Why Accenture is forming Cloud First

When I think of cloud formation, I think of weather. Weather impacts our daily lives—how we dress, what we do, and in some cases, our livelihoods. Cloud technology has evolved to have similar sway over the rhythm of our lives and work. We store documents and photos in the cloud, stream entertainment, shop, connect with friends, and of course get our weather reports from the cloud. In the past decade, cloud technology has seeped into every corner of our society and economy. Today it plays a foundational role in digital transformation and business success. 

This year, as the pandemic has threatened our lives and our businesses, I’m seeing companies of all sizes across every industry react by dramatically accelerating their use of cloud technology. These companies are moving as many of their business functions as possible to the cloud, to create a digital backbone for their business as if it’s a matter of survival. And it is.  

Worldwide demand for cloud computing is way up as companies pivot to the cloud and digital to help build resilience and enable remote work access. These are critical defensive moves. But businesses are discovering new products, services and experiences, new ways to manufacture, new supply chains, new partners and new ways to operate as they expand their cloud reliance. And they are happening with lightning speed. Changes that would have taken years are taking months or weeks as COVID-19 puts its foot on the cloud accelerator.

We know cloud technology is the first stop on the digital transformation highway. And we know that a digitally transformed business is a business that achieves greater value, and can scale, operate at speed, outmaneuver competition and external threats, and succeed. That’s why Accenture is going big with our new multi-service group, Accenture Cloud First. We are putting everything into cloud: our deep expertise, massive cloud resources, 70,000 cloud professionals and a $3 billion investment over three years to help our clients reimagine every aspect of their business—industry, function, data, culture, talent, applications, infrastructure and edge—to become “cloud first” now.

Our new Cloud First organization draws on a strong heritage of leading in cloud. Company-wide, Accenture generated $12 billion in cloud revenue this past year. We’ve taken a leadership role in everything from SaaS—delivered through our Intelligent Platform Services—to cloud advisory, cloud migration, infrastructure and application cloud services. We’ve worked with nearly 1,000 clients across 34,000 cloud projects in 68 countries.

Now we are housing all this cloud power under one roof. This means all of Accenture’s extensive cloud capabilities such as industry roadmaps, data models, and solutions; AI data and architectures; and integrated full-stack infrastructure and applications, as well as our all cloud tools, assets, and automation, and our world-class learning and talent development expertise; deep experience in cloud change management; and cloud-ready operating models are in one organization. We’ll be able to harness all this talent and capability quickly and easily to deliver for our clients around the world.

When Paul Daugherty, Accenture Technology group chief executive, describes cloud as “the most disruptive and value-creating technology of our time,” he’s using two adjectives that would seem at odds with each other. I think it’s the job of Accenture Cloud First to use the disruptive power of Cloud, creatively, to drive value. It’s our mission to help clients use cloud as a creative force to evolve their existing business, build new businesses and tap into new markets.

For example, I’ve seen many Life Sciences companies, like Takeda, embark on a cloud journey to transform their underlying technology, advancing their data and digital insights and accelerating innovation. Technologies like AI and IoT are helping them set the stage for breakthroughs in R&D, clinical trials and patient care. Or how Fukuoka Bank, Japan’s largest regional banking group, is using the Accenture Cloud Native Core Solution to support the banking system for their digital-only bank.

Perhaps the biggest business shift to the cloud is Accenture’s. We practice what we preach—and today, we’re already 95% in the cloud. To get there, we invested $1 billion in transforming our talent, helping our people build the core skills they need and adopt new ways of working. All ahead of COVID-19. That investment in cloud, and talent, is what eased our rapid pivot to remote work.

I’m deeply honored to lead Accenture Cloud First. I’m awed by the talent, technology, partnerships and experience that we’re harnessing within this group. And with the power of Accenture, I know that our work will transform our clients’ businesses to be more competitive, to operate with greater speed and scale and to create sustainable value. This initiative will translate into jobs, economic and societal health and stronger communities. In this time of extraordinary challenge and uncertainty, we are poised to make a difference. Time to aim for the cloud!