云端转型：推动亚太地区企业增长-12正式版

WHITEPAPERTransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacificSPONSORPERSPECTIVECloudtodayisabouttotalbusinesstransformation.Whereasbeforetheconversationwasaboutthecost-cuttingbenefitsofthecloud,moreandmoreweseeattentionshiftingtoitsmorerevolutionaryoutcomes.Withtherightmindset,thecloudcanboostorganizationalresilience,unlockproductivity,generatepredictiveinsights,andpowerinnovation.Successfulcloudadopterscanattesttotheall-hands-on-deckmentalityneededforcloudadoption.RatherthanapproachingthecloudasasimpleITupgrade,organizationssuchasZespri,MahindraLogistics,Nissha,andSampoernaKayoealsofocusedondevelopingnewskillsamongtheirworkforcesandchangingheartsandmindsetswithregardstocloudtransformation.You’llseethattheeffortwaswellworthit;withclosealignmentofITstrategyandbusinessgoalsontopofenterprise-wideengagement,thesecompaniescameoutasmoreagileandfuture-prooforganizations.CloudmomentumisbuildingacrossAsiaPacific.Covid-19hasalsoopenedoureyestohowinterconnectedoureconomiesandworkforcesare,acceleratingtheadoptionofcloudacrossaspectrumofenterpriseapplications.Forbusinesses,thecloudiskeytobuildingcompaniesthatcanadaptandgrowintoday’svolatileworld.Thereisnouniversalapproachtocloudtransformation,buttherearebestpracticesthateveryaspiringcloudmovercanstrivetoward.We’vesponsoredresearchbyHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicestogatherthestoriesofsuccessfulcloudadoptersacrossAsiaPacifictoexaminehowthey’veleveragedthecloudforgrowth.WeinviteyoutoreadthisreportandtaketheseprinciplesasaNorthStaronyourownjourneytobecomingacloud-enabled,thrivingorganization.“Themainquestiononthemindsofbusinessleadersisnotwhether

tomovetothecloudanymore,butwhenandhow.Smallandmedium-sizedenterprisesaremovingfast,andlargeenterprisesaretransitioning,too,butataslowerpace.Forthem,thetaskofdigitaltransformationtendstobemorecomplex,requiringcarefulplanning,”saysLagnajitPatnaik,regionaldirectorandheadofcloudERPCoE,atSAPAsiaPacificJapan.There’salsothequestionaboutcloudsecurityandhesitationtoinitiatethelarge-scalechangeneededtostretchthecloud’sfullpotential.TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacificThebenefitsofcloudtechnologyhavematuredbeyondH

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Scostsavingstoincludeincreasingorganizationalagility,resilience,andconnectivity.ThewaysomanycompanieswereabletorespondquicklytotheCovid-19pandemicisproofofthosebenefits,andtheoutbreakactuallyacceleratedorganizationalcommitmenttocloudsolutions.Infact,O’ReillyMedia’s2020globalsurveyshowedthat88%oforganizationsalreadyusecloudand25%plantomovealltheirapplicationstoaCompaniesintheAsia-Pacificregion,acrossavarietyofsectorsandindustries,areattheforefrontofexploringcloud’stransformationalbenefits.Thereisnoone-size-fits-allformulaforembarkingonacloud-transformationjourney—butifthejourneyistailoredtoanenterprise’sspecificgoalsandcontext,itcandelivertremendousimpact.cloudcontextinthenextyear.1IntheAsia-Pacificregion,leadingorganizationsareleveragingintelligenttechnologiesthroughtheuseofcloudservicestoadvanceoperations,strengthencorefunctionsandcompetencies,andmakefasterandbetter-informeddecisionsbasedonreal-timedata.Suchbusinessesprovidevividevidenceofthepowerofcloudtechnologytobuildorganizationalresilienceanddeliverenterprisegrowth.EffectivecloudadoptiongoesfarbeyondanIT-ledtechnologyupgrade,however.Greaterbenefitscanberealizedthroughusingtechnologyasacatalystforenterprise-widetransformation.“Consistently,thethreebiggestmotivationsanddriversforembarkingoncloud-transformationjourneysaretheneedsforgreateragility,scalability,andflexibility,”saysAlexHilton,CEOoftheUK-basedCloudIndustryForum,atradeassociationthatseekstoeducateandinformend-userbusinessesandcloudproviders.Tocapturebenefitsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.1O’ReillyMedia,“CloudAdoptionin2020,”May19,2020./radar/cloud-adoption-in-2020/.WhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific1HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServices“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.”MoreFlexibilityandOtherBenefitsCompaniesintheAsia-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.Thisreportprofileshowforward-lookingorganizationsacrossAsiaPacificaretakingadvantageofcloud’smanybenefits,anditexaminesthestrategiesandapproachestheyhavefollowedtotrulytransformtheirbusinesses.Lastly,itexploreshowAsia-Pacificorganizationshaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneysandoffersasetofcommonpracticesthatothercompaniescanembracetounlockthefullbenefitsofcloudtechnology.Cloudenablesinteroperability,butitalsoprovidestheefficiencyofnotusingmoretechthanyouneed,andtheflexibilitytoadjusttochangingrequirements.