Global Cloud Transformation: Setting the Stage for Success

The Agile Enterprise

The Agile Enterprise

introduction
Making a strategic move to the cloud means companies need to be prepared for a new way of thinking and operating. Moving to the cloud isntand shouldnt bebusiness as usual. Its a switch that demands fresh attitudes in defining what an implementation is and a completely new way of working. A global cloud transformation can be complex and overwhelming for a company that is not adequately prepared. To achieve success, it is imperative that the technology aligns with both a clear executive vision and crucial business processes. Equally as important, the company needs to commit to a change strategy that enables everyone, from executives to individual users, to engage the new system and understand its role within the organization. Bluewolf has a proven methodology that enables enterprises to set the foundation for real change and ultimately achieve success. Best practices, developed over a decade of helping hundreds of companies with complex, global implementations, provide a validated roadmap to achieving company goals with the cloud.

platforms ultimately offer a more flexible and scalable way to meet todays business challenges (vs. on-premise solutions). Because cloud technologies have removed many of the burdens of ongoing hardware and application maintenance costs, IT departments are freed to focus on business innovations that can ultimately fuel company growth. But without a broader company change, the benefits of the cloud will not be realized. Success is dependent on making a commitment to become a more agile enterprise. An agile enterprise not only embraces flexible technology, but also establishes processes that promote continuous innovation, leaves room for a little chaos, guides users to embrace change and collaboration, and leverages a multi-sourcing resource strategy to match ongoing innovation to the pace of business (something Bluewolf calls an elastic workforce). Transitioning to the cloud is not a single project, but an iterative journey that must include a method to execute, measure, and sustain innovation within the organization.

We can view market share for any given product, and we can track product tests. It almost goes without saying that the Gates senior leadership team has embraced the reporting capabilities of Salesforce and is eager to continue to use it as a solution for navigating our commercial sales interests.
Karl Moritz, Senior Vice President Global End-Market Strategy, Gates Corporation

cloud technology and the agile enterprise

Cloud computing has the potential to promote significant cultural changes across a global organization. By moving to the cloud, executives are embracing a vision that the old way of doing things is not an effective strategy to keep up with the pace of change in todays business environment. Cloud-based

Characteristics of an Agile Enterprise Promotes continuous innovation in processes. Leaves room for a little chaos. Trains people to embrace change and collaboration. Remains iterative through elastic resources. Embraces flexible technology.

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Global Cloud Case Study

Company Based in Denver, Colorado USA, Gates Corporation is a world leader in industrial engineering and manufacturing. The company employs over 14,500 staff and has operations in all of the worlds major markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Challenge Because of an inability to efficiently generate metrics on customer interactions, sales personnel could not easily view the status of leads. This deficiency delayed the time it took to close many deals. Gates wanted to standardize global reporting and metrics for five different regions (Northeast, Middle East, South America, Asia and Europe) while giving regions ability to customize processes. Implementation strategy Gates Corporation decided to deploy Salesforce globally. Using a Bluewolf Blueprint, the company gained a clear vision of requirements, timelines, and costs. Bluewolf began by deploying Salesforce in one region at a time, with each region building out customized processes that matched local requirements. To ensure the success, Bluewolf deployed pilot tests within each region before bringing the entire region online. In addition to customizing Salesforce for the needs of each region, Bluewolf also transferred all of the data from the previous CRM solution used by Gates and coordinated on-site, enduser training localized for each country. Languages Deployed English, Spanish, German, French, Italian Number of Currencies Deployed Thirty-six Results Gates improved efficiency at managing and following up on leads, which led to the ability to close proposals more quickly and generate increased revenue. Because managers can now see how well sales reps pursue leads, Gates created a follow-up incentive program, and, since that time, the effectiveness of prospect follow-ups has improved greatly. Gates leadership has recognized the value of Salesforce to the extent that the team has re-purposed the global, internal, and professional sales training program to not only include onboarding to the solution, but positions Salesforce as the centerpiece of their sales reporting strategy.

common global cloud implementation challenges

Global cloud implementations present enterprises with unique challenges that add complexity and scale to any typical cloud implementation. After more than a decade of experience helping thousands of companies implement successful cloud projects, Bluewolf has identified common challenges unique to global transformations:

Siloed operations and platforms Though a company may be global, many of its international business units and IT departments operate autonomously. Multiple applications and tools, used for the same purpose across the globe, make it impossible to get a holistic global view of the business from a reporting perspective. This reliance on legacy systems can complicate integration, and is especially true when the company has grown by acquisition. A critical step before

