云端轉(zhuǎn)型：推動(dòng)亞太地區(qū)企業(yè)增長(zhǎng)-12正式版

WHITEPAPERTransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?cSPONSORPERSPECTIVECloudtodayisabouttotalbusinesstransformation.Whereasbeforetheconversationwasaboutthecost-cuttingbene?tsofthecloud,moreandmoreweseeattentionshiftingtoitsmorerevolutionaryoutcomes.Withtherightmindset,thecloudcanboostorganizationalresilience,unlockproductivity,generatepredictiveinsights,andpowerinnovation.Successfulcloudadopterscanattesttotheall-hands-on-deckmentalityneededforcloudadoption.RatherthanapproachingthecloudasasimpleITupgrade,organizationssuchasZespri,MahindraLogistics,Nissha,andSampoernaKayoealsofocusedondevelopingnewskillsamongtheirworkforcesandchangingheartsandmindsetswithregardstocloudtransformation.You’llseethattheeffortwaswellworthit;withclosealignmentofITstrategyandbusinessgoalsontopofenterprise-wideengagement,thesecompaniescameoutasmoreagileandfuture-prooforganizations.CloudmomentumisbuildingacrossAsiaPaci?c.Covid-19hasalsoopenedoureyestohowinterconnectedoureconomiesandworkforcesare,acceleratingtheadoptionofcloudacrossaspectrumofenterpriseapplications.Forbusinesses,thecloudiskeytobuildingcompaniesthatcanadaptandgrowintoday’svolatileworld.Thereisnouniversalapproachtocloudtransformation,buttherearebestpracticesthateveryaspiringcloudmovercanstrivetoward.We’vesponsoredresearchbyHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicestogatherthestoriesofsuccessfulcloudadoptersacrossAsiaPaci?ctoexaminehowthey’veleveragedthecloudforgrowth.WeinviteyoutoreadthisreportandtaketheseprinciplesasaNorthStaronyourownjourneytobecomingacloud-enabled,thrivingorganization.“Themainquestiononthemindsofbusinessleadersisnotwhether

tomovetothecloudanymore,butwhenandhow.Smallandmedium-sizedenterprisesaremovingfast,andlargeenterprisesaretransitioning,too,butataslowerpace.Forthem,thetaskofdigitaltransformationtendstobemorecomplex,requiringcarefulplanning,”saysLagnajitPatnaik,regionaldirectorandheadofcloudERPCoE,atSAPAsiaPaci?cJapan.There’salsothequestionaboutcloudsecurityandhesitationtoinitiatethelarge-scalechangeneededtostretchthecloud’sfullpotential.TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?cThebene?tsofcloudtechnologyhavematuredbeyondH

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Scostsavingstoincludeincreasingorganizationalagility,resilience,andconnectivity.ThewaysomanycompanieswereabletorespondquicklytotheCovid-19pandemicisproofofthosebene?ts,andtheoutbreakactuallyacceleratedorganizationalcommitmenttocloudsolutions.Infact,O’ReillyMedia’s2020globalsurveyshowedthat88%oforganizationsalreadyusecloudand25%plantomovealltheirapplicationstoaCompaniesintheAsia-Paci?cregion,acrossavarietyofsectorsandindustries,areattheforefrontofexploringcloud’stransformationalbene?ts.Thereisnoone-size-?ts-allformulaforembarkingonacloud-transformationjourney—butifthejourneyistailoredtoanenterprise’sspeci?cgoalsandcontext,itcandelivertremendousimpact.cloudcontextinthenextyear.1IntheAsia-Paci?cregion,leadingorganizationsareleveragingintelligenttechnologiesthroughtheuseofcloudservicestoadvanceoperations,strengthencorefunctionsandcompetencies,andmakefasterandbetter-informeddecisionsbasedonreal-timedata.Suchbusinessesprovidevividevidenceofthepowerofcloudtechnologytobuildorganizationalresilienceanddeliverenterprisegrowth.E?ectivecloudadoptiongoesfarbeyondanIT-ledtechnologyupgrade,however.Greaterbene?tscanberealizedthroughusingtechnologyasacatalystforenterprise-widetransformation.