Accenture Technology August 2019

DIGITAL EVOLUTION DRIVEN BY THE BUSINESS CASE

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SUPPORTING COMMERCIAL STRATEGY WITH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

TOM VENTURO

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ACCENTURE

Philippe Chauffard, Managing Director of Accenture’s Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure division, advocates for a multithread cloud evolution, driven by the business case

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he enterprise is entering a new “post-digital” era, where success will be based on how companies can apply new technol-

ogies in people-centric ways, creating personalised experiences for customers, employees and 04

business partners. As technological innovation continues to accelerate – with new, more powerful solutions coming to market on an almost daily basis – few people could be blamed for feeling like dinosaurs, watching all the other animals board an Ark with ‘cloud’ written on the side of it. However, while the vast majority of companies have begun their digital transformation journeys, such as migration to the public cloud, the collective journey is still very much in its early stages. “75-80% of all enterprises are doing cloud in various shapes or forms, but if you look at how much of their estates they’ve actually migrated or leveraged into cloud, it’s still fairly small,” comments Philippe Chauffard, Managing Director of Accenture’s Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure division. “While everybody is doing it, a lot of people are still in the early stages.”

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“ While almost everybody is doing cloud, a lot of people are still in the early stages” — Philippe Chauffard, Managing Director, Accenture Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure 06

Combining a wealth of experience with specialised skills across more than 40 industries, Accenture is a leading provider of professional services at the intersection of business and technology. Employing over 477,000 professionals, the company has empowered businesses of every size to realise their strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations goals since 1989. Today, in 2019, Accenture’s Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure segment exists on the front lines of a global digital transformation powered by Industry 4.0. Helping guide Accenture’s clients and partners on this multi-thread journey, Chauffard is uniquely positioned to provide insight into both the changing state of the digital transformation game and Accenture’s role in delivering a sustainable, cloud-based future.

In a world where the average length of time between an employee switching jobs has shrunk to 3.2 years for workers aged 25-34, Chauffard’s 31 years at Accenture stand in stark contrast to the modern economy.

“It’s true that mine is becoming a bit of an unusual career track, but in

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TECH VISION 2019: OVERVIEW’ 07 my time at Accenture I’ve held so many

In the world of technological innova-

different roles across different indus-

tion and digital transformation, change

tries and programmess – Accenture’s

appears constant and blindingly fast.

positioning and strengths have given

Chauffard, however, is in a perfect

me the opportunity to lead programmes

position to observe the slower, more

that would not have been possible with

tectonic transformations occurring

other companies in terms of scale and

beneath the surface. This big picture

complexity,” Chauffard explains. Working

perspective gives him valuable insight

across all five continents, his position

into the key strategic enablers of a suc-

always focused on infrastructure in

cessful cloud migration, and the ways

some form, which he combines with

in which the digital infrastructure indus-

Accenture’s cloud agenda in his current

try is maturing to a point where evolu-

role, taken on in September 2018. “It’s

tion in support of value realization,

been exciting, and as long as it stays ex-

not revolution for technology’s sake,

citing, I’m in the right place,” he enthuses.

is the mantra for progress. w w w.a c c e nt u re. com

Are you ready to embrace a multi-cloud reality?

By Gary Robinson, EMEA Director, Global System Integrators, Commvault When the advertising at train stations or on the side of every other taxi is talking about the importance of cloud computing and its business benefits, trying to decide the best combination of cloud solutions to manage the variety of data sets, critical workloads, applications and emerging technologies, such as AI, Internet of Things or blockchain, can be confusing.

According to Gartner, enterprise IT spending for cloud-based offerings will grow faster than traditional (non-cloud) IT offerings through 2022. By 2022, cloud shift across key enterprise IT markets will increase to 28%, up from 19% in 2018 and organisations without a cloud-first strategy where the cloud is primary, prioritised and promoted, will likely fall behind competitors.

As well as this groundswell towards the cloud, today’s CIOs are increasingly recognising that single provider cloud solutions are less-and-less fit for purpose when it comes to addressing the data challenges of today, and the demanding business requirements of tomorrow. To put this into context, a recent IDC study found that the volume of data on earth is predicted to increase from 33 Zettabytes (ZB), in 2018 to 175ZB by 2025, half of which will be stored in public cloud storage.

It can be challenging enough to manage terabytes of data across multiple environments with one cloud provider, just imagine doing this with zettabytes of disparate data sets, across multiple cloud providers all offering variations of private, public, hybrid environments and different SLAs to boot.

People aside, data has become the most important asset for organisations operating in today’s digital economy. The shift to cloud has been an underlying enabler for the digital transformation boom of the last decade, but a bi-product of this (increasingly multi-cloud), shift has been unprecedented challenges to manage, use and secure data.

Data responsibility is one of the central challenges that organisations now face today, but most often, traditional tools simply don’t cut it when it comes to handling workloads across different cloud environments or multiple platforms. While there are plenty of niche solutions that work well enough in specific environments, surely this single-use approach actually encourages vendor lock-in and increases complexity rather than solving it?

