ADEO, with the help of CGI, migrated its 15-year-old data warehouse from on-premises to Google Cloud, creating a more customer-centric approach that enables it to share and use data for insights.
Migrating a 15-year-old data warehouse to Google Cloud
Data is one of the most valuable assets a business has. A company must have access to the most up-to-date and relevant data if it wants to understand its customers and remain competitive. Businesses were estimated to have spent $215 billion in 2021 on big data and business analytics solutions, a 10% increase on 2020. To retain and grow its market share, ADEO, one of the world's leading home improvement companies, knew it needed to create a data-driven strategy that would align with its digital transformation and improve the way the company makes decisions.
"We still too often associate data with reporting; it's a bit like if we wanted to drive a car while looking only in our rear-view mirror," says Laurent Ostiz, Chief Data Officer, ADEO. "Driving a car or a business is all about looking forward. It is, therefore, a question of using the numerous datasets available, such as history of transactions, web browsing, receipts, supplier data, etc. as well as other complex data, which might be a comment on our website or a photo posted on our social networks, to improve the way we make decisions."
Laurent Ostiz knew that ADEO had to make the move to the cloud if this strategy was to be successful. No small task, when the company's on-premises system had been running for 15 years. So ADEO turned to Google Cloud and CGI.
Gain of 50% in TCO (energy, physical space, use)
100% of data on the same platform
We still too often associate data with reporting; it's a bit like if we wanted to drive a car while looking only in our rear-view mirror. Driving a car or a business is all about looking forward. It is, therefore, a question of using the numerous datasets available, such as history of transactions, web browsing, receipts, supplier data, etc. as well as other complex data, which might be a comment on our website or a photo posted on our social networks, to improve the way we make decisions."
Chief Data Officer, ADEO
Replatforming a data warehouse eco-system with Google Cloud
ADEO had adopted a platform strategy as it wanted to open the route to partnerships and collaborations with other players that could bring added value for its clients. The first aim of this strategy was to open up ADEO's information system. The company needed to be able to operate this system in connection with its partners' own information systems, and to use it to work closely with start-ups or logisticians.
But ADEO's legacy on-premises infrastructure was holding it back. It struggled to absorb all the data that the company had to manage. Not only was the company processing operational data, it was also dealing with a vast amount of data it collected from its customers' journeys on its e-commerce websites or marketplaces. If it couldn't keep pace, it could lose customers. "On a website, if you don't know what the customer thinks, appreciates, expects, in short if you don't have a data-driven approach, you're totally blind. That's the contribution of data: helping us manage the company and that's what we needed from Google," says Laurent Ostiz.
Building a data-driven future
The move to Google Cloud provides ADEO with a more customer-centric approach. Now the company can share and use data for insights, monitoring activity, data visualization, and much more. It has confidence in its data strategy moving forward. "We have objectives and a clear strategy. And we address any problems one after the other," says Laurent Ostiz. "Concretely, we work on several subjects in an agile and fast way. At the same time, we are carrying out substantive projects, which commit more resources and aim for the long term."
