Driving Cost Efficiency and Business Agility for Cummins: How Outcome-Based Cloud Migration Enabled a 58% Cost Reduction in IT Support

Client Overview

Explore how Cummins partnered with Sutherland to harness intelligent automation to streamline operations, minimize manual intervention, and deliver a 58% reduction in IT support costs. This drove greater efficiency and sustainable value across the enterprise.

The Challenge

Breaking Free from Legacy Constraints: The Imperative for Cost-Efficient, Agile Infrastructure

Cummins faced mounting operational and financial pressures tied to its aging on-premise data center infrastructure. The environment was costly to maintain, resource-intensive, and lacked the flexibility required to support modern, dynamic business operations. The urgency for transformation was heightened by the looming renewal of a $10.4 million annual data center contract and the risk of incurring an additional $7 million in Oracle support reinstatement fees. To sustain its competitive advantage and drive future growth, Cummins recognized the need for a more agile, cost-effective, and future-ready cloud solution.

Sutherland Solution

Accelerating Cloud Modernization with Zero-Cost Migration and Intelligent Automation

Sutherland partnered with Cummins to execute a comprehensive cloud migration strategy:​

1. Zero-Cost Cloud Migration Model
   Sutherland leveraged its proprietary zero-cost cloud migration framework, shifting expenses from capital expenditures (CapEx) to operational expenditures (OpEx). This innovative approach eliminated upfront costs, enabling Cummins to modernize its IT infrastructure without financial disruption.
2. Comprehensive Application Migration and Modernization
   Over 90 applications were successfully migrated to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), including a full modernization of the critical Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) — transitioning from Solaris OS to Linux OS. This ensured improved system performance, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
3. Enhanced Security Deployment
   Sutherland implemented the full Oracle Cloud Security suite to fortify the new cloud environment, ensuring enterprise-grade security, regulatory compliance, and robust data protection across all migrated applications and services.
4. Cloud Managed Services for Continuous Optimization
   Post-migration, Sutherland provided ongoing cloud-managed services, delivering predictable monthly expenses and continuous performance optimization. This proactive support model ensured operational stability, maximized return on cloud investments, and allowed Cummins to focus on strategic growth initiatives.
   

Through a zero-cost migration strategy, comprehensive application modernization, fortified cloud security, and managed operational support, Sutherland enabled Cummins to drive significant cost efficiencies, increase agility, enhance security, and position its IT landscape for scalable future growth.

The Outcome

Unlocking Transformational Cost Savings and Building a Scalable Digital Future

The outcome-based cloud migration initiative delivered major financial and operational advantages for Cummins. By modernizing its IT infrastructure and retiring costly legacy systems, Cummins achieved a 58% reduction in IT support costs. Strategic execution around application migration enabled the company to avoid $7 million in Oracle support reinstatement fees, while the elimination of a $10.4 million data center renewal commitment translated into $6 million in annualized cost savings.

Beyond financial benefits, the migration to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure significantly enhanced Cummins’ operational agility, scalability, and resilience, positioning the organization to accelerate future digital initiatives and sustain long-term competitive advantage.