The cheeseburger now comes from the cloud

When you order a burger at McDonald's, you rarely think about how much technology is involved in this simple moment. Whether you order at the counter or at the McDrive, communication with the kitchen, payment processes, supply chains in the background, or apps and displays in the restaurant. All of this benefits from a strong IT landscape in the background. It is precisely this unobtrusive reliability that shapes the McDonald's experience.

The larger the company, the more precise these digital processes need to be. For years, McDonald's Germany has had a strong IT landscape that is centrally responsible for the security, stability and growth of McDonald's German market. However, this was based in local data centres. Now, the switch to a powerful AWS-based cloud platform was to take place. The advantages: improved availability and accessibility, faster response times and better performance, increased security for sensitive data, cost efficiency through the elimination of existing hardware. The question was therefore not whether to modernise, but how to intelligently transfer a functioning, stable structure to a global cloud environment.

It was at this strategic moment that the collaboration between McDonald's Germany and adesso began. The aim was not to migrate restaurant processes directly, but to put the corporate systems that support these processes in the background on a future-proof footing. The migration was therefore not a restart or a repair, but a further development: a move from a strong local base to a global platform.

Once you understand the complexity of system catering, you quickly realise how important stable corporate IT is in the background. A poorly timed system change can bring entire restaurant operations to a standstill, simply because someone ordered a cheeseburger. That was something we couldn't allow to happen. That's why the migration began with a comprehensive analysis of all the applications that communicate with each other in the background. Ordering and POS systems, administrative processes, internal tools and support services were analysed and structured.

The question was always: How do you migrate a running, well-functioning corporate IT landscape in such a way that restaurants can continue to operate reliably as usual? The answer lay in an architecture that picks up each system and each workload where it stands and transfers it to a global structure without interrupting its functionality. It was precisely this logic that shaped the migration concept.

Before large parts of the corporate IT were moved, pilot migrations were carried out first. These were a test field designed to show how individual applications would behave in the AWS environment. Here, too, the principle was that day-to-day operations must not be impaired. The test migrations ran smoothly, were closely monitored and there were clear fallback concepts in place. They showed that the German system landscape fits well into the global platform. After that, it was clear that nothing stood in the way of the big switch to the cloud.

The migration ultimately took place in four waves. These were based on the natural cycle of a company such as McDonald's. This is because fast food chains in particular are subject to busy daily rhythms, seasonal fluctuations and operationally sensitive periods that determine their day-to-day business. Some systems were deliberately migrated during periods of lower utilisation. Others were prepared in such a way that they had minimal impact on ongoing operations. Each wave had its own focus, was precisely coordinated and was planned in close consultation between McDonald’s Germany and adesso.

The migration thus remained largely invisible. For guests, nothing changed in terms of order speed or service quality. And yet, in the background, large parts of the IT architecture were migrated to a new platform. The cheeseburger with the ordering process in the cloud was prepared just as quickly as before and tasted just as good. The main requirement for guests: fulfilled.

Pure AWS technology is challenging, but manageable with a team of experts. It took coordination, mutual understanding and a shared sense of responsibility to keep the project moving forward steadily despite changing resources.

The parallel implementation of targeted change management made a major contribution to this project. Various workshops, regular communication through different channels and tailor-made training concepts for McDonald's Germany employees ensured that the transition to the new working environment was as smooth as possible.

The overarching formula for success in this project was trust and respectful cooperation. Where new ideas arose, there were constructive discussions. Where scepticism arose, valuable perspectives emerged that improved the project. The goal was always to find a common path that everyone could support. It was precisely this interaction that ensured the successful and timely go-live of the new cloud environment.

Once the migration was completed in December 2025, the lasting impact of this step became apparent. Replacing local hardware created a technological platform that is specifically designed for scalability and enables new technologies to be integrated in a flexible and future-proof manner. In summary, McDonald’s Germany and adesso have modernised the entire IT infrastructure to current technological standards.

For guests, visiting McDonald’s remains as easy as ever: short waiting times, reliable processes, functioning technology – and a cheeseburger that tastes great.