Accenture: Reach for the cloud

Reach for the cloud is the message from Accenture who are urging businesses to urgently take up cloud adoption as it is the key to unlocking new value.

“Migration is the essential first step in maximising cloud value. It provides scalability, resilience, security and lower total cost of ownership,” comments Accenture. 

“There’s no room for delay. Every enterprise should be looking to accelerate cloud adoption as a matter of urgency. Get smart on migration and start reaching for the cloud,” is the call from Accenture in the company's new report, Cloud migration is a must: How to get it right.

According to the consultants, cloud is not only essential for a successful digital transformation but due to the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial if enterprises are able to show resilience, agility, adaptability and scalability.

Key elements for a shift to cloud

Accenture highlight a number of key elements needed for a shift to cloud technology but primarily focus on the first step of migration in this paper. 

Key points include:

• Cloud value is an essential requirement for digital transformation 
• Successful migrations improve the efficiency and resilience of IT systems and enables business to act fast and at speed
• A migration that balances quality and speed requires a plan that is aligned to the business strategy
• A secure transition requires leveraging partners and industrialised capabilities, addressing security, and developing skills for success

Three steps to a successful migration

Strategy, planning and execution are the three key elements towards paving the way for a successful cloud migration, according to Accenture.

1. Strategy

“Most enterprise migrations are not “big bang” events moving sizable portions of applications and data to the cloud, rather it is often an incremental exercise moving smaller bundles in waves over time based on strategic value, complexity and risk. 

“As a result, it is important to ensure each migration initiative aligns to the broader business strategy. Failure to do so can lead to disjointed capabilities and lower performance,” advises Accenture

2. Plan

“Be smart about priorities. It’s important to stratify and prioritise the portfolio in a way that realises the most value from the migration as quickly as possible,” comments Accenture whose 7Rs approach provides a framework for carrying out the task.

7Rs approach to migration

• Retire the applications you don’t need 
• Retain on-premises apps that are complex/costly to migrate 
• Rehost applications in the cloud 
• Replatform applications that need to run on a different operating system
• Replace apps for which better SaaS solutions are available 
• Refactor applications that need significant code rework for the cloud
• Reimagine business processes

To shift data “centres of gravity” to the cloud, enterprises should establish a strategic data architecture to ensure that data is available to all consumers says the report. 

“Migration cannot be a purely IT-driven exercise. Most of the pitfalls encountered in cloud migrations occur when IT and the business aren’t on the same page. So, it’s vital to get application owners on board as early as possible in the migration,” comments Accenture.

3. Execution

The four final points to successful cloud migration include:

• Make the most of the chosen cloud provider. “It is critical to find the right partner(s) to ensure your migrations are impeccably designed, prioritised, executed and evolved,” point out Accenture.
• Industrialise the journey. “Many companies look to partners such as Accenture to execute migrations with minimal disruptions. Automated tools like Accenture’s myNav and myWizard can be critical in ensuring your migration will succeed at pace.”
• Think security from day one 
• Help your people adapt to the new

Accenture point out that cloud migration is only the start of the journey for enterprises. “It needs to be seen in its broader context: as a means of enabling the IT environment to be run in a different way and unlocking new value for the business,” concludes the report.