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TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific

SPONSORPERSPECTIVE

Cloudtodayisabouttotalbusinesstransformation.Whereasbeforetheconversationwasaboutthecost-cuttingbenefitsofthecloud,moreandmoreweseeattentionshiftingtoitsmorerevolutionaryoutcomes.Withtherightmindset,thecloudcanboostorganizationalresilience,unlockproductivity,generatepredictiveinsights,andpowerinnovation.

CloudmomentumisbuildingacrossAsiaPacific.Covid-19hasalsoopenedoureyestohowinterconnectedoureconomiesandworkforcesare,acceleratingtheadoptionofcloudacrossaspectrumofenterpriseapplications.Forbusinesses,thecloudiskeytobuildingcompaniesthatcanadaptandgrowintoday’svolatileworld.

“Themainquestiononthemindsofbusinessleadersisnotwhethertomovetothecloudanymore,butwhenandhow.Smallandmedium-sizedenterprisesaremovingfast,andlargeenterprisesaretransitioning,too,butataslowerpace.Forthem,thetaskofdigitaltransformationtendstobemorecomplex,requiringcarefulplanning,”saysLagnajitPatnaik,regionaldirectorandheadofcloudERPCoE,atSAPAsiaPacificJapan.There’salsothequestionaboutcloudsecurityandhesitationtoinitiatethelarge-scalechangeneededtostretchthecloud’sfullpotential.

Successfulcloudadopterscanattesttotheall-hands-on-deckmentalityneededforcloudadoption.RatherthanapproachingthecloudasasimpleITupgrade,organizationssuchasZespri,MahindraLogistics,Nissha,andSampoernaKayoealsofocusedondevelopingnewskillsamongtheirworkforcesandchangingheartsandmindsetswithregardstocloudtransformation.You’llseethattheeffortwaswellworthit;withclosealignmentofITstrategyandbusinessgoalsontopofenterprise-wideengagement,thesecompaniescameoutasmoreagileandfuture-prooforganizations.

Thereisnouniversalapproachtocloudtransformation,buttherearebestpracticesthateveryaspiringcloudmovercanstrivetoward.We’vesponsoredresearchbyHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicestogatherthestoriesofsuccessfulcloudadoptersacrossAsiaPacifictoexaminehowthey’veleveragedthecloudforgrowth.WeinviteyoutoreadthisreportandtaketheseprinciplesasaNorthStaronyourownjourneytobecomingacloud-enabled,thrivingorganization.

TransformationintheCloud:

DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific

Thebenefitsofcloudtechnologyhavematuredbeyondcostsavingstoincludeincreasingorganizationalagility,resilience,andconnectivity.ThewaysomanycompanieswereabletorespondquicklytotheCovid-19pandemicisproofofthosebenefits,andtheoutbreakactuallyacceleratedorganizationalcommitmenttocloudsolutions.Infact,O’ReillyMedia’s2020globalsurveyshowedthat88%oforganizationsalreadyusecloudand25%plantomovealltheirapplicationstoacloudcontextinthenextyear.1

IntheAsia-Pacificregion,leadingorganizationsareleveragingintelligenttechnologiesthroughtheuseofcloudservicestoadvanceoperations,strengthencorefunctionsandcompetencies,andmakefasterandbetter-informeddecisionsbasedonreal-timedata.Suchbusinessesprovidevividevidenceofthepowerofcloudtechnologytobuildorganizationalresilienceanddeliverenterprisegrowth.EffectivecloudadoptiongoesfarbeyondanIT-ledtechnologyupgrade,however.Greaterbenefitscanberealizedthroughusingtechnologyasacatalystforenterprise-widetransformation.

“Consistently,thethreebiggestmotivationsanddriversforembarkingoncloud-transformationjourneysaretheneedsforgreateragility,scalability,andflexibility,”saysAlexHilton,CEOoftheUK-basedCloudIndustryForum,atradeassociationthatseekstoeducateandinformend-userbusinessesandcloudproviders.

O’ReillyMedia,“CloudAdoptionin2020,”May19,2020.

/radar/cloud-

adoption-in-2020/.

HIGHLIGHTS

CompaniesintheAsia-Pacificregion,acrossavarietyofsectorsandindustries,areattheforefrontofexploringcloud’stransformationalbenefits.

Thereisnoone-size-fits-allformulaforembarkingonacloud-transformationjourney—butifthejourneyistailoredtoanenterprise’sspecificgoalsandcontext,itcandelivertremendousimpact.

Tocapturebenefitsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.

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“Weplannedourtechroadmaptointegrateourcorebusinessfunctionsand,beyondthat,togiveustheflexibilitytousedifferentproductstoalignwithourcustomers’needs,”saysYogeshPatel,CFOatMahindraLogistics.

Whenapproachedaspartofastrategicroadmap,cloudservesasthebackboneforstrengtheningcorefunctionssuchasfinance,supplychain,andhumanresourcemanagement—leadingtoimprovedoperationalefficiencyandproductivity.Inaddition,expandingcloudservicesacrossthebusinessnetworkcanpavethewayforthetransformationoftheentirevalue-chain.Cloudalsogivesbusinessestheflexibilitytoquicklyscaletomeetnewneeds.Ultimately,cloudbuildsagile,responsiveorganizationsbyprovidingreal-timepredictiveinsights,andenablesbusinessestobecomeincreasinglyproactive—atspeed.

Everyorganization,andeveryindustry,hasdifferentneeds.Thereisnoone-size-fits-allformulaforembarkingonacloud-transformationjourney—butifthejourneyistailoredtoanenterprise’sspecificgoalsandcontext,itcandelivertremendousimpact.Often,ITissues—suchasend-of-lifehardwareorexpireddata-centercontracts—oreffortstocontaincostsactastriggersforconsideringlarge-scaletechnologychanges.Whilethesecompellingeventsmaybeginapathofchange,theorganizationsthatreapthefullbenefitsofthecloudapproachtechnologyasawaytoredesignbusinessprocessesandtransformtheirorganizations.Doingsotakesmorethaninvestinginnewtechnology.Indeed,successfultransformationrequiresclosealignmentofITstrategywithoverallbusinessgoals.

Asafirststep,businessesshouldevaluatethemetricsandkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)theywishtoimproveuponandplantheircloudtransformationaroundclearlydefinedgoals.“IfcloudisapproachedassimplyanITupgrade,businessesruntheriskofspendingalotofmoneybutendingupwiththesamesystemsincloudwithlittleimprovement,”Hiltonexplains.“Itisimportanttosetexpectationsaroundwhatyouhopetoachievefromabusinessperspectiveandbepragmaticaboutwhatbestsuitsyourneeds.”

Thisreportprofileshowforward-lookingorganizationsacrossAsiaPacificaretakingadvantageofcloud’smanybenefits,anditexaminesthestrategiesandapproachestheyhavefollowedtotrulytransformtheirbusinesses.Lastly,itexploreshowAsia-Pacificorganizationshaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneysandoffersasetofcommonpracticesthatothercompaniescanembracetounlockthefullbenefitsofcloudtechnology.

MoreFlexibilityandOtherBenefits

CompaniesintheAsia-Pacificregion,acrossavarietyofsectorsandindustries,areattheforefrontofexploringcloud’stransformationalbenefits.ConsiderMahindraLogistics,anIndia-based,third-partylogisticsserviceproviderofferingbusiness-to-businesssupplychainmanagementservicesspanningintegrateddistribution,transportation,last-miledistribution,storage,warehousing,sortcenters,andreturns-processingcenters.Eachofthesefunctionsrequiresdifferentprocessesandsystemsthataretailoredtocustomers’needs.Thecompanyneededtechnologythatwouldallowflexibilityarounditscustomers’needswhileprovidinggreatervisibilityandcontrol.Cloudenabledtheorganizationtointegrateandoptimizecorefunctions—leadingtogreaterefficiencyandreturns—andtobecomeagilesoitcanrespondtochange.

“Wesetouttoleveragetechnologytoenhancesynergywithcustomersandincreaseoperationalefficiencyforbetteroutcomes—includingbetterservicelevels,improvedprofitability,costoptimization,andbeingabletoquotemoreefficientlyfornewbusinessesandimproveourwinpercentage,”saysYogeshPatel,CFOatMahindraLogistics.

MahindraLogisticsbeganitscloud-transformationjourneythroughanenterpriseresourceplanningsystemthatintegratedcorebusinessfunctionssuchasfinance,procurement,materialmanagement,andHR.Cloudtechnologyenabledthecompanytounifyprocessesacrossdisparatesystemsandgainanend-to-endviewofeachprocess.“Previously,asingletransportationtripwouldhavebeeninitiatedinonesystemandtrackedinadifferentsystem,andfinaldocumentationwasgeneratedseparately,oftenasahardcopy.Nowwehaveanintegratedsystemforthefulllifecycleofanytrip,whichislinkedtotherevenueandaccountingsystem—vastlyreducingeffortintermsofmanpower,ensuringconsistency,andreducingthecycletimetobill,”saysPatel.

