CP-80: Migrating to the Cloud – How We Did It

Matthew Pflieger, Mission EssentialKenley Dull, Mission Essential

Michael Miller, Deltek

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Deltek Insight Conference, Orlando FL

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How We Did It

Migrating to the Cloud

This document is confidential and intended for use and information of the party to whom it is addressed.

•Purpose & Rationale for Moving to the Cloud

•Negotiating the Contract

•Project Planning

•Change Management

•Technical Considerations

•Key Takeaways

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Agenda // Table of Contents

Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

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Purpose of the Cloud Migration Project

Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Co

st• Cloud license cost

vs. on-premise

• Elimination of hardware refresh costs

• Reduction of internal support costs

Sup

po

rt &

Per

form

ance

• Deltek handles patches, upgrades, and regular maintenance. Always on latest code.

• Use of latest software versions

• Integration of separate systems – CP, T&E, Cognos, other proprietary systems

• Access to Deltek Learning Zone (DLZ)

Secu

rity

• More advanced data security features and processes

• Improved disaster recovery security

• Less risk of data errors by accessing tables directly

Co

mp

any

Stra

tegy

• Overall trend toward cloud hosting for company systems

• Consistent with other platforms moving to cloud hosting

6Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Negotiating the Contract – Key Considerations

Length of Agreement

Planning horizonTimeline for

migration

Select Care/Other

Add-OnsTraining & rollout

Number of Users

Conversion Costs

Cost EvaluationWhat functionality

to Include

7Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Project Planning – Plan the Work, Work the Plan

• Focus significant effort on communicating, socializing,

and training on the new system.

• Set realistic dates for phase completion.

• Assign owners and teams for each phase.

• Status progress frequently (e.g. weekly updates).

• Adjust & adapt plan proactively as needed.

• Consider other significant projects happening at the

same time.

• Ensure adequate resources are available.

• Develop a functional test plan that covers key

processes.

• Plan time and resources for testing.

• Examine all Cognos/BI reports, trim down the list.

Phase 1 • Discovery and Design

Phase 2 • Communication and Training

Phase 3 • Functional Testing

Phase 4 • Build Integrations

Phase 5 • Re-test

Phase 6 • Cutover Preparation & New Accounts

Phase 7 • Upgrade & Cutover

Phase 8 • Post Go-Live Support & Transition

Internal Process Updates Testing

• Internal discussions regarding

process improvement opportunities

• Validate or update processes

• Discovery with Deltek consulting

and DLZ

• Examples of Internal Process

updates:

• User Accounts

• Password resets & unlocking accounts

• Timesheet Classes

• Timesheet Controls

• Labor Processing