“Consistently,thethreebiggestmotivationsanddriversforembarkingoncloud-transformationjourneysaretheneedsforgreateragility,scalability,and?exibility,”saysAlexHilton,CEOoftheUK-basedCloudIndustryForum,atradeassociationthatseekstoeducateandinformend-userbusinessesandcloudproviders.Tocapturebene?tsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.1O’ReillyMedia,“CloudAdoptionin2020,”May19,2020./radar/cloud-adoption-in-2020/.WhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?c1HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServices“Weplannedourtechroadmaptointegrateourcorebusinessfunctionsand,beyondthat,togiveusthe?exibilitytousedifferentproductstoalignwithourcustomers’needs,”saysYogeshPatel,CFOatMahindraLogistics.Whenapproachedaspartofastrategicroadmap,cloudservesasthebackboneforstrengtheningcorefunctionssuchas?nance,supplychain,andhumanresourcemanagement—leadingtoimprovedoperationale?ciencyandproductivity.Inaddition,expandingcloudservicesacrossthebusinessnetworkcanpavethewayforthetransformationoftheentirevalue-chain.Cloudalsogivesbusinessesthe?exibilitytoquicklyscaletomeetnewneeds.Ultimately,cloudbuildsagile,responsiveorganizationsbyprovidingreal-timepredictiveinsights,andenablesbusinessestobecomeincreasinglyproactive—atspeed.Everyorganization,andeveryindustry,hasdi?erentneeds.Thereisnoone-size-?ts-allformulaforembarkingonacloud-transformationjourney—butifthejourneyistailoredtoanenterprise’sspeci?cgoalsandcontext,itcandelivertremendousimpact.Often,ITissues—suchasend-of-lifehardwareorexpireddata-centercontracts—ore?ortstocontaincostsactastriggersforconsideringlarge-scaletechnologychanges.Whilethesecompellingeventsmaybeginapathofchange,theorganizationsthatreapthefullbene?tsofthecloudapproachtechnologyasawaytoredesignbusinessprocessesandtransformtheirorganizations.Doingsotakesmorethaninvestinginnewtechnology.Indeed,successfultransformationrequiresclosealignmentofITstrategywithoverallbusinessgoals.Asa?rststep,businessesshouldevaluatethemetricsandkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)theywishtoimproveuponandplantheircloudtransformationaroundclearlyde?nedgoals.“IfcloudisapproachedassimplyanITupgrade,businessesruntheriskofspendingalotofmoneybutendingupwiththesamesystemsincloudwithlittleimprovement,”Hiltonexplains.“Itisimportanttosetexpectationsaroundwhatyouhopetoachievefromabusinessperspectiveandbepragmaticaboutwhatbestsuitsyourneeds.”MoreFlexibilityandOtherBene?tsCompaniesintheAsia-Paci?cregion,acrossavarietyofsectorsandindustries,areattheforefrontofexploringcloud’stransformationalbene?ts.ConsiderMahindraLogistics,anIndia-based,third-partylogisticsserviceprovidero?eringbusiness-to-businesssupplychainmanagementservicesspanningintegrateddistribution,transportation,last-miledistribution,storage,warehousing,sortcenters,andreturns-processingcenters.Eachofthesefunctionsrequiresdi?erentprocessesandsystemsthataretailoredtocustomers’needs.Thecompanyneededtechnologythatwouldallow?exibilityarounditscustomers’needswhileprovidinggreatervisibilityandcontrol.Cloudenabledtheorganizationtointegrateandoptimizecorefunctions—leadingtogreatere?ciencyandreturns—andtobecomeagilesoitcanrespondtochange.“Wesetouttoleveragetechnologytoenhancesynergywithcustomersandincreaseoperationale?ciencyforbetteroutcomes—includingbetterservicelevels,improvedpro?tability,costoptimization,andbeingabletoquotemoree?cientlyfornewbusinessesandimproveourwinpercentage,”saysYogeshPatel,CFOatMahindraLogistics.MahindraLogisticsbeganitscloud-transformationjourneythroughanenterpriseresourceplanningsystemthatintegratedcorebusinessfunctionssuchas?nance,procurement,materialmanagement,andHR.Cloudtechnologyenabledthecompanytounifyprocessesacrossdisparatesystemsandgainanend-to-endviewofeachprocess.