Cloudenablesinteroperability,butitalsoprovidestheefficiencyofnotusingmoretechthanyouneed,andtheflexibilitytoadjusttochangingrequirements.“Weplannedourtechroadmaptointegrateourcorebusinessfunctionsand,beyondthat,togiveustheflexibilitytousedifferentproductstoalignwithourcustomers’needs.Werunmultiplewarehousemanagementsystemsortransportsolutions

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dependingonwhatintegratesbestwithourcustomer’sproduct.Butthesystemisfluidandflexibleandeasilyscalable.Wedon’tgetstuckwithapplicationswedon’tneed,”saysPatel.

Inanotherexample,Zespri,NewZealand’slargesthorticulturalexporter,recentlybeganalarge-scaledigitaltransformationprogramtomodernizeallaspectsofitsbusiness.AlthoughZespriexportskiwifruittomorethan50countries,accountingfor30%oftheglobalvolume,thecompanywasrelyingonprocessesandsystemsthatweredesignednearlytwodecadesago.“Wemovedourtraditionalon-premiseslegacyenvironmenttocloudafewyearsago,butnowwe’reembarkingonafull-scaletransformation,”saysZespri’schiefdigitalofficer,DaveScullin.“It’sstillearlydays,butthisprogramwilldigitizekeyareasacrossourinterdependentsupplychainandprovidestablesecuresystemsandapplicationstoallowourpeopleandourgrowerstobemoreefficient,effective,andproductive.”

Forinstance,withthehelpofitscloudcapabilities,Zespriwillbeabletocollectandanalyzereal-timedatathroughoutthesupplychainandusethisinformationtomakebetterdecisionsaroundforecasting,storage,andfreightplanning.“Ourcompanyandourgrowerswillbenefitfromstreamlinedprocessesbasedonrobustdata,forinstance,aroundagriculturalpractices,andfruitvolumeandquality.Wewillalsodevelopcustomizedplatformstotraceissuesthatourconsumerscareaboutsuchassustainabilitygoalsandenvironmentalperformance,”saysScullin.“And,mostimportantly,thistechnologywillgiveustheabilitytoscaleforgrowth.Wehavesignificantdemandforourproduct,andwewanttocontinuetoscaleandoperateinmultiplecountriesandexpandourcapabilityonastableplatform.”

BetterDataUsage,BetterOutcomes

Cloudalsohelpsensurebusinesscontinuity.Infact,somebusinessesthathadalreadyinvestedincloudmanagedtominimizedisruptioncausedbytheCovid-19pandemic.OneexampleisNissha,acompanybasedinJapanthatdevelopsandmanufacturesindustrialmaterials,componentsfordevicessuchassmartphones,andmedicalequipment.“WehadnoproblemswithbusinesscontinuityduringthepandemicasallNisshaITservicesareaccessiblefromanywhere,”saysYoshitamiAoyama,seniorvicepresident,chiefinformationofficer(CIO),andchiefsupplychainofficeratNissha.“Ifanything,thepandemicincreasedusageofourapplications,suchaschatbot.”AoyamaaddsthatNissha’schatbothasgreatlyimprovedinternalprocessesbyprovidingstaffwithself-helpsolutionsforanythingfromresettingapasswordtoproducingreports.

Businessescanleveragecloud-enabledintelligenttechnologiessuchasroboticprocessautomation(RPA)and

“Cloudhashadarevolutionaryimpactontheworkofdigitaldepartmentsandemployees.Employeesare

lessburdenedwithinfrastructureoperationsandcanfocusonimprovementandinnovation,”saysSoohoLee,CIOatEcoProBM.

machinelearningtofreeemployeesfromspendingtimeonrepetitiveormundanetaskssothattheycaninsteadfocusonimprovingbusinessoutcomes.“Ouruseofcloudtechnologyencompassesartificialintelligence,chatbot,andRPA,leadingtoefficiencygains.OurgreatestimprovementscomefromRPA.Wehavesaved40,000hourssincewebeganimplementingRPAtwoyearsago,”saysAoyama.“What’smore,processautomationfreesemployeesfromhavingtospendtimeonrepetitivetasks.Asaresult,wehavefoundthatemployeescanspendmoretimeonhigher-valuetasks,andthishasgreatlyimprovedemployeesatisfactionandmorale.”

