Dive Brief:
- Unilever completed a major “cloud-only” digital transformation in just 18 months, the company announced Monday.
- Using Azure as its primary cloud platform, the global consumer goods company aims to “accelerate product launches, enhance customer service and improve operational efficiency,” the announcement said.
- IT consulting firm Accenture and tech giant Microsoft facilitated the project through Avanade, a joint venture launched in 2000 to focus on digital transformation through cloud, AI, analytics and other enterprise technologies.
Dive Insight:
As part of the modernization push, Unilever is hoping to gain ground in its battle to control carbon emissions.
The cloud-only approach replaces legacy data-center infrastructure, moving applications, storage and compute to a potentially more efficient as-a-Service model.
Unilever is a founding member of Transform to Net Zero, a cross-sector sustainability alliance formed with Mercedes-Benz AG, Microsoft, Nike, Starbucks and several other companies in 2020.
Accenture and Microsoft announced an expansion in their commitment to carbon-curbing technologies in June. Avanade’s solutions leverage Microsoft’s Cloud for Sustainability and a Green Cloud Advisor feature integrated into Accenture’s myNav cloud management tool.
Microsoft, the second largest cloud service provider with nearly one-quarter of the global market, announced enhancements to Azure's sustainability tools in January.
The slate of Azure features allow organizations to track Scope 3 emissions from indirect sources, including carbon produced by employee commuting and products that decompose in landfills.
