Even huge cloud migrations can go smoothly – with a little help

Organizations regardless of industry are continuing to move to the cloud.  Leveraging the cloud over an on-prem environment is typically less expensive yet more secure, reliable and flexible over traditional on-prem solutions.  In addition, cloud environments allow you to scale compute and store resources as needed while only paying for what you use.

Even with these advantages, moving large systems to the cloud can be daunting. The right technology and partners can make the transition easier.

Our client CONA Services, for example, chose to move its existing SAP HANA-based IT platform to Microsoft Azure. Coke One North America (CONA) provides the 12 largest Coca-Cola Company North American bottling partners with tools to collaborate as one company, and it manages the solution.

CONA migrated to Azure for three main reasons: cost, strategy, and speed. They needed to lift and shift nine landscapes, five of them physical, to SAP HANA on Azure. The project involved disaster recovery with multi-tier SAP HANA system replication and a production SAP Business Warehouse (SAP BW) on SAP HANA in a scale-out 7 + 1 node configuration. This was all with a database size of more than 12 terabytes and 40 Azure Virtual Machines running the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 operating system.

At the time, it was the largest Azure migration of its kind.

Capgemini, SAP, and Microsoft minimized the downtime for bottlers and finished the migration in seven months. Capgemini mapped out and managed crucial elements of the move, working with key stakeholders from Microsoft and SAP to ensure that the shift was as seamless as possible.

The move to Azure means the platform is easily accessible and scalable for bottlers and distributors. CONA Services is already experiencing increased performance and functionality. For example, more detailed information will help the sales team offer the right upsells at different customer locations. And the company now has a base on which to build greater capabilities in analytics and machine learning.

Every cloud migration brings unique challenges to overcome, but a good plan and team can make the transition smoother. This is especially critical as markets continue to be disrupted and companies embrace the cloud to navigate these dynamic environments.

Becky Hsu is a Client Partner  at Capgemini. Contact her at becky.hsu@capgemini.com for more information.

Becky Hsu

Led client to complete an integration strategy which leveraged both digital and IoT to automate the creation of PLU’s for both corporate and store in addition to tracking usage of product. This significantly reduced time to market, reduced cost and workman’s comp claims.