“Weplannedourtechroadmaptointegrateourcorebusinessfunctionsand,beyondthat,togiveustheflexibilitytousedifferentproductstoalignwithourcustomers’needs.WerunmultiplewarehousemanagementsystemsortransportsolutionsWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific2HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesdependingonwhatintegratesbestwithourcustomer’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.”“Cloudhashadarevolutionaryimpactontheworkofdigitaldepartmentsandemployees.Employeesarelessburdenedwithinfrastructureoperationsandcanfocusonimprovementandinnovation,”saysSoohoLee,CIOatEcoProBM.Forinstance,withthehelpofitscloudcapabilities,Zespriwillbeabletocollectandanalyzereal-timedatathroughoutthesupplychainandusethisinformationtomakebetterdecisionsaroundforecasting,storage,andfreightplanning.“Ourcompanyandourgrowerswillbenefitfromstreamlinedprocessesbasedonrobustdata,forinstance,aroundagriculturalpractices,andfruitvolumeandquality.Wewillalsodevelopcustomizedplatformstotraceissuesthatourconsumerscareaboutsuchassustainabilitygoalsandenvironmentalperformance,”saysScullin.“And,mostimportantly,thistechnologywillgiveustheabilitytoscaleforgrowth.Wehavesignificantdemandforourproduct,andwewanttocontinuetoscaleandoperateinmultiplecountriesandexpandourcapabilityonastableplatform.”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.”BetterDataUsage,BetterOutcomesCloudalsohelpsensurebusinesscontinuity.Infact,somebusinessesthathadalreadyinvestedincloudmanagedtominimizedisruptioncausedbytheCovid-19pandemic.OneexampleisNissha,acompanybasedinJapanthatdevelopsandmanufacturesindustrialmaterials,componentsfordevicessuchassmartphones,andmedicalequipment.“WehadnoproblemswithbusinesscontinuityduringthepandemicasallNisshaITservicesareaccessiblefromanywhere,”saysYoshitamiAoyama,seniorvicepresident,chiefinformationofficer(CIO),andchiefsupplychainofficeratNissha.“Ifanything,thepandemicincreasedusageofourapplications,suchaschatbot.”AoyamaaddsthatNissha’schatbothasgreatlyimprovedinternalprocessesbyprovidingstaffwithself-helpsolutionsforanythingfromresettingapasswordtoproducingreports.Businessescanleveragecloud-enabledintelligenttechnologiessuchasroboticprocessautomation(RPA)andWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific3HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServices“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.digitalstrategyislikelybasedondata,andaggregatedandanalyzedinthecloud,”saysWeinman.OvercomingAdoptionReluctanceAlthoughleadingcompaniesinAsiaPacificarebenefitingfromcloudtechnology,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.”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,andthatWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific4“Organizationscanbenefitfromoneoffourdigitalstrategies:betterprocesses,includingresourceuseandorganization;betterproductsandservices;bettercustomerrelationships;andbetterinnovation.”JoeWeinman,digitalstrategistandauthorHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesmakesurethedataisclean.“Themoredatayouhavetostore,themoreitcosts,”saysHambali.“Makesureyouonlykeepwhatyouneedanddoabasiccleanupbeforeapplyingitinanewenvironment—youdon’twanttoputjunkinthere.”“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysDaveScullin,chiefdigitalofficeratZespri.Gainexecutivesupport.“Preparinganorganizationforbusinesstransformationrequiresleadershipsponsorship,vision,andcommitmenttodriveitforward,”saysScullin.“AtZespri,ourboardiscommittedtothisprogram’ssuccessandourentireleadershipteamispartofthesteeringcommittee.WeapproachedthisnotasanITupgradebutasalarge-scaleglobalrolloutofsystemsencompassingtraining,changemanagement,processdesign,solutiondesign,governance,andarchitecture.Wealsodevelopedtranchefundingtode-risktheprogramanddeliverinmanageablechunks.”BestPracticestoStriveForTocapturebenefitsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.“WhileonthesurfacetransformationmayseemlikeanITupgrade,thenon-techelementisfarmoreimportant,andittakesfullcommitmentandinvolvementatalllevelsoftheorganization,”saysMahindraLogistics’Patel.Zespriisonecompanythatexplicitlyapproacheditscloudtransformationjourneyasanenterprise-widebusinessprogram.