1. Architecture Costs: Basic cost for setting up your Azure environment for the Sidekick Platform.

• Consumption Costs: The cost is estimated at heavy usage. As usage increases, the cost will go up, which is exactly what you’d expect and want to see.

3. Microsoft Support Cost: $0. Can opt it in as needed

Disclaimer: All prices shown are in Australia – Dollar ($) AUD. This is a summary estimate, not a quote. For up to date pricing information please visit https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/calculator/

This estimate was created at 7 April 2025 5:16:30 AM UTC.