By minimising the risk of cloud provider lock-in; providing service resiliency and migration opportunities; and offering the benefits of agility, scalability and elasticity along the way, hybrid and multi-cloud approaches are no longer a matter of if, rather a matter of when. And, this in turn has fuelled the need for data management solutions that can ensure data is protected and managed across whatever platform or variety of cloud infrastructure it lives in.

In a multi-cloud, hybrid environment, where change is the only true constant, an organisation’s ability to protect data, move it around freely, recover it and have a single view of its data assets is critical to its future success. Whether you’ve yet to begin or have already started your cloud migration roadmap, working with the right partners can accelerate your journey to the cloud and, at the same time, empower your business to stay ahead of the competition.

At Commvault, we love what we do. And we love working with Accenture. The Accenture Cloud Innovation Center, coupled with our best-in-class features and functionality, we’ve got all your questions and needs covered when it comes to delivering a data management and cloud strategy fit for the hybrid and multi-cloud world of tomorrow.

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“First of all, a key lesson I’ve learned

for new technological adoption is an

from working on many different initia-

increasingly prevalent approach, both

tives with Accenture’s clients is that

as the industry becomes more mature

technology challenges are not the big-

and considered, and also as the power

gest challenges,” Chauffard explains.

of cloud infrastructure is better under-

“At the end of the day, technology is a

stood. “The conversation has shifted,”

means to an end. If you look at the last

Chauffard explains. “In the past, a cloud

two to five years, industry disruptions

roadmap was drawn up with cost reduc-

have all been powered by technology

tion as the focus, and that’s changed.

evolutions. It’s such an exciting space

Yes, you still need to save some costs,

to be in, but technology adoption only

but what I’m really after are ways to

makes sense if it’s business strategy

start leveraging those cloud capabilities

driven.” Chauffard argues that ensur-

and features to drive increased flexibility,

ing there is a strong business case

agility and innovation in my business.”

Chauffard emphasises that agility

and so on. The pressing question is how

and flexibility are essential if compa-

to use cloud to become a central piece

nies wish to survive and thrive within

of your ecosystem, and then use that

their ecosystems. “The idea of the eco-

ecosystem to deliver the most innova-

system is essential to this new cloud

tive possible services to your custom-

economy,” he explains. “Every com-

ers. This is even more strategic and im-

pany is part of an ecosystem between

portant for Accenture. We are a people,

customers, partners, collaborators

services and transformation company,

E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Philippe Chauffard Managing Director, Accenture Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure Philippe Chauffard is the Managing Director responsible for Accenture’s Cloud and Infrastructure Services in Europe. Philippe is responsible for both consulting and outsourcing sales, and transformation delivery across cloud and infrastructure. Prior to this role, Philippe led Infrastructure Services for Financial Services for Europe and Latin America. During his 30-year career at Accenture, Philippe has focused on architecting, delivering and operating large-scale infrastructure solutions for multinational clients.

He has extensive cloud and infrastructure experience, ranging from strategy to transformation, migration and operations. Philippe has worked across all industries in Europe, with a primary focus on Communications and Financial Services. He has worked for clients in Europe, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He holds a Master of Science degree in Physics from Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne, Switzerland.

Philippe is based in Accenture’s Sophia Antipolis office in France.

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ACCENTURE AWS BUSINESS GROUP

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DRIVING INNOVATION AND BUSINESS VALUE WITH SAP ON AWS Today, everything is moving faster: business, technology…life. Disruption is everywhere, challenging existing business models and creating new ones. Companies that can ride the waves of change have huge opportunities ahead of them. They can collaborate, transact, analyze and predict instantly and proactively. They can fast-track innovation. And they can unlock new value through the emerging digital technologies that underpin the intelligent enterprise.

SAP has transformed its solutions to power companies’ digital transformations. SAP S/4HANA, SAP SuccessFactors, SAP Ariba – and more – offer a new launchpad for companies to reinvent their core operations and move decisively from disrupted to disruptor. But to harness their full potential, those new solutions need partners that are evolving and innovating just as fast.

This is where the Accenture AWS Business Group (AABG) can be a real game-changer. AABG brings together the best of AWS and Accenture to help organizations fast-track their SAP migrations – securely, reliably and at scale.

Crucially too, the AABG opens the way to next-generation capabilities. Through the comprehensive AWS infrastructure, companies get early access to a wide range of innovative services – engineered for SAP workloads, including HANA – that encourage and enable experimentation.

With AWS tools that can be rapidly integrated into their operations, companies are already driving new business value from core business functions by, for example, automating supply chain quality control with IoT integrated to SAP or connecting employees directly to SAP via Chatbot’s and virtual assistants.

Accenture, a leading global professional services company with a more than 40+ year relationship with SAP and a global leader in SAP application services and cloud services, is helping a growing number of companies across industries to make the most of these innovation opportunities.

These companies are ahead of the curve.

Over the next five years, we’ll see a mass migration to the cloud by organizations running SAP. Hundreds of SAP enterprise customers have already completed their journeys to AWS. If you’re running critical SAP workloads, migrating to AWS could be your next step too.

Wherever you are in your digital journey, we can help you move ahead.

Innovation. Intelligence. Scale.

