Recent shortages of goods such as baby formula have demonstrated just how fragile the supply chain is. If cloud technologies can help prevent consumer product shortages, why aren’t more companies using them? Many companies might say they have migrated to the cloud already, but they’ve done so primarily to reduce IT and infrastructure costs. (1) They haven’t yet adopted more advanced technologies to help them become faster and more flexible.
Most consumer product organizations also haven’t invested in the talent and technology resources to get more value from the cloud. Therefore it’s not surprising that two-thirds of consumer product executives said they haven’t yet achieved expected results from their cloud initiatives. (2) It’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario, however. Executives haven’t made the investment, so they don’t see results. And, they don’t see results because they haven’t made any investment beyond IT.
The same study cited that 46% of executives reported complexity of business and operational changes required for cloud adoption were a top barrier. Cloud tends to be thought of as an IT issue rather than a business issue. When the company as a whole isn’t aligned on cloud adoption, and departmental leaders outside of IT aren’t involved in planning, the transition likely won’t be successful.
The reverse is also true where business leaders procure a fancy cloud service but fail to partner properly with IT and security to ensure a successful transition. Organizations can’t just buy an off-the-shelf solution and magically be in the cloud. There are many departments, stakeholders, and systems involved, meaning a mix of internal and purchased solutions plus custom integrations are likely required.
Consumer product organizations need a solid plan for a successful and full migration to the cloud. Deloitte recommends three preliminary steps before deciding on the final process: (3)
- Classifying existing applications to decide which types would benefit most from modernization
- Identifying opportunities for simplification, such as applications with overlapping functionality
- Prioritizing applications to modernize based on the first two steps
If you’re ready to take the next step towards full cloud adoption, Taos can help. They offer Advisory Services, Professional and Managed Services for Development, Data, and the Cloud, along with Managed IT and Security Services to support your business needs so you can see measurable results from your cloud investments.
Learn more at https://www.taos.com/industries/consumer/
Citations:
1, 2 – Soar through the cloud to drive growth in CPG, Accenture, February 2021
3 – Six cloud migration strategies for consumer products and retail, Deloitte, 2019