EcoProBM,aKoreanmanufacturerofadvancedmaterials,providesanotherexampleofhowcloudtechnologyhasenhancedproductivityandefficiencywhilealsofosteringacultureofinnovation.“Cloudhashadarevolutionaryimpactontheworkofdigitaldepartmentsandemployees.Employeesarelessburdenedwithinfrastructureoperationsandcanfocusonimprovementandinnovation,”saysSoohoLee,chiefinformationofficeratEcoProBM.

Thecompanyproducescathodematerialsforuseinelectric-vehiclebatteries,amongotherproducts,andembarkedonacloudjourneyaspartofanenterprise-widedigitaltransformation.“Wearemovingfromatraditionalmanufacturingcompanytobecomingfarmoredigitallyinnovative.Toprovidethebestvaluetoclientsthroughourcloudjourney,ourintentionwastooptimizeourprocesses,andourentirevaluechain,throughdigitizationandtobuildaflexibledigitalplatformthatcanmeetourglobalmanagementstrategy’sobjectives,”saysLee.Thejourneyisbearingfruit.“We’veseenthevalueofcloudaswe’vebeenabletoflexibly,andatscale,expandourproductionbaseandintegrateouroperations,”hesays.“We’vealsoreducedmanhoursandbuiltamoreefficientoperatingenvironment.”

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“OurgreatestimprovementscomefromRPA.Wehavesaved40,000hourssincewebeganimplementingRPAtwoyearsago,”saysYoshitamiAoyama,seniorvicepresident,chiefinformationofficer,andchiefsupplychainofficeratNissha.

Organizationsproducevastamountsofdata,andcloudoffersawaytoharnessthepowerofdataforbetterdecisionmaking.“Dataisthe‘oil’orthecurrencythatexistswithinmanyorganizationstoday.Howtheyharnessthatisfundamentalforcompetitiveadvantage,”saystheCloudIndustryForum’sHilton.Forinstance,cloudenablesorganizationstoperformsimulationsandscenarioplanningbasedonpossiblebusinessoutcomes,andtoevolvefrommakingdecisionsthatarereactivetomakingdecisionsthatarepredictive,proactive,andbasedonreal-timedata.

OneorganizationthatisreapingthebenefitsofgreaterdatavisibilityisSampoernaKayoe,amajormanufacturerofengineeredwood,basedinJakarta,Indonesia.Thecompanywasoneofthefirstinthatnationtorolloutcloudtechnologyacrossits16factories.WidjayaHambali,headofinformationandcommunicationtechnologyatSampoernaKayoe,saystheintegratedsystemthecompanyhaserectedthroughcloudtechnologyallowsfasteraccesstodatawithouthavingtoaskseparatefactoriestoproducetime-consumingreports.“Wehavethousandsofstock-keepingunitsspanningmanycategoriesofwoodproducts.Wehavebeenabletosee,ingreaterdetail,whichproductsaresellingwell,andwecanrespondfastertowhatourcustomerswant.We’vealsobeenabletoimproveprofitabilityacrossdifferentproductlines,”saysHambali.

JoeWeinman,digitalstrategistandauthorofCloudonomicsandDigitalDisciplines,saysthatthelogictyingcloudtodataisstraightforward.Organizationsrunondata,andthecloudisanaturalplacetoaggregateandprocessthedata.

“Organizationscanbenefitfromoneoffourdigitalstrategies:betterprocesses,includingresourceuseandorganization;betterproductsandservices;bettercustomerrelationships;andbetterinnovation,”hesays.“Additionally,productsandservicescancreateexperiencesandtransformationsbyusingplatformstocollect,analyze,andsharedatatogetherwithotherecosystemparticipants.”CustomerrelationshipscanbeenhancedbycollectingwhatWeinmancallsABCDEFGdata—attitudes(e.g.,viasentimentanalysis),behaviors(capturedbyconnectedproducts),contexts,demographics,externaldata,friendsandfollowers(socialgraphdata),andgoals.“Inshort,virtuallyanybusinessstrategytodayneedsadigitalstrategy,andthat

digitalstrategyislikelybasedondata,andaggregatedandanalyzedinthecloud,”saysWeinman.