To learn more, visit the AABG SAP Content Hub for deeper insight and to get started:

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and therefore it’s vital for us and for our clients that we are at the centre of our ecosystem. This is why we work hand in hand with our strategic partners – whether it’s some of the hyper scale providers like AWS, Azure and Google, or the key platform players like SAP or ServiceNow, or enterprise technology providers like Commvault. Accenture Cloud Innovation Center (ACIC) in Rome is a prime example of co-innovation across the ecosystem.”

Chauffard emphasises that com14

panies need to resist the impulse to buy the “shiniest toys” and carefully consider the business use cases. In addition to the more value realization focused approach to IT transformation

They were failing because the operat-

he is advocating for, he also notes that,

ing model and talent transformation

as businesses seek to achieve deeper

had not happened.”

penetration with their digitalisation

Chauffard explains that transforma-

strategies, the pace of transformation

tion of the operational model alongside

needs to slow to avoid corporate whip-

a company’s IT capabilities, described

lash. “Four or so years ago, Gartner

by Accenture as its ‘Run Different’

found that 80% of companies’ cloud

strategy, centres around four key

transformations were failing, or they

capabilities: Cloud Management and

said they didn’t feel as though they

Operations, Cloud Optimisation, Con-

were seeing the benefits,” says Chauf-

sumption and Security. “They are nec-

fard. “Those transformations weren’t

essary to have an underlying platform

failing because of the technology.

from which to innovate technologically,”

$39.6bn Approximate revenue

1989

Year founded

477,000

Approximate number of employees 15

says Chauffard. First, Cloud Manage-

ing everything from weighing the ca-

ment and Operations focuses on the

pabilities of a company’s architecture

ongoing cloud asset management.

against the services the company

“To support cloud, you need a whole

has, to advanced and ongoing optimi-

operating model and the associated

sation techniques. Third is Consump-

talent transformation, and that’s often

tion Management and Consolidation.

one of the biggest issues for our cli-

“We’ve moved to an ongoing consump-

ents,” he explains. Ensuring communi-

tion world, so buying and sourcing

cation and effectively managing talent

becomes an ongoing process,” says

while avoiding silos is crucial to

Chauffard. A company’s capability

a successful reincarnation of a com-

to manage its consumption of cloud

pany’s cloud management strategy.

resources efficiently not only reduces

Second is Cloud Optimisation: ensur-

cost and administrative work, but also w w w.a c c e nt u re. com

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“ Accenture has given me the opportunity to lead programs that would not have been possible with other companies in terms of scale and complexity” — Philippe Chauffard, Managing Director, Accenture Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure

“We’re not going to see many more ‘big bang’ – 12 months and we’re done for the next 10 years – transformations.

People are becoming more thoughtful,” says Chauffard. “It’s going to be much more of an ongoing migration, evolution and modernisation of the application landscape.” The slower, measured, business case driven approach doesn’t do away with everything and build a new cloud-based company from scratch. “It’s a multi-threaded evolution across multiple applications,” Chauffard explains. “Starting from your

provides information to support

existing application landscape, there

the management and optimisation

are going to be some applications that

strategies. Lastly, Chauffard explains,

can just be lifted and shifted to the

is Security. “It’s something that is con-

cloud with minimal work and cost.

tinuously evolving, and therefore you

Some will need more of a remediation,

need to be able to enforce a set

and some applications you’re going

of standard security functions and

to have to rewrite from scratch. Some

services.” All four capabilities can

applications will happily stay forever

be applied via a management plat-

in the legacy system and will eventually

form, and choosing and operating

die away several years later, because

the correct piece of software again

there is no business case to rewrite

relies on Chauffard’s advice: trans-

them or move them or do something

formation, evolution and optimisation

with them.” The important step, and

need to happen, not for their own

what gives Chauffard’s plan its natural,

sakes, but in support of the overall

evolutionary pace, is the firm rule that

business case.

any new applications or technologies w w w.a c c e nt u re. com

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ACCENTURE

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“ It’s such an exciting space to be in, but technology adoption only makes sense if it’s business strategy driven” — Philippe Chauffard, Managing Director, Accenture Intelligent Cloud Infrastructure

are required to be cloud native.

This way the progression from legacy to private and public cloud progresses through a stable hybrid approach.

“We’re going to be in a hybrid world for many years to come,” Chauffard says.

Technological progress is not constant and measured; like evolution it progresses in fits and starts before claiming new ground. Small, incremental replacements of parts of a company’s IT estate, paired with constant optimisation, Accenture and Chauffard

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believe, is the best method to success-

now and 2022 will be an extremely

fully reconcile the frenetic pace of

exciting time. We’re going to see

technology with the evolving needs

the pace of innovation accelerate,

of the business. “I think the whole

as companies’ evolutions progress

approach to defining your cloud

and the paradigm shifts. I think I’m

strategy, defining your roadmap for

in absolutely the right spot within

your cloud journey, for the prioritisation

Accenture; I have great expectations

and for what you’re going to leverage

for our business in this space.”

from the very wide range of services that are available in the market again needs to be driven by the strategic agenda and the business agenda,” Chauffard concludes. “I think between w w w.a c c e nt u re. com

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