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McKesson Medical-Surgical × Nishtech

From IBM RPA to
GCP-Native Automation/

McKesson's workflow automation estate is moving from Azure to Google Cloud Platform. IBM's RPA and Business Automation Workflow have no direct GCP equivalent. This document outlines how Nishtech approaches the migration — discovery through stabilization — and why we are positioned to lead it.

4
Delivery Phases
32
Weeks End-to-End
3
Migration Tiers
100%
Senior-Led Delivery
Explore
The Challenge

The platform move nobody planned for/

Moving from Azure to GCP is a routine infrastructure decision — until you realize that IBM RPA and Business Automation Workflow don't travel cleanly. Every assumption about how the automation estate works needs to be revisited.

GAP
No GCP-native RPA equivalent
Google Cloud has no first-party RPA product. Cloud Workflows handles lightweight cloud-native orchestration — it is not a replacement for IBM BAW or IBM RPA. This is a deliberate re-platforming decision, not a configuration migration.
DEP
Lift-and-shift is not viable
IBM RPA bots are built on Windows-dependent runtimes with Azure-specific integration connectors — Azure Service Bus, Azure AD, Azure Blob. Every dependency must be remapped. Moving VMs to GCP and expecting bots to function is not a realistic option.
DOC
Process documentation gaps
Enterprise IBM BAW environments accumulate years of undocumented customization — bots built by people no longer with the organization, edge-case logic embedded in automation that nobody fully understands. Discovery is often harder than the migration itself.
INT
Deep SAP and OMS integration dependencies
McKesson's IBM workflows almost certainly touch SAP (order processing, contract management, pricing), OMS, EDI feeds, and internal approval workflows — all built against Azure-hosted endpoints. Every integration touchpoint must be re-established on GCP's identity and networking model.
SKL
Skills and platform transition simultaneously
McKesson's IT team knows IBM tooling. A GCP migration means learning new infrastructure while re-platforming production automation at the same time — extended timelines and elevated risk without external expertise to anchor the technical decisions.
RGX
Regulatory exposure during transition
Many of McKesson's automated workflows touch regulated distribution processes — order validation, contract compliance, DEA-sensitive product routing. Any coverage gap during the migration window creates compliance exposure, not just operational risk.
"Moving our automation platform is not just a technical migration — it's a re-examination of every process we've automated over the last decade, against a new cloud environment, with a team that hasn't done it before. The risk isn't in the code. It's in what we don't know is there."
— Enterprise Automation Lead, Healthcare Distribution / Industry Context
Our Approach

Four phases. No surprises/

A structured migration approach that moves from discovery through tiered execution — ensuring nothing reaches production before it is fully understood, mapped, and tested. The phases are designed to be sequential, but informed by what each prior phase surfaces.

01
Discovery & Inventory
4–6 weeks
02
Architecture & Platform
2–3 weeks
03
Migration Execution
12–20 weeks
04
Stabilization & CoE
4–6 weeks
Migration Tier Classification — Phase 3 Execution Order
Tier Workflow Characteristics Examples Execution Window Parallel Run
Tier 1 · First Simple, high-frequency, low-risk. Linear logic, no compliance sensitivity, minimal integration depth. Status notification bots, document routing, simple approval triggers Weeks 9–14 2 weeks minimum
Tier 2 · Second Moderate complexity, business-important. Multi-step logic, some integration dependency, business-critical but not compliance-gated. Order status workflows, inventory sync automation, customer notification pipelines Weeks 13–22 3–4 weeks with UAT
Tier 3 · Last Complex, compliance-sensitive, deeply integrated. SAP-connected, DEA-sensitive, contract-critical, or multi-system orchestration. Contract pricing automation, DEA product routing, SAP order validation workflows, GPO compliance checks Weeks 21–30 4–6 weeks extended parallel with formal sign-off
Phase Detail

What happens in each phase/

Select a phase to explore activities, deliverables, and team composition. Each phase is designed to produce a concrete, client-owned artifact — not just internal work product.

Phase 01
Discovery & Workflow Inventory
4–6 weeks
›
Phase 02
Architecture & Platform Selection
2–3 weeks
›
Phase 03
Migration Execution (Tiered)
12–20 weeks
›
Phase 04
Stabilization & CoE Setup
4–6 weeks
›
The Delivery Team

A purpose-built blended team model/

Nishtech combines existing workflow and integration expertise with a targeted external RPA architect — bringing the right skills to the engagement without the overhead of a 200-person SI. Every role is senior, named, and accountable.