OvercomingAdoptionReluctance

AlthoughleadingcompaniesinAsiaPacificarebenefitingfromcloudtechnology,othersarehesitanttoexplorewhatsuchinnovationcoulddofortheirorganizations.Commonbarrierstoadoptionincludesecurityconcernsandresistancetochange.Butthesebarrierscanbeovercome.“Thereisstillaperceptionthatcloudmaybeunsafe,particularlyregardinghackers,securitybreaches,andransomware,”saysHilton.“Butcloudprovidershavecomprehensivelyaddressedthoseconcernsthroughdata-securitycontrolsandactuallyprovidefarmorerobustandsecureinfrastructurethantraditionalon-premisesdatacenters.Andtherearemultiplelayersofprotectionfordisasterrecovery.”

“Ofcourse,it’snotaneasyjourney,”saysEcoProBM’sLee.“Itwasachallengetodispelconcerns,particularlyaroundsecurity,thatareoftenassociatedwithcloud.Buteachelementofconcernwasverifiedseveraltimesthroughalong-termproofofconcept,andbyemphasizingthebenefitsthatthecompanycouldgain,wewereabletomoveforwardwithourcloudjourney.”

AtNissha,securityhasactuallyincreasedsincethecompanybeganusingcloudtechnology.“Ourregularsecurityassessmentsshowthatouroverallsecurity,serversecurity,networksecurity,clientsecurity,andbusinesscontinuitycapabilitieshaveallimproved,”saysNissha’sAoyama.

Companiesacrosstheregionmayalsobereluctanttoembarkonwidescaletransformationjourneysbecauselarge-scaleorganizationalchangecanbedifficult.Peoplewhohavebeenusingsystemsforyearsmayberesistanttolearningsomethingnew.Forexample,atSampoernaKayoe,manyemployeeswereexcitedaboutusingthenewsystemastheysawwhatbenefitsitcouldbring,butothersstruggledtoadjust.“Changecanbedifficult.Therefore,weinvestedinsixweeksoftrainingforaround500employeestohelpeveryonecometotermswiththechangesandlearnhowtousethenewsystem,”saysSampoernaKayoe’sHambali.“Oncepeopleunderstoodhowthenewsystemcouldhelpandwhywewereusingit,thetrainingpaidoff.”

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“Organizationscanbenefitfromoneoffourdigitalstrategies:betterprocesses,includingresourceuseandorganization;betterproductsandservices;bettercustomerrelationships;andbetterinnovation.”

JoeWeinman,digitalstrategistandauthor

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“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysDaveScullin,chiefdigitalofficeratZespri.

BestPracticestoStriveFor

Tocapturebenefitsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.“WhileonthesurfacetransformationmayseemlikeanITupgrade,thenon-techelementisfarmoreimportant,andittakesfullcommitmentandinvolvementatalllevelsoftheorganization,”saysMahindraLogistics’Patel.

Zespriisonecompanythatexplicitlyapproacheditscloudtransformationjourneyasanenterprise-widebusinessprogram.“AlthoughobviouslythisisanIT-enabledprogram,weviewitstrictlyasabusinessinitiativeasouraimsaretomodernizeallourbusinessprocessesandsystemsandconfigurethemtomeetfuturedemand.Weareinvestingourtime,money,andresourcesindevelopingthesesystems,andensuringthatourpeoplehavethesupporttheyneedtomakethisasuccess,”saysZespri’sScullin.

InsightsfromexpertsincloudtechnologyandtheexperiencesofbusinessleadersintheAsia-Pacificregionwhohaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneyshighlightsixbestpracticesthatorganizationscanembracetoreapthefullbenefitsofcloudtechnology:

Considerthebusinesscontext.

Asafirststep,organizationsshouldconsiderwhattheywanttoachieveandhowcloudtechnologycansupporttheirgoals.“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysScullin.“Yes,doyoursums—calculatethetotalcostofownershipforallthevariousoptionsandworkoutwhat’sbestforyou.But,moreimportantly,considerhowthetechnologycanalignyourdigitalstrategywithyourbusinessgoals.”

Getyourhouseinorder.

Implementingnewtechnologyisagoodopportunitytoassessyourdata,getridofobsoleteorunnecessarycontent,and

makesurethedataisclean.“Themoredatayouhavetostore,themoreitcosts,”saysHambali.“Makesureyouonlykeepwhatyouneedanddoabasiccleanupbeforeapplyingitinanewenvironment—youdon’twanttoputjunkinthere.”

Gainexecutivesupport.

