A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives: a curated forum reserved for leaders nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the Construction Tech Review Advisory Board.
Tupperware
Redefining Infrastructure: The Shift From On-Premises To A Hybrid Multi-Cloud And Cloud-Native Future
In the rapidly evolving world of technology, where digital transformation is not just an option but a necessity, my journey as the global director of infrastructure and support at Tupperware has been both challenging and exhilarating. Looking back five to six years, Our company embarked on a crucial transition, aligning our digital infrastructure with a comprehensive business model transformation. We aimed to reach our clients through multiple channels, far beyond the traditional party model.
This transformation journey involved a shift from paper-based processes to digital systems, revolutionising how we interacted with our distributors and sales force. We embraced changes like moving to third-party warehouses, introducing web shops, and enhancing mobile app experiences. These steps were just the beginning of an ongoing transformation driven by a world that demands constant adaptation and innovation.
Quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and cost became our guiding business objectives. To support these goals, we recognised the need to significantly increase our use of digital technologies. This was not just about optimising business processes for agility but also about embracing our values and culture to offer a unique customer experience in a VUCA world – one characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity.
As we integrated more digital technologies, it became apparent that our on premises infrastructure was reaching its limits. It lacked the necessary scalability and agility to keep up with the growing demands of our processes and data. Our systems were straining under the increased load, leading to user and sales force dissatisfaction.
This realisation led us to a pivotal decision in 2018 when I was overseeing operations in EMEA. We chose to migrate our workloads to a private cloud with IaaS services, gaining flexibility in provisioning compute and storage resources. However, by the end of 2020, with essential cloud solutions already in place, we were ready to leap into the public cloud arena, seeking to capitalise on benefits like flexibility, reliability, scalability, performance, automation, and cost savings.
Our vision was clear: we wanted our technology teams to focus on building innovative solutions in the cloud rather than maintaining static and physical infrastructure. This shift was not just a change in technology but a strategic move towards a future-ready, global, hybrid multi-cloud environment, laying the foundation for a cloud-native future.
The journey from an on-premises infrastructure to a hybrid multi-cloud environment marked a significant strategic shift for us. It was a journey characterised not just by a change in technology but by a holistic transformation in how we approached our business operations.
In our early days of cloud adoption, we embraced a private cloud model. This initial step was crucial in easing our transition away from on-premises limitations, providing a valuable learning curve without overwhelming us with the complexities of public cloud environments. By migrating key workloads to a private cloud in 2018, we began to experience the benefits of flexible resource provisioning, setting the stage for more significant changes to come.
The decision to migrate to a private cloud stemmed from a clear vision of our immediate needs and future goals. It was a strategic move, reflecting our commitment to staying ahead of the curve in a competitive marketplace. We sought an infrastructure that could provide agility and scalability, essential for supporting our evolving business processes in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
As our confidence and expertise in cloud technologies grew, we took the next bold step in our journey by transitioning to a public cloud environment. This move, made by the end of 2020, represented a significant move forward. The public cloud offered us a more dynamic, scalable, and potentially to be more cost-effective solution, bringing notable benefits in terms of flexibility, reliability, and performance. Our adoption of public cloud technologies also opened doors to automation, leading to enhanced operational efficiencies and cost savings.
This strategic realignment towards a public cloud infrastructure was more than a technological upgrade; it was a redefinition of our business strategy, aligning our infrastructure with the long-term objectives of our organisation. It marked a pivotal moment in our journey, laying the foundation for a fully integrated, hybrid multi-cloud environment that would become the cornerstone of our digital transformation strategy.
A Pivotal Aspect Of Our Cloud-Native Journey Was Embracing Containerisation And Kubernetes Orchestration
Choosing a clear framework was just as important. It gave us a straightforward guide outlining each part of our digital change. This framework was carefully created to be flexible, helping us handle the challenges of moving to the cloud while making sure every part of the project was carefully planned out. It acted like a map, leading our teams through the complex changes in technology, making sure every choice and achievement matched our business goals.
Our journey was guided by the '5-7R' Gartner’s AWS Model (pic1), a robust methodology for cloud adoption. This approach helped us categorise applications and workloads, facilitating a tailored migration strategy for each. We assessed applications based on factors like business needs, technical feasibility, and cost, ensuring each move to the cloud was optimised for our specific requirements.
Adhering to best practices was paramount in our strategy. Thorough planning and stakeholder engagement were the bedrock of our approach, accompanied by rigorous risk management focusing on security, compliance, and data integrity. Post migration, we dedicated ourselves to continuous optimisation of our cloud environment, ensuring we achieved both performance excellence and cost efficiency.
The tools we employed played a crucial role in streamlining our migration. Cloud management platforms provided essential visibility and control, while automation tools significantly reduced manual efforts and accelerated processes. Data analytics tools were also instrumental, offering valuable insights for optimising resource allocation.
A pivotal aspect of our cloud-native journey was embracing containerisation and Kubernetes orchestration. Containers revolutionised our approach to application deployment, offering unparalleled flexibility and efficiency. Kubernetes, in orchestrating these containers, enhanced our operational capabilities, enabling seamless deployment, scaling, and management. This powerful combination not only elevated our operational efficiency but also drastically reduced deployment times and optimised resource utilisation. The agility and scalability offered by these technologies were essential in our ability to adapt swiftly to business needs and maintain our competitive edge.
The strategies and tools we adopted, while specific to our journey, hold universal relevance across various industries. Businesses in sectors ranging from retail to healthcare can leverage similar approaches to enhance their digital capabilities. Particularly, the adoption of cloud-native solutions like containers and Kubernetes can be transformative, fostering efficiency and spurring innovation.
In wrapping up our journey to a hybrid multi-cloud and cloud-native future, it's evident that our path was not just about upgrading technology; it was a strategic realignment of our infrastructure to support long-term organisational goals. This transformation redefined our approach to technology, setting us up for sustained success in a digital-first world.