“Previously,asingletransportationtripwouldhavebeeninitiatedinonesystemandtrackedinadi?erentsystem,and?naldocumentationwasgeneratedseparately,oftenasahardcopy.Nowwehaveanintegratedsystemforthefulllifecycleofanytrip,whichislinkedtotherevenueandaccountingsystem—vastlyreducinge?ortintermsofmanpower,ensuringconsistency,andreducingthecycletimetobill,”saysPatel.Thisreportpro?leshowforward-lookingorganizationsacrossAsiaPaci?caretakingadvantageofcloud’smanybene?ts,anditexaminesthestrategiesandapproachestheyhavefollowedtotrulytransformtheirbusinesses.Lastly,itexploreshowAsia-Paci?corganizationshaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneysando?ersasetofcommonpracticesthatothercompaniescanembracetounlockthefullbene?tsofcloudtechnology.Cloudenablesinteroperability,butitalsoprovidesthee?ciencyofnotusingmoretechthanyouneed,andthe?exibilitytoadjusttochangingrequirements.“Weplannedourtechroadmaptointegrateourcorebusinessfunctionsand,beyondthat,togiveusthe?exibilitytousedi?erentproductstoalignwithourcustomers’needs.WerunmultiplewarehousemanagementsystemsortransportsolutionsWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?c2HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesdependingonwhatintegratesbestwithourcustomer’sproduct.Butthesystemis?uidand?exibleandeasilyscalable.Wedon’tgetstuckwithapplicationswedon’tneed,”saysPatel.Inanotherexample,Zespri,NewZealand’slargesthorticulturalexporter,recentlybeganalarge-scaledigitaltransformationprogramtomodernizeallaspectsofitsbusiness.AlthoughZespriexportskiwifruittomorethan50countries,accountingfor30%oftheglobalvolume,thecompanywasrelyingonprocessesandsystemsthatweredesignednearlytwodecadesago.“Wemovedourtraditionalon-premiseslegacyenvironmenttocloudafewyearsago,butnowwe’reembarkingonafull-scaletransformation,”saysZespri’schiefdigitalo?cer,DaveScullin.“It’sstillearlydays,butthisprogramwilldigitizekeyareasacrossourinterdependentsupplychainandprovidestablesecuresystemsandapplicationstoallowourpeopleandourgrowerstobemoree?cient,e?ective,andproductive.”“Cloudhashadarevolutionaryimpactontheworkofdigitaldepartmentsandemployees.Employeesarelessburdenedwithinfrastructureoperationsandcanfocusonimprovementandinnovation,”saysSoohoLee,CIOatEcoProBM.Forinstance,withthehelpofitscloudcapabilities,Zespriwillbeabletocollectandanalyzereal-timedatathroughoutthesupplychainandusethisinformationtomakebetterdecisionsaroundforecasting,storage,andfreightplanning.“Ourcompanyandourgrowerswillbene?tfromstreamlinedprocessesbasedonrobustdata,forinstance,aroundagriculturalpractices,andfruitvolumeandquality.Wewillalsodevelopcustomizedplatformstotraceissuesthatourconsumerscareaboutsuchassustainabilitygoalsandenvironmentalperformance,”saysScullin.“And,mostimportantly,thistechnologywillgiveustheabilitytoscaleforgrowth.Wehavesigni?cantdemandforourproduct,andwewanttocontinuetoscaleandoperateinmultiplecountriesandexpandourcapabilityonastableplatform.”machinelearningtofreeemployeesfromspendingtimeonrepetitiveormundanetaskssothattheycaninsteadfocusonimprovingbusinessoutcomes.“Ouruseofcloudtechnologyencompassesarti?cialintelligence,chatbot,andRPA,leadingtoe?ciencygains.OurgreatestimprovementscomefromRPA.Wehavesaved40,000hourssincewebeganimplementingRPAtwoyearsago,”saysAoyama.“What’smore,processautomationfreesemployeesfromhavingtospendtimeonrepetitivetasks.Asaresult,wehavefoundthatemployeescanspendmoretimeonhigher-valuetasks,andthishasgreatlyimprovedemployeesatisfactionandmorale.”EcoProBM,aKoreanmanufacturerofadvancedmaterials,providesanotherexampleofhowcloudtechnologyhasenhancedproductivityande?ciencywhilealsofosteringacultureofinnovation.“Cloudhashadarevolutionaryimpactontheworkofdigitaldepartmentsandemployees.Employeesarelessburdenedwithinfrastructureoperationsandcanfocusonimprovementandinnovation,”saysSoohoLee,chiefinformationo?ceratEcoProBM.Thecompanyproducescathodematerialsforuseinelectric-vehiclebatteries,amongotherproducts,andembarkedonacloudjourneyaspartofanenterprise-widedigitaltransformation.