An insurance agency recognized the benefits cloud computing can offer in terms of speed and profitability. As the company focused on growing the business, as well as avoiding disruption by their more agile competitors, they knew they needed to use as much of the cloud as possible, while keeping costs under control and improving their security posture. By taking advantage of the inherent benefits of the cloud in Azure and Microsoft 365, the company was eager to address the following business goals:

• Reduce cost
• Improve security posture
• Improve business continuity capabilities
• Open a new stream of opportunities by virtue of having migrated to the cloud

Like most mid-size organizations, this 450-user agency lacked the in-house subject matter expertise to align all the cloud features with their business goals. The Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions and Technology was looking for a strategic partner to lead the organization through the change. BDO Digital’s ability to listen to the company stakeholder’s needs and requirements, and then translate those into meaningful initiatives gave the business the confidence it needed to partner with BDO Digital not only for the initial migration, but as an ongoing strategic advisor throughout their cloud journey.

Unlocking the Power of the Cloud

With the help of BDO Digital, the insurance agency has saved around $300,000 in operational and management costs by moving to the cloud. A carefully designed project roadmap allowed them to complete the first phase of modernizing their infrastructure both on time and within budget, and the project established a key partnership that will continue to benefit the business as they embark on future cloud initiatives.

• Customer has projected annual savings of $300,000
• Cloud roadmap delivered the project on time and within budget
• Established a strategic partnership with the client to operate as one seamless unit to deliver on future cloud initiatives

Strategy Is Key in Becoming a Cloud-First Company

Before the insurance agency could capture the benefits of the cloud via Azure and Office 365, they knew they needed careful planning and deliberation. That’s where BDO Digital was able to offer the collective experience of a wide array of subject matter experts to consider all the possibilities prior to diving into the project, such as unexpected costs, interoperability, security gaps, and unanticipated application rework.

To help smooth a frequently bumpy path, BDO Digital developed an Azure/Cloud Roadmap that set realistic expectations on everything from which technologies to prioritize first to how long the migration would take to the potential impact on operations.

BDO Digital’s strategic cloud-first approach incorporates the following steps:

1. Interview key stakeholders and allow the business objectives to dictate the cloud strategy
2. Deep dive into the current systems and landscapes to establish what’s possible, and what’s necessary to create greater value for the business
3. Jointly assemble the roadmap elements and ROI justifications for the defined initiatives
4. Create a timeframe and value matrix to deliver value and minimize risk

By establishing a clearly defined cloud strategy, the organization is able to make plans for continuous innovation in the cloud. Today, they are working on a CRM upgrade with BDO Digital, as well as a rebranding and reimagining of their employee intranet with SharePoint Online.

Have you made, or are starting to make, the transition to the cloud? The cloud journey is different for every organization. Contact BDO Digital to discuss your unique needs and establish a cloud roadmap strategy that addresses your business goals, users, and success.