Engagement Lead
Senior Engagement Director
Nishtech — Full-time
Owns the client relationship, program oversight, risk management, stakeholder reporting, and delivery sequencing across all four phases.
Owns
Client relationship & trust
Risk identification & escalation
Executive stakeholder reporting
Phase gate sign-off
RPA Architect · External Expert
Certified RPA Platform Architect
UiPath / Automation Anywhere — Contract
The technical spine of the engagement. Owns bot architecture, GCP deployment, platform configuration, and migration quality. UiPath or AA certified with prior IBM-to-cloud migration experience.
Owns
Bot design & architecture
GCP deployment & orchestration
Platform configuration & governance
Nishtech team upskilling
Automation Analyst
Workflow & Process Analyst (×1–2)
Nishtech — Power Automate background
Drives workflow discovery, process mapping, and documentation. Transitions into supervised bot configuration and Tier 1 build support under the RPA Architect — building Nishtech's internal practice capability on a live engagement.
Owns
Workflow discovery interviews
BPMN process documentation
Tier 1 bot configuration (supervised)
Power Automate bridge workflows
Integration Engineer
Senior Integration Engineer
Nishtech — SAP / ERP background
Re-establishes all SAP, OMS, and EDI integrations against GCP networking and identity. Owns the API architecture layer between the automation platform and McKesson's core systems — Nishtech's primary existing credential for this engagement.
Owns
SAP / OMS integration re-architecture
GCP IAM & network connectivity
EDI-to-REST bridge where applicable
Integration health monitoring
QA & Program
QA / Program Coordinator
Nishtech
Manages the parallel-run test strategy, UAT coordination, tier sequencing, and delivery tracking across all phases. Ensures nothing reaches production without formal sign-off.
Owns
Parallel-run test management
UAT coordination & sign-off
Tier sequencing & sprint tracking
Compliance validation checkpoints
+
Practice Growth
Post-engagement, Nishtech's Automation Analysts graduate as junior RPA practitioners. The second engagement costs less to staff.
Why Nishtech

Not a large SI. Purpose-built for this/

McKesson's automation migration is a specialist engagement — not a headcount problem. Nishtech brings the combination of integration depth, process analysis capability, and senior accountability that large offshore-staffed SIs cannot deliver at equivalent cost or speed.

01
SAP & ERP integration depth
Re-establishing McKesson's SAP, OMS, and EDI integrations on GCP is the highest-risk technical dependency in this migration. Nishtech has direct enterprise distribution experience with SAP-connected commerce and workflow environments — this is not a stretch capability.
02
Internal program management advantage
Nishtech has an existing relationship with the internal program manager running this initiative. That access accelerates the discovery phase, normalizes the boutique delivery model internally, and keeps Nishtech informed before a formal RFP is issued to the broader market.
03
Workflow analysis is a native capability
Nishtech staff with Power Automate and business workflow backgrounds understand automation logic — triggers, conditions, exception handling, approval routing. The Phase 1 discovery work does not require RPA tooling expertise; it requires process thinking. That is already here.
04
Targeted expert augmentation, not pretend expertise
Nishtech brings in a certified UiPath or Automation Anywhere architect as a named, contracted expert — not as hidden offshore capacity. McKesson knows exactly who is doing the RPA work and what their credentials are. That transparency builds trust through delivery, not just in the pitch.
05
Healthcare distribution vertical fluency
Nishtech understands that McKesson's automation workflows are not generic enterprise process — they touch DEA-sensitive product routing, GPO contract compliance, and regulated order validation. That vertical context shapes how we classify tiers, design parallel-run windows, and approach sign-off criteria.
06
100% senior-led — no delegation to juniors
Every named role on the Nishtech delivery team is a senior practitioner. No bait-and-switch with junior delivery after the proposal. The people who design the migration are the people who execute it.
Nishtech Blended Model
Named senior engineer on every role
SAP integration depth from live distribution engagements
Certified RPA expert brought in transparently
Internal program manager relationship already established
Healthcare distribution workflow context built in
Boutique accountability — Suresh on the engagement
vs
Large SI Alternative
Junior staff behind a senior account team
Generic ERP integration practices, not distribution-specific
RPA capability buried in offshore delivery centers
No existing relationship — starting from scratch
Vertical context learned on McKesson's time and budget
No single point of accountability post-sale
Next Steps

Three conversations to move this forward/

No commitment required to start. The right first step is a focused discovery conversation — not a proposal review.

01
Workflow Scope Conversation
A 60-minute working session with McKesson's internal program manager and IT lead to validate the IBM workflow inventory scope — how many workflows, which systems they touch, and what the GCP timeline pressure looks like. This shapes the Phase 1 engagement design.
This week
Phase 1 Assessment Proposal
02
Nishtech delivers a scoped Phase 1 proposal — Workflow Discovery & Inventory — as a standalone, fixed-fee engagement. This is the lowest-risk entry point: McKesson gets a complete migration blueprint before committing to full implementation.
Within 1 week of scope conversation
03
RPA Architect Introduction
Nishtech introduces the contracted UiPath or Automation Anywhere architect to McKesson's technical team before any work begins — validating credentials, establishing working rapport, and confirming GCP deployment approach. No surprises on who is doing the RPA work.
During Phase 1 kickoff