Rethinking Accenture's network

STORIES
A radically new approach
to consuming network
services
Rethinking
Accenture’s
network

Accenture saw our global enterprise network
as a potential limiting factor for growth, so we
developed a program to address the need for
a more agile one.
Copyright © 2022 Accenture. All rights reserved
An opportunity
to disrupt
Accenture network facts
Call for change
Accenture’s enterprise network has been
critical to connecting our workforce of
710,000 employees serving clients across
120 countries to our business applications
and collaboration tools. Over the years, our
global private network has grown in
considerable size and complexity with
significant operational overhead.
Today, many organizations are adopting cloud
technologies to be able to address the impact
of rapid business change for application and
content hosting. But what about the network?
While cloud workloads are able to flex to meet
demand in real time, networks are still largely
fixed and slow to respond to demand
fluctuations.
The move of nearly all of Accenture’s IT
infrastructure to the hybrid cloud presented an
opportunity to not only modernize applications but
to significantly disrupt our network approach to a
radically new one of extensive cloud service
consumption. With nearly all our business
applications “internet facing” and most Accenture
offices connected to the internet, the reality is that
cloud connectivity can replace traditional enterprise
networks with the internet enabling the “last mile.”
This approach is creating the possibility to phase
out our private network completely.
200
Cities with Accenture locations and operations
574K+
Unique network users
50K+
Managed network devices
15M
Daily employee authentications

Transforming our
network
When tech meets human ingenuity
We’re transforming to operate as a cloud-
enabled network wherever our people are
working. Our approach is to use the internet
as the primary method of connection and
cloud provider services to replace traditional
enterprise connectivity. This is the future of
cloud-enabled organizations.
We’re eliminating our reliance on enterprise data
centers. We want to make the best use of cloud
and SaaS services and make them accessible
natively over the internet. The abundance of
capacity and direct routing is serving our
workforce better than backhauling traffic to a
private network that will always have finite
capacity.
We’re also changing the connectivity in all our office
locations from attaching to our private core to
cloud-enabled network.
We’re decreasing the size of the network core and
the number of our cloud connectivity locations.
We’re moving the last applications and services to
either cloud or edge compute solutions. The final
effort will move Accenture to a completely
commoditized network.

When tech meets human ingenuity
Our approach is innovative in that we are
phasing out the concept of a traditional
network and instead taking full advantage
of the cloud WAN and consuming a global
infrastructure as a service like everything
else supported in the cloud. In the
process, we are creatively replacing many
of the services typically hosted in a core
network:
Maintaining IT security without owning
a network. We encrypt all traffic and use
multifactor authentications for all our
applications and services, focusing on securing
our data and intellectual property. Our security
approach will be decoupled from our
infrastructure and driven by identity.
Redefining remote access services.
We partnered with our cloud and SaaS
providers to build new remote access solutions.
By using cloud-native VDI and VPN, we only
pay for what we use and have a service that
scales horizontally as needed.
Going cloud enabled. StoringAccenture’s
applications and content in the public cloud
means we no longer need to direct traffic
through a constrained enterprise network.
Enhancing experience. Permanently uncoupling
from a private network will enable us to make use
of the inherent availability and unlimited capacity of
the internet and eliminate any constraints or choke
points.
Rethinking IT success measurements.
A holistic experience platform will combine
telemetry from several performance metrics
from multiple sources. This score will be our
new measure of IT health.
Connectivity is at the
core of a digital
business. As cloud has
forced a paradigm shift
in how digital
businesses provide
their services, it will
also force a shift in
how we think about
flexible and secure
connectivity.”
MERIM BECIROVIC
Managing Director—Global IT,
Enterprise T
echnology,Accenture

A valuable difference
Simplification
Accenture’s network transformation program is
well under way. This move toward commodity-
based connectivity powered by internet-only
and cloud services simplifies all aspects of our
network. It will be more secure, less complex,
and higher performing.
The transformation is projected to reduce our
asset-heavy core and fixed costs. The change
enables us to operate in a highly optimized
consumption model, only paying for what we
need with supply aligned to demand in real time.
We’ll gain business agility from having a network
that is highly consumable with capacity that can
flex up and down in real time.
Our transformation will also generate the
untapped potential of reducingAccenture’s
carbon footprint by eliminating hundreds of
network assets hosted in dozens of hosting
facilities around the world. Security will be
enhanced. By moving away from a fixed private
network to using shared networks, we will only
consume the network resources—and
associated carbon footprint—that is required.

A valuable difference
Benefits of our network transformation:
Cost-effective
Shifting most of our traffic directly to the
internet rather than using a private core
decreases cost per unit by aligning capacity to
business demand.
Cost reductions
Positions Accenture for an estimated cost
savings of $15‒$20 million per year.
Secure by design
Allows our people to work anywhere while
providing protection for end points and data,
reducing our attack surface area and protecting
our reputation.
Business agility
Phasing out a heavy and passive network
environment supports Accenture’s ability
to innovate as fast as desired.
Driving toward internet
and cloud only allows
us to use the inherent
infinite capacity of
these services to
reimagine the future
of our workforce’s
experience.”
STEVE COURTNEY
Director—Global IT, Technology Vision
& Strategy,Accenture
User experience
A consistent connectivity approach regardless
of location coupled with more direct access to
applications and content improves the user
experience.
Simplified design
Negating the need to connect offices to a
private backbone simplifies office design,
improves deployment time, and eases
operational impact.
Sustainability
Moving away from static networks that are built
for peak loads to a consumption model that is
aligned to real-time demand reduces our
carbon footprint.

Copyright © 2022Accenture.
All rights reserved.
Accenture and its logo
are trademarks ofAccenture.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global professional services company with leading
capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched
experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries,
we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and
Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of
Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our
710,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human
ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We
embrace the power of change to create value and shared success
for our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities.
Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Contact
Merim Becirovic
Managing Director
Global IT
Enterprise Technology
/merim-becirovic
Steve Courtney
Managing Director
Global IT
Technology Vision & Strategy
/steve-c
Don Galzarano
Managing Director
Global IT
Enterprise Technology,
Intelligent Cloud & Networks
/don-galzarano
Amardip Singh Mann
Director
Global IT
Chief Cloud/Network Architect
/amomann

Rethinking Accenture's network

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