Accenture and Microsoft assist Unilever with its massive cloud transition
Accenture, Microsoft and Unilever have completed one of the most significant cloud migrations in the consumer goods industry. Unilever, with over 400 brands used by 3.4 billion people every day has benefited from the migration to become a cloud-only enterprise. Because of close collaboration between Accenture and Microsoft, the transformation was completed in just 18 months with minimal interference to business operations.
The cloud migration has not only made Unilever's operations more resilient, secure, and optimised but also provided a platform for innovation and growth. With Azure as its primary cloud platform, Unilever can now launch products faster, improve customer service, and increase operational efficiency. The move to Azure is also in alignment with Unilever's sustainability commitment as it helps the company reduce its carbon emissions.
Unilever's cloud-only approach has significantly improved its business resilience, security, and control of the IT landscape. The creation of an agile, high-performing digital core provides Unilever with increased computing power to explore new ways of working.
This cloud transformation by Accenture, Microsoft and Unilever has set a new benchmark in the consumer goods industry, unlocking new innovation opportunities such as utilising industrial metaverse technologies to accelerate lighthouse factories of the future. By leveraging the power of the cloud, artificial intelligence and strong data foundation, Unilever can forecast and adapt to changing market needs faster than ever before enabling perpetual breakthroughs in research and development.
Unilever is also embracing the latest in AI to drive better experiences by applying Azure OpenAI Service across its business to drive increased automation, enabling better customer and employee experiences. The move to the cloud has also helped Unilever reduce its carbon footprint by exiting its data centres and introducing Green Cloud Advisor, which facilitates its transition to a more sustainable and efficient cloud environment.
Steve McCrystal, Chief Enterprise & Technology Officer at Unilever, said, "Unilever is a truly data-powered organisation. Working with Accenture and Microsoft on this global transformation project, we can respond to ever-changing consumer needs faster, allocate our resources more effectively to focus on what drives growth, and bring services and products to the market faster."
Nicole van Det, Senior Managing Director at Accenture and global account lead for Unilever, said, "With cloud at the core, the path to business resilience is through total enterprise reinvention. With access to the full continuum of cloud capabilities, including generative AI, Unilever has the elasticity to drive innovation faster, accelerate growth and continue to set the pace as a digital powerhouse and leader in its industry."
Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Microsoft, said, "With Microsoft Azure as its cloud foundation, Unilever's end-to-end digitisation will enable rapid innovation across its entire business. Unilever's digital-first approach will empower it to grow resiliently and exceed the industry's pace of innovation."
