Many companies use the cloud for more flexible and efficient applications. The cloud helps reduce time to market when upgrading applications or developing new products & solutions. This trend has come to the fore in recent years with the rise in remote working. “For CGI’s Voice of Our Clients programme, we interview clients about various strategic topics. Of the 1,700 worldwide clients who were asked about their cloud strategy in 2021, nearly 80% were planning to upgrade more than 20% of their applications over the next two years. Upgrading was their top priority, ranking in second place overall”. Companies are increasingly choosing public (or hybrid) rather than private cloud solutions, as confirmed in 2021. However, some sectors such as finance continue to favour the private model.

Assessment

Adopting cloud solutions requires a clear strategy. “To define the best solution for a company, we need to consider the context. We determine whether the applications are consistent in terms of technology and whether the IT teams use an agile, DevOps approach. We also apply the 6 Rs (Retain, Retire, Rehost, Replatform, Refactor, Repurchase)”. The strategy will vary based on the number of applications. Companies must therefore assess their portfolio to develop a suitable approach. “They also need to define their driver for moving to the cloud and what they hope to achieve. They should bear in mind that cloud transformation doesn’t end when migration is over”. Due to frequent technological enhancements, it is important to adopt a process of continuous improvement. This means monitoring successes and adjusting the target and approach based on experience.

End-to-end

CGI uses an end-to-end process when providing migration support. “We start with a scoping phase to define the strategy based on the portfolio analysis. We then build the cloud infrastructure and start the technical migration process”. If required, CGI uses its “Modernization Factory”, a collection of tools and business solutions that facilitate large-scale migration. CGI also uses refactoring with fully cloud-native applications. “Our approach is built on industry-standard cloud development concepts, following best practice, such as the ‘12-factor app’ principles for portable and resilient cloud applications. We also use DevOps to automate and industrialise integration, environment provisioning and application rollout”. This support has proven invaluable to CGI’s clients. “We migrated several systems to a private cloud in the finance sector. In some cases, this involved just a few applications; in others, it was the vast majority. We’ve also run cloud-native development projects, for applications in the public cloud. These two options are seldom combined”.

CGI’S ADVICE 

Define a strategy : Determine how many applications you need to migrate and how fragmented they are.

Build cloud infrastructure : Design the infrastructure and the security, automation and cost management elements.

Transform your Information System : Upgrade your applications using tools, processes and solutions.

Adopt cloud-native applications and green cloud computing : Develop new, more sustainable applications.