“Wearemovingfromatraditionalmanufacturingcompanytobecomingfarmoredigitallyinnovative.Toprovidethebestvaluetoclientsthroughourcloudjourney,ourintentionwastooptimizeourprocesses,andourentirevaluechain,throughdigitizationandtobuilda?exibledigitalplatformthatcanmeetourglobalmanagementstrategy’sobjectives,”saysLee.Thejourneyisbearingfruit.“We’veseenthevalueofcloudaswe’vebeenableto?exibly,andatscale,expandourproductionbaseandintegrateouroperations,”hesays.“We’vealsoreducedmanhoursandbuiltamoree?cientoperatingenvironment.”BetterDataUsage,BetterOutcomesCloudalsohelpsensurebusinesscontinuity.Infact,somebusinessesthathadalreadyinvestedincloudmanagedtominimizedisruptioncausedbytheCovid-19pandemic.OneexampleisNissha,acompanybasedinJapanthatdevelopsandmanufacturesindustrialmaterials,componentsfordevicessuchassmartphones,andmedicalequipment.“WehadnoproblemswithbusinesscontinuityduringthepandemicasallNisshaITservicesareaccessiblefromanywhere,”saysYoshitamiAoyama,seniorvicepresident,chiefinformationo?cer(CIO),andchiefsupplychaino?ceratNissha.“Ifanything,thepandemicincreasedusageofourapplications,suchaschatbot.”AoyamaaddsthatNissha’schatbothasgreatlyimprovedinternalprocessesbyprovidingsta?withself-helpsolutionsforanythingfromresettingapasswordtoproducingreports.Businessescanleveragecloud-enabledintelligenttechnologiessuchasroboticprocessautomation(RPA)andWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?c3HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServices“OurgreatestimprovementscomefromRPA.Wehavesaved40,000hourssincewebeganimplementingRPAtwoyearsago,”saysYoshitamiAoyama,seniorvicepresident,chiefinformationof?cer,andchiefsupplychainof?ceratNissha.Organizationsproducevastamountsofdata,andcloudo?ersawaytoharnessthepowerofdataforbetterdecisionmaking.“Dataisthe‘oil’orthecurrencythatexistswithinmanyorganizationstoday.Howtheyharnessthatisfundamentalforcompetitiveadvantage,”saystheCloudIndustryForum’sHilton.Forinstance,cloudenablesorganizationstoperformsimulationsandscenarioplanningbasedonpossiblebusinessoutcomes,andtoevolvefrommakingdecisionsthatarereactivetomakingdecisionsthatarepredictive,proactive,andbasedonreal-timedata.Oneorganizationthatisreapingthebene?tsofgreaterdatavisibilityisSampoernaKayoe,amajormanufacturerofengineeredwood,basedinJakarta,Indonesia.Thecompanywasoneofthe?rstinthatnationtorolloutcloudtechnologyacrossits16factories.WidjayaHambali,headofinformationandcommunicationtechnologyatSampoernaKayoe,saystheintegratedsystemthecompanyhaserectedthroughcloudtechnologyallowsfasteraccesstodatawithouthavingtoaskseparatefactoriestoproducetime-consumingreports.“Wehavethousandsofstock-keepingunitsspanningmanycategoriesofwoodproducts.Wehavebeenabletosee,ingreaterdetail,whichproductsaresellingwell,andwecanrespondfastertowhatourcustomerswant.We’vealsobeenabletoimprovepro?tabilityacrossdi?erentproductlines,”saysHambali.digitalstrategyislikelybasedondata,andaggregatedandanalyzedinthecloud,”saysWeinman.OvercomingAdoptionReluctanceAlthoughleadingcompaniesinAsiaPaci?carebene?tingfromcloudtechnology,othersarehesitanttoexplorewhatsuchinnovationcoulddofortheirorganizations.Commonbarrierstoadoptionincludesecurityconcernsandresistancetochange.Butthesebarrierscanbeovercome.“Thereisstillaperceptionthatcloudmaybeunsafe,particularlyregardinghackers,securitybreaches,andransomware,”saysHilton.“Butcloudprovidershavecomprehensivelyaddressedthoseconcernsthroughdata-securitycontrolsandactuallyprovidefarmorerobustandsecureinfrastructurethantraditionalon-premisesdatacenters.Andtherearemultiplelayersofprotectionfordisasterrecovery.”“Ofcourse,it’snotaneasyjourney,”saysEcoProBM’sLee.