Case Study

The Challenge

The Retail Client embarked on a major initiative to relocate its on-premises data centre from one US state to a cloud hybrid, multi-data-centre solution. This complex migration was further complicated by the differing governance and legal requirements for the destination jurisdictions. Further challenges surfaced as part of legal separation activity from the parent organisation, requiring careful consideration of the separation’s implications.

With a lean operating model in place, the Client sought Perform Partners to provide additional expertise and resources to effectively navigate the complexities of the migration. Despite having a programme office to manage operations, they recognised the need for strategic expertise due to the complexities involved, particularly with reliance on ten different third-party suppliers.

Our Approach

Recognising the challenges and the need for a solid foundation to ensure success, our Change Squad established a Project Management Office (PMO). This strategic collaboration provided critical support in aligning resources, defining governance frameworks, and facilitating a more cohesive, effective migration process.

The PMO allowed the Client to maintain control throughout the migration. By implementing robust governance frameworks and clear processes, we successfully managed changes in scope, cost, and timelines, ensuring alignment and transparency across all project stakeholders.

• Initial Impact Assessment: We began by assessing the Client’s operations, governance, and tools while providing migration cost estimates.
• Collaborative Workshops: We facilitated several workshops with the Client and its suppliers to develop recommendations on governance, organisational structure, and necessary skills and resources.
• Supplier Engagement: We engaged with suppliers to align tools and techniques with existing systems, fostering buy-in and collaboration.
• Proposed Governance Model: We developed a governance model tailored to the Client’s needs and desired outcomes, aligned with our capabilities. We implemented a governance framework that was efficient and avoided overwhelming project managers with unnecessary paperwork.
• Process Mapping: We mapped out processes and procedures to support the project and maintain agility.
• Detailed Business Case: A detailed business case was built, outlining necessary resources and a plan for scaling up the team at key milestones to meet the project’s growing demands.
• Regular Reviews: We conducted regular reviews with the project team and senior leadership at the Client, ensuring open, transparent communication to align budgets.
• Expert Team Integration: We brought in an architect to evaluate the “as is” and “to be” states, a business analyst to analyse the business case and conduct financial reviews and project managers to offer expert guidance on PMO and migration setup.
• Perform Expertise: Drawing on our team’s extensive experience with large-scale on-premises to cloud migrations, we identified potential pitfalls and defined clear success criteria.