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embarking on a broader, global rollout is to clearly communicate a vision and collaborate with appropriate stakeholders. No clear goals Along with communication and collaboration, some companies establish vague goals for technology projects such as a 360-degree view of customers or more visibility into sales pipeline. But without defining a clear set of measurable business objectives and their corresponding strategies, it is difficult to build the right supporting processes. It is not uncommon for there to be misalignment between the overall goals expected by corporate, and the specific strategies, activities, and key metrics employed by different regions and business units. Lack of leadership alignment around key business goals and how each business unit will measure and achieve them, is a major reason why global cloud implementations fail to produce impactful results. Cultural differences From simple communication methods to distinctions on how each region trains and adopts new technology, regional distinctions can have a more profound effect than many companies realize. For example, though leader rankings and dashboards effectively promote adoption in the United States, they may not translate as well in Japan where goals are always set at a group level rather than an individual one. These issues tend to be the result of not taking the time to effectively gain buy-in at the beginning of the initiative, across the global organization. Additionally,

there are the more tangible differences in language, currency, security, and compliance that companies may not review and plan for during the initial phases. Cultural differences can be a major reason why global cloud implementations fail if they are not taken into consideration. Time zones If regions need to work together and collaborate toward a common goal, then time zones become a barrier to getting the work done. A team in Brazil may have to wait for a response from a team in the United States that is five hours behind. Also, many companies underestimate how much on-site work is needed for a global cloud project to be successful. Cutting costs in this area may not be effective because it is often the relationships that are built during implementation that drive how the project will fare beyond go live. Data migration This is a major issue even for single regional or business unit cloud implementations. When a company looks at a global implementation, data migration becomes increasingly complex, including data in multiple languages, different address formats, disparate data sources, and the quality of the data. Compliance around data quality within specific regions can also complicate global cloud implementations. Since data is the foundation for any cloud application, it is imperative that data migration and ongoing management is considered upfront.

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Salesforce: Single vs. Multi-Org?

Should your company leverage a single instance of Salesforce or implement a multi-instance strategy? Throughout our 12 years in this ecosystem, we have established a point of view that there is no one-sizefits all approach. It is critical to step back and look at your organizational processes, objectives, and culture holistically before determining how to roll out a global footprint. Below are some decision criteria to consider: Organizational Structure Is the enterprise currently centralized or decentralized, and will this change in the near future? In terms of technology, are the backends centrally controlled? Detailed analysis of operations is critical, especially for companies that grow through acquisition. Global Reporting Requirements Having a single org makes it easier to generate a 360-degree view of customer data, forecasting, and real-time executive reports. It is still possible to establish global reporting under a multi-org approach, however master data management strategies become increasingly important and additional work is needed. Business Process Synergy When business units share similarities between products and sales processes, a single org approach can deliver operational efficiency and visibility. However, mandating standardized processes globally can be challenging, as it requires not only evaluating and prioritizing real business drivers, but also strong change management to transform behaviors. Collaboration Needs When a common customer exists, leveraging a single org can make it easier to share data between geographies and segments, achieve company-wide collaboration with applications like Chatter, and better align marketing, sales, and service processes. In cases with geographically segmented customer bases or business lines that dont need to cross-sell, they can autonomously operate in multiple orgs. Flexibility Agile custom development with Salesforce is easier with the multi-org approach since there is direct regional control. Not only can different groups use different editions, but there is also no risk of impacting other business segments, so less time is spent gaining buy-in. A single org requires a strong globally focused governance strategy and changes to modules, fields, and workflow must be agreed to by and/or communicated to all business units. Data Concerns and Admin Capabilities Regulatory compliance, data security, storage, system integration, and even sheer data volume can all impact the ideal choice in org structure. Company culture also plays an important part. If an enterprise is driven centrally from a global headquarter, a single management hub or administrative strategy may be preferred. If the company operates with more regional autonomy, an approach that provides localized control might increase the administrative burden, but ultimately make a company more responsive.

global cloud implementation best practices

Along with common challenges identified from helping clients with global cloud implementations, Bluewolf has developed a set of best practices that have been proven to set the stage for success:

Establish clear goals and metrics Why is the organization moving to the cloud globally? What business goals will the technology support? The more specific the goal, the easier it will be to design processes that support it. For example, a goal to increase revenue by 10 percent within two quarters is very specific. As one strategy, leadership could agree to focus existing sales reps on cross5

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The Case for Global Cloud Governance

What Is Cloud Governance?
Put simply, cloud governance is the policies, processes, and framework for continuing to innovate on live global cloud applications. The objective is to establish global system stability and to ensure changes are made rapidly with clear business benefits. Without cloud governance, the organization will strain to keep pace with user requests, adoption, market shifts, and new releases. A governance strategy can help your company create an established method to filter and prioritize change requests to ensure that they deliver global business value. Enterprise IT departments are generally process and quality experts, and it makes no sense to take away what IT does well. Instead, the conversation should be about adapting traditional governance strategies to leverage the unique benefits of global agile cloud development. Cloud governance is unique from traditional governance models in its ability to encourage IT to partner with business leaders and innovate at the pace of business. The business plays an equally important role. Since they are customer facing, they provide the context for business users and lead efforts to innovate in ways that produce employee and customer value. Leaders work together to define clear, measurable goals and help communicate the importance that the cloud and deployed processes play in driving organizational value. Key to successful cloud governance is the establishment of a global governance board. The board is comprised of both executive and regional departmental stakeholders. Executive stakeholders work on high level innovation and strategy, while departmental stakeholders ensure enhancements are value-added.