“Itwasachallengetodispelconcerns,particularlyaroundsecurity,thatareoftenassociatedwithcloud.Buteachelementofconcernwasveri?edseveraltimesthroughalong-termproofofconcept,andbyemphasizingthebene?tsthatthecompanycouldgain,wewereabletomoveforwardwithourcloudjourney.”AtNissha,securityhasactuallyincreasedsincethecompanybeganusingcloudtechnology.“Ourregularsecurityassessmentsshowthatouroverallsecurity,serversecurity,networksecurity,clientsecurity,andbusinesscontinuitycapabilitieshaveallimproved,”saysNissha’sAoyama.Companiesacrosstheregionmayalsobereluctanttoembarkonwidescaletransformationjourneysbecauselarge-scaleorganizationalchangecanbedi?cult.Peoplewhohavebeenusingsystemsforyearsmayberesistanttolearningsomethingnew.Forexample,atSampoernaKayoe,manyemployeeswereexcitedaboutusingthenewsystemastheysawwhatbene?tsitcouldbring,butothersstruggledtoadjust.“Changecanbedi?cult.Therefore,weinvestedinsixweeksoftrainingforaround500employeestohelpeveryonecometotermswiththechangesandlearnhowtousethenewsystem,”saysSampoernaKayoe’sHambali.“Oncepeopleunderstoodhowthenewsystemcouldhelpandwhywewereusingit,thetrainingpaido?.”JoeWeinman,digitalstrategistandauthorofCloudonomicsandDigitalDisciplines,saysthatthelogictyingcloudtodataisstraightforward.Organizationsrunondata,andthecloudisanaturalplacetoaggregateandprocessthedata.“Organizationscanbene?tfromoneoffourdigitalstrategies: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:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?c4“Organizationscanbene?tfromoneoffourdigitalstrategies:betterprocesses,includingresourceuseandorganization;betterproductsandservices;bettercustomerrelationships;andbetterinnovation.”JoeWeinman,digitalstrategistandauthorHarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesmakesurethedataisclean.“Themoredatayouhavetostore,themoreitcosts,”saysHambali.“Makesureyouonlykeepwhatyouneedanddoabasiccleanupbeforeapplyingitinanewenvironment—youdon’twanttoputjunkinthere.”“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysDaveScullin,chiefdigitalof?ceratZespri.Gainexecutivesupport.“Preparinganorganizationforbusinesstransformationrequiresleadershipsponsorship,vision,andcommitmenttodriveitforward,”saysScullin.“AtZespri,ourboardiscommittedtothisprogram’ssuccessandourentireleadershipteamispartofthesteeringcommittee.WeapproachedthisnotasanITupgradebutasalarge-scaleglobalrolloutofsystemsencompassingtraining,changemanagement,processdesign,solutiondesign,governance,andarchitecture.Wealsodevelopedtranchefundingtode-risktheprogramanddeliverinmanageablechunks.”BestPracticestoStriveForTocapturebene?tsandovercomechallenges,companiesneedtoapproachcloudasanenterprise-widetransformation,notsimplyasanITupgrade.“WhileonthesurfacetransformationmayseemlikeanITupgrade,thenon-techelementisfarmoreimportant,andittakesfullcommitmentandinvolvementatalllevelsoftheorganization,”saysMahindraLogistics’Patel.Zespriisonecompanythatexplicitlyapproacheditscloudtransformationjourneyasanenterprise-widebusinessprogram.“AlthoughobviouslythisisanIT-enabledprogram,weviewitstrictlyasabusinessinitiativeasouraimsaretomodernizeallourbusinessprocessesandsystemsandcon?gurethemtomeetfuturedemand.Weareinvestingourtime,money,andresourcesindevelopingthesesystems,andensuringthatourpeoplehavethesupporttheyneedtomakethisasuccess,”saysZespri’sScullin.Involvetheendusersatthebeginning.InPatel’sexperienceatMahindraLogistics,successdependsonITandendusersworkinghandinhandonsystemdesign.“Thenuancesofeachbusinessfunctionarebestknownbythepeoplewhoexecutethem.IfcloudtransformationisdesignedanddrivenbyITalone,youruntheriskofhavingproductsrejectedbyteamsoperatingthosesystems.ITcannotaddressproblemswithoutconsultationaroundwhatneedstobe?xed.OurapproachwasthatITshouldbetheenabler,butvariousbusinessoperationsandfunctionsshouldbeinvolvedandgivenownership.”Haveaclearroadmap.Businesstransformationrequiresaclearroadmapthatde?nesthedesiredoutcomesthroughclearKPIsandmetricsandalsosetsmilestonesandtimelines.