“AlthoughobviouslythisisanIT-enabledprogram,weviewitstrictlyasabusinessinitiativeasouraimsaretomodernizeallourbusinessprocessesandsystemsandconfigurethemtomeetfuturedemand.Weareinvestingourtime,money,andresourcesindevelopingthesesystems,andensuringthatourpeoplehavethesupporttheyneedtomakethisasuccess,”saysZespri’sScullin.Involvetheendusersatthebeginning.InPatel’sexperienceatMahindraLogistics,successdependsonITandendusersworkinghandinhandonsystemdesign.“Thenuancesofeachbusinessfunctionarebestknownbythepeoplewhoexecutethem.IfcloudtransformationisdesignedanddrivenbyITalone,youruntheriskofhavingproductsrejectedbyteamsoperatingthosesystems.ITcannotaddressproblemswithoutconsultationaroundwhatneedstobefixed.OurapproachwasthatITshouldbetheenabler,butvariousbusinessoperationsandfunctionsshouldbeinvolvedandgivenownership.”Haveaclearroadmap.BusinesstransformationrequiresaclearroadmapthatdefinesthedesiredoutcomesthroughclearKPIsandmetricsandalsosetsmilestonesandtimelines.“Digitaltransformationdoesn’thavetobeoceanboiling,”saysHilton.“Youdon’thavetotakeonamassiveupheavalandcompletelyripeverythingout.Instead,businessescanprioritizecertainprojects,functions,orissueswherecloudcanenhancecapabilities.”Oncethegroundworkhasbeendoneandthebusinessreapsthebenefits,thefoundationisinplaceforfurthertransformation.InsightsfromexpertsincloudtechnologyandtheexperiencesofbusinessleadersintheAsia-Pacificregionwhohaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneyshighlightsixbestpracticesthatorganizationscanembracetoreapthefullbenefitsofcloudtechnology:Considerthebusinesscontext.Asafirststep,organizationsshouldconsiderwhattheywanttoachieveandhowcloudtechnologycansupporttheirgoals.“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysScullin.“Yes,doyoursums—calculatethetotalcostofownershipforallthevariousoptionsandworkoutwhat’sbestforyou.But,moreimportantly,considerhowthetechnologycanalignyourdigitalstrategywithyourbusinessgoals.”Investinpeople.Adoptionrequirestrainingandchangemanagement.“Trainingandupskillingarecritical.Quitesimply,ifyoudon’tadequatelytrainpeopleinhowtousethenewsystem,theywon’tuseit,”saysPatel.ConclusionGetyourhouseinorder.Implementingnewtechnologyisagoodopportunitytoassessyourdata,getridofobsoleteorunnecessarycontent,andForward-thinkingorganizationsinAsiaPacifichaveharnessedthepotentialofcloudtechnologytobuildintegratedsystemsthatprovidevisibilityandfasteraccesstodata,allowingforWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPacific6HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesTHECLOUDINACTIONBusinessTransformationatSpeedThreeyearsago,GPBatteriesembarkedonadistributionshifttoe-commerce,settingthecompanyonacourseoftransformation.PartoftheGoldPeakGroupinHongKong,GPBatteriesisaglobalbatterymanufacturer.Thecompanychosecloudtechnologytohelpimplementitsgrowthstrategyandrolloute-commercecapabilitiesforbusiness-to-businessandbusiness-to-consumeroperations.“Insteadofbuildingsystemsblockbyblock,werealizedtheonlywaywecouldmakechangesfastenoughtoexpandanddeliverthee-commercebusinesswouldbetousecloudsolutions,”saysWilsonWong,headofIT,GroupIT.Executivesupporthasensuredthesuccessofthecloudjourney.“ImplementingcloudisnotanITproject—it’saboutbusinesstransformation.WeneededanITsolutiontofitinwithourgoals,”saysWong.“GPBatteriestookthetimetoinvolvealllevelsoftheorganization,andallbusinessareas,tothinkaboutwhatwewantedtoresolvewithcloudandcomeupwithsolutions.What’smore,wetookanagileiterativeapproachtoourtransformationroadmap—wesetshorttimeframesforeachdeliverableandadjusteduntilwegotitright.”“ImplementingcloudisnotanITproject—it’saboutbusinesstransformation.WeneededanITsolutiontofitinwithourgoals.”CloudtechnologyenabledGPBatteriestomovefromorganizationalsiloswhenitcametodataandoperationstoanintegratedapproachthatopenedthegatewaytoe-commerce.“Previously,theorganizationwasverysiloed;eachareahaditsownsolutionsandpractices.Nowwehaveintegratedplatforms—forinstance,oneplatformforsales,marketing,andcustomerservicesandanotherformanufacturing,finance,operations,logistics,anddistribution.Andtheseplatformshavetheirownintegrationtoolsgivingusaholisticviewofglobaloperations,”saysWong.WilsonWong,headofIT,GroupIT,GPBatteriesThecompanyalsoinvestedintrainingandchangemanagementtohelpallemployeesmakethetransition.“Thekeywasgettingeveryonetounderstandthewhy,”hesays,“Onceeveryoneunderstoodwhyweneededtochange,andthebenefitscloudcouldbring,wewereonourway.”Theseintegratedsystemsgiveseniorstakeholders,boardmembers,andalldecisionmakersinsightintoallaspectsofGPBatteries’businessandthemarket.“Wecanrespondquicklytoanymanagementinquiry,not