Moving functionality into cloud systems does not necessarily mean that there will be any significant efficiencies in terms of in-house capability. Simple cloud applications may make little difference to capability requirements. However, more complex integrations will need significant upfront resource to configure and implement with an extended period required to manage ongoing system improvements and updates. Integrating several different cloud services can be particularly challenging.
Questions audit committees could ask:
• Will the organisation retain the necessary technical knowledge post-implementation? What knowledge will there be of any ongoing legacy systems and how they interface with new cloud systems? What plans are there for knowledge transfer from the cloud provider pre- and post-migration? How is knowledge-sharing operating with the cloud provider?
• Does the technical team have the capability to take full advantage of the cloud systems? Is specific training arranged for different cloud provider systems which may have widely varied data structures and technical requirements?
Do teams responsible for legacy systems (such as business intelligence (BI) reporting, third-party payroll, or fixed asset modules) have the capability to manage the interfaces with the cloud system?
• Will there be sufficient capability to manage updates, downtime and system changes? Will the organisation retain people who understand the cloud system configuration and can manage changes and continuous improvement? Will the technical team be able to effectively monitor planned cloud system updates and understand the organisational impacts?
• Will there be sufficient commercial and legal capacity to challenge value for money and compliance? Will the commercial team have sight of the usage of cloud systems through monitoring tools? Will they be able to understand and interrogate the cost drivers to ensure ongoing value for money? Will there be legal capacity to support the technical team if there are breaches of service level agreements (SLAs)?
• Is there sufficient base-level stakeholder capability to optimise cloud system usage? Are system users taking advantage of the opportunities and features available? Is there a training plan in place to keep users up to speed with changes and induct new users? Do decision-makers have sufficient understanding of cloud capabilities to engage effectively?