“Digitaltransformationdoesn’thavetobeoceanboiling,”saysHilton.“Youdon’thavetotakeonamassiveupheavalandcompletelyripeverythingout.Instead,businessescanprioritizecertainprojects,functions,orissueswherecloudcanenhancecapabilities.”O(jiān)ncethegroundworkhasbeendoneandthebusinessreapsthebene?ts,thefoundationisinplaceforfurthertransformation.InsightsfromexpertsincloudtechnologyandtheexperiencesofbusinessleadersintheAsia-Paci?cregionwhohaveundertakensuccessfulcloud-transformationjourneyshighlightsixbestpracticesthatorganizationscanembracetoreapthefullbene?tsofcloudtechnology:Considerthebusinesscontext.Asa?rststep,organizationsshouldconsiderwhattheywanttoachieveandhowcloudtechnologycansupporttheirgoals.“Understandingwhatyouwanttogetoutofcloudtechnologyshoulddrivetheinitialinvestment,ratherthancostconsiderations,”saysScullin.“Yes,doyoursums—calculatethetotalcostofownershipforallthevariousoptionsandworkoutwhat’sbestforyou.But,moreimportantly,considerhowthetechnologycanalignyourdigitalstrategywithyourbusinessgoals.”Investinpeople.Adoptionrequirestrainingandchangemanagement.“Trainingandupskillingarecritical.Quitesimply,ifyoudon’tadequatelytrainpeopleinhowtousethenewsystem,theywon’tuseit,”saysPatel.ConclusionGetyourhouseinorder.Implementingnewtechnologyisagoodopportunitytoassessyourdata,getridofobsoleteorunnecessarycontent,andForward-thinkingorganizationsinAsiaPaci?chaveharnessedthepotentialofcloudtechnologytobuildintegratedsystemsthatprovidevisibilityandfasteraccesstodata,allowingforWhitePaper|TransformationintheCloud:DrivingEnterpriseGrowthAcrossAsiaPaci?c6HarvardBusinessReviewAnalyticServicesTHECLOUDINACTIONBusinessTransformationatSpeedThreeyearsago,GPBatteriesembarkedonadistributionshifttoe-commerce,settingthecompanyonacourseoftransformation.PartoftheGoldPeakGroupinHongKong,GPBatteriesisaglobalbatterymanufacturer.Thecompanychosecloudtechnologytohelpimplementitsgrowthstrategyandrolloute-commercecapabilitiesforbusiness-to-businessandbusiness-to-consumeroperations.“Insteadofbuildingsystemsblockbyblock,werealizedtheonlywaywecouldmakechangesfastenoughtoexpandanddeliverthee-commercebusinesswouldbetousecloudsolutions,”saysWilsonWong,headofIT,GroupIT.Executivesupporthasensuredthesuccessofthecloudjourney.“ImplementingcloudisnotanITproject—it’saboutbusinesstransformation.WeneededanITsolutionto?tinwithourgoals,”saysWong.“GPBatteriestookthetimetoinvolvealllevelsoftheorganization,andallbusinessareas,tothinkaboutwhatwewantedtoresolvewithcloudandcomeupwithsolutions.What’smore,wetookanagileiterativeapproachtoourtransformationroadmap—wesetshorttimeframesforeachdeliverableandadjusteduntilwegotitright.”“ImplementingcloudisnotanITproject—it’saboutbusinesstransformation.WeneededanITsolutionto?tinwithourgoals.”CloudtechnologyenabledGPBatteriestomovefromorganizationalsiloswhenitcametodataandoperationstoanintegratedapproachthatopenedthegatewaytoe-commerce.“Previously,theorganizationwasverysiloed;eachareahaditsownsolutionsandpractices.Nowwehaveintegratedplatforms—forinstance,oneplatformforsales,marketing,andcustomerservicesandanotherformanufacturing,?nance,operations,logistics,anddistribution.Andtheseplatformshavetheirownintegrationtoolsgivingusaholisticviewofglobaloperations,”saysWong.WilsonWong,headofIT,GroupIT,GPBatteriesThecompanyalsoinvestedintrainingandchangemanagementtohelpallemployeesmakethetransition.“Thekeywasgettingeveryonetounderstandthewhy,”hesays,“Onceeveryoneunderstoodwhyweneededtochange,andthebene?tscloudcouldbring,wewereonourway.”Theseintegratedsystemsgiveseniorstakeholders,boardmembers,andalldecisionmakersinsightintoallaspectsofGPBatteries’businessandthemarket.“Wecanrespondquicklytoanymanagementinquiry,not