The Importance of Cloud Governance The Role of IT

The Role of Business

The Governance Board

The pace of business change combined with the rate of innovation that cloud technology brings to market, means that the vast majority of companies may only realize a subset of the benefits promised. For a more in depth look into Bluewolfs unique approach to cloud governance, please review our white paper, Cloud Governance: Empowering Innovation at the Pace of Business.

and up-selling opportunities. Technology and processes can enable this strategy by highlighting such eligible customers. Additionally, by making the right KPIs visible via real-time dashboards, leaders can effectively coach the activities and behaviors that dictate success towards executing the sales strategy. Understand the enterprise How does the whole organization operate? Centralized or decentralized? How do the regions operate, and on which tools and systems do they rely? What are the

regional needs and how do those differ from corporates needs? A clear understanding of how the enterprise operates globally helps define a method to execute. Contrary to the methods of traditional consulting firms, Bluewolf does not recommend organizations move their entire enterprise to the cloud in one big-bang approach. Instead, we advise adopting an iterative process by which more and more valuable systems or functions are migrated. Developing a roadmap of what can move and when, will help define this new journey of operating in the cloud. The plan might also include ancillary factors for

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example, considering new types of devices since many users operate off-site. Communicate, communicate, communicate Any change can lead to confusion. Build a strong business case to get buy-in at the highest levels and this support will help mute any broader cultural resistance in the long run. The CFO must be educated on a shift that reduces capital expenditure, but necessitates a stream of operating expenditure. The IT team must be involved in the process of assessing workloads and workflow, and helping to select partners. Legal counsel might need to be consulted on service-level agreements or data privacy and protection. Procurement will have to be educated about the very different needs with regards to IT spending, both upfront and ongoing. Create a Cloud Governance strategy First, companies need to ensure that there arent breaches to rules or laws under which they operate. With the cloud, a common concern for global companies is around compliance regarding how data may travel into other countries or regions or where certain levels of privacy need to be protected. Second, companies need a framework for making decisions and a process for executing against those decisions quickly. Cloud technology offers an infinite amount of possibility and changes available to users, which can quickly get out of hand on a global scale. Cloud Governance establishes rules for how to set priorities for enhancements or changes to the technology based on the value that change brings to the global business. Put the right team in place Talent is a huge factor in determining the success of any global cloud implementation.

What talent is needed to fill key roles? Successful rollouts require a dedicated system administrator, project managers, business analysts, developers, stakeholders, and other key roles to support the application. A flexible team that can objectively operate inside and outside the organization, and offer new insights and skill sets can be the difference between unforeseen events and keeping costs down. Define change management It is critical to win the support of end-users. With strong education and coaching programs, advocacy can be built from the ground-up. Determine the best training methods based on cultural preferences, languages, and regional needs. Users in Canada may prefer e-Learning modules whereas users in Europe tend to rely on classroom training. It is a good idea to hold round tables with power users and top team players to decide how consistent changes and training will be communicated.

why bluewolf? When undertaking a global cloud initiative, its important to work with a company that has experience. For over a decade, weve been delivering on the promise of the cloud, bringing agility to the most competitive companies around the world. As the only salesforce. com partner in the world with Platinum Consulting status on three major continents, we can provide enterprises with 24x7 global coverage and deeper local expertise across America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Our global clients work with us because we: Are dedicated to driving transformation across an enterprises culture and processesnot just the technology. Thrive on transparency, accountability and agility we flex with your needs. Apply new, yet proven, processes across the customer lifecycle, and use efficient team models to reduce resources. Are a pioneer in offering multi-resourcing models as one global partner for consulting, managed services, and IT staffing. Offer Bluewolf Beyond, a program to help manage change and innovation post go-live. Have built the strongest change strategy, eLearning, and training organization in the industry by focusing on user-driven innovation that matters.

summary
More companies are looking to the cloud to take efficiency and competitive advantage to the next level. A decision to implement cloud technology across the globe means the entire enterprise must be prepared because the challenges can be complex and overwhelming. Technology alone is never the answer, but when technology aligns with crucial business processes, a fundamental shift in business occurs. Bluewolfs experience, proven methodology, and focus on agile business processes enables global enterprises to achieve transformational success and beyond.

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