Retail Challenges in Centralizing and Consolidating Data

Data consolidation and centralization using Cloud services often offers a solution. The route to a consolidated and centralized data landscape is not so easy in many cases. There are often diverse applications with limitations and requirements, overdue maintenance, diverse stakeholders with different needs, wishes and requirements, limited standardization and a lack of architecture.  Arriving at a feasible and supported plan of action is the key.

AMIS Conclusion has been commissioned by a large retail company in the Netherlands to simplify the current Oracle database landscape so that, among other things, changes can be implemented more quickly.  Through a phased approach, we have demonstrated that centralization and consolidation of the database landscape via Cloud services is possible.  

During this first phase, AMIS Conclusion, in collaboration with the client's specialists, answered questions about technical feasibility, migration approach, cost of ownership, security and scalability. Answers to questions that are necessary to draw up the business case for the intended work. The importance of a successful migration is essential as the regular business processes will not be disrupted during this transition.

Migrating to the Cloud offers several advantages. With centralization and consolidation, for example, the data from the stores will soon be available in real time in the central IT landscape. In the future, consumers will be able to gain live insight into local stock data via their mobile phone. Lucas: "For example, I will soon be able to use my app to see if the bakery department in the supermarket on my corner still has fresh spelt bread, isn't that great."  

Maintaining one central environment is much easier than maintaining hundreds of decentralized environments. And in the cloud, you only pay for the capacity actually purchased, compared to the maximum cost per local installation. Finally, in the Cloud it is possible to quickly scale up extra capacity at peak times, for example during the holidays. 

For example, every year a roadmap is made for the holidays to ensure that all IT systems continue to function properly during the extreme shopping pressure. To cope with this crowding, heavy systems (with a lot of overcapacity) must be purchased to absorb a few peak moments. By moving the database to the cloud, it is easy to provide this extra capacity when needed. You simply scale up some extra capacity only when necessary.  The store (and the consumer) does not notice that quite a lot is going to change behind the scenes.

Together with the client, AMIS Conclusion started to identify and define the assignment. Based on this, AMIS Conclusion made a technical design of the future situation (a centralized background and end-user applications, integrations and databases) and a proposal for the migration approach.    

With a Proof-of-Concept, it has been demonstrated that a centralization and consolidation of databases, supporting applications and integrations using the Azure cloud that has already been applied is quite possible. During the PoC, there was close cooperation with the stakeholders involved. A migration plan has been drawn up in consultation with all stakeholders.   

This plan has created certainty and confidence among all those involved that the phased, manageable and uninterrupted implementation of centralisation and consolidation is possible. In this way, you ensure that all those involved are behind the realization of this complex and long-discussed migration.

In this process, AMIS Conclusion has shown that it has strong substantive expertise and execution power with which they can convert their vision into concrete practical results. Lucas: "By proactively identifying opportunities for improvement, we show commitment, openness and thus create a sense of trust." This has convinced this retail organisation to embark on this process with AMIS Conclusion.