“Preparinganorganizationforbusinesstransformationrequiresleadershipsponsorship,vision,andcommitmenttodriveitforward,”saysScullin.“AtZespri,ourboardiscommittedtothisprogram’ssuccessandourentireleadershipteamispartofthesteeringcommittee.WeapproachedthisnotasanITupgradebutasalarge-scaleglobalrolloutofsystemsencompassingtraining,changemanagement,processdesign,solutiondesign,governance,andarchitecture.Wealsodevelopedtranchefundingtode-risktheprogramanddeliverinmanageablechunks.”

Involvetheendusersatthebeginning.

InPatel’sexperienceatMahindraLogistics,successdependsonITandendusersworkinghandinhandonsystemdesign.“Thenuancesofeachbusinessfunctionarebestknownbythepeoplewhoexecutethem.IfcloudtransformationisdesignedanddrivenbyITalone,youruntheriskofhavingproductsrejectedbyteamsoperatingthosesystems.ITcannotaddressproblemswithoutconsultationaroundwhatneedstobefixed.OurapproachwasthatITshouldbetheenabler,butvariousbusinessoperationsandfunctionsshouldbeinvolvedandgivenownership.”

Haveaclearroadmap.

BusinesstransformationrequiresaclearroadmapthatdefinesthedesiredoutcomesthroughclearKPIsandmetricsandalsosetsmilestonesandtimelines.“Digitaltransformationdoesn’thavetobeoceanboiling,”saysHilton.“Youdon’thavetotakeonamassiveupheavalandcompletelyripeverythingout.Instead,businessescanprioritizecertainprojects,functions,orissueswherecloudcanenhancecapabilities.”Oncethegroundworkhasbeendoneandthebusinessreapsthebenefits,thefoundationisinplaceforfurthertransformation.

Investinpeople.

Adoptionrequirestrainingandchangemanagement.“Trainingandupskillingarecritical.Quitesimply,ifyoudon’tadequatelytrainpeopleinhowtousethenewsystem,theywon’tuseit,”saysPatel.

Conclusion

Forward-thinkingorganizationsinAsiaPacifichaveharnessedthepotentialofcloudtechnologytobuildintegratedsystemsthatprovidevisibilityandfasteraccesstodata,allowingfor

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THECLOUDINACTION

BusinessTransformationatSpeed

Threeyearsago,GPBatteriesembarkedonadistributionshifttoe-commerce,settingthecompanyonacourseoftransformation.PartoftheGoldPeakGroupinHongKong,GPBatteriesisaglobalbatterymanufacturer.Thecompanychosecloudtechnologytohelpimplementitsgrowthstrategyandrolloute-commercecapabilitiesforbusiness-to-businessandbusiness-to-consumeroperations.“Insteadofbuildingsystemsblockbyblock,werealizedtheonlywaywecouldmakechangesfastenoughtoexpandanddeliverthee-commercebusinesswouldbetousecloudsolutions,”saysWilsonWong,headofIT,GroupIT.

CloudtechnologyenabledGPBatteriestomovefromorganizationalsiloswhenitcametodataandoperationstoanintegratedapproachthatopenedthegatewaytoe-commerce.“Previously,theorganizationwasverysiloed;eachareahaditsownsolutionsandpractices.Nowwehaveintegratedplatforms—forinstance,oneplatformforsales,marketing,andcustomerservicesandanotherformanufacturing,finance,operations,logistics,anddistribution.Andtheseplatformshavetheirownintegrationtoolsgivingusaholisticviewofglobaloperations,”saysWong.

Theseintegratedsystemsgiveseniorstakeholders,boardmembers,andalldecisionmakersinsightintoallaspectsofGPBatteries’businessandthemarket.“Wecanrespondquicklytoanymanagementinquiry,notjustforIToperationsbutacrossthewholeorganization,”Wongexplains.“Wehaveimmediateaccesstoanyinformationweneed.Andwecanmakedecisionsbasedonreal-timeinformation.Forinstance,itusedtotakeweekstogeneratereportsonglobalcustomerstatistics.Now,it’saclickaway.”

Anotherbenefithasbeenincreasedsecurity.Thecompany’sabilitytoprotectitscustomer,financial,andmanufacturingdatahasreceivedrecognitionandagoldmedalfromtheHongKongPersonalDataPrivacyOrdinance.“Cloudsecurityisfarbetterthanthatofourlegacysystem,”hesays.

Executivesupporthasensuredthesuccessofthecloudjourney.“ImplementingcloudisnotanITproject—it’s