Unilever claims it's a 'cloud-only enterprise' – now with added OpenAI

Multi-brand consumer megacorp Unilever says it has become a "cloud-only enterprise" with the help of Accenture and Microsoft. One of the largest and most complex cloud migrations in the retail goods industry, according to the company, will give Unilever "resilient, secure and optimised operations" as well as "a platform to …

[Anonymous Coward]

"resilient, secure and optimised operations" - and, from HERE, TODAY "Microsoft App Center has been down for nearly a day, and no word on when it'll end" - and other similar reports

[Doctor Syntax]

Eggs and basket

[Mostly Irrelevant]

No one should be using Microsoft App Center, the platform is clearly slated for the chopping block. Microsoft is bringing all their CI systems together under the Azure Devops platform, including apps. Better to move now than when you're under the gun because they've announced the shutdown.

[Mr.Nobody]

Public Companies should show their detailed costs

I'd love to see a push for public companies to show their technology budgets, if not only to show the wildly varying degrees between different industries and competitors within industries.

I am sure we'd see all sorts of places where the bean counters blew a ton of money so could make these idiotic statements like cloud-only enterprise, like that somehow makes them better than those that aren't? WTF? I'd be more inclined to not invest in companies that make these sort of nonsense statements.

[Kevin McMurtrie]

"industrial metaverse technologies"

With a quote like that, it's probably best that somebody else manages the hardware.

[AMBxx]

Cloud only?

I'll bet that their manufacturing processes aren't running in the cloud. It's fine for email, docs, finance etc, but no way they'd risk having to shutdown all their manufacturing just because Azure has a funny turn.

I hope...

[MyffyW]

Re: Cloud only?

Based on my own FMCG experience there is a welcome separation between information systems and process systems. Welcome, I say, because either is perfectly capable of fracking up the other, and neither is always an exemplar for good practice.

[cookieMonster]

This will of course end in tears

It’s only a matter of time before we read about it here.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cloud is only any good for staring at and seeing shapes that aren't REAL

Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it, especially with Accenshite involved.

They'll get a nice bung in a couple of years when the shareholders see the cloud costs and migration costs and want to pull their data back out into a hybrid model or full back in house.

Consultancies are only pushing cloud because it gives management something to crow about.

[mtp]

Don't need my daily dilbert after this

@ChatGPT

Write me a article full of management buzzwords with the vague theme of moving everything into the microsoft cloud. The article should be written in the style of a dilbert management consultant.

[tezboyes]

Re: Don't need my daily dilbert after this

And I'm wondering which cloud the BOFH will be launching his manager from ...

[captain veg]

Unilever claims it's a 'cloud-only enterprise'

Unilever can claim what it likes, it's basically an advertising business with a small manufacturing and smaller R&D capability on the side. All those brands don't sell themselves, you know.

-A.

[Roj Blake]

OpenAI

It sounds like they decided to give their OpenAI deployment a spin by asking it to write the press release.

[Mostly Irrelevant]

Yeah Right

"Cloud only" means if every office, factory and other piece of on-site infrastructure a company has burns down tomorrow business just keeps on going. There is absolutely no chance that any company with a physical product can be "cloud only".

[StrangerHereMyself]

Balls

Alternatively phrased: "Microsoft has us by the balls and we like it when they squeeze them!"

Cloud is nice until you realize that the cloud provider is actually holding you hostage. Switching over to another cloud provider or your own data center is technically nigh-impossible and prohibitively expensive. You're screwed for life!

Cloud does have its advantages, though. You can replicate your data to different regions, so even if war breaks out your data (and hence your company) can safely continue operations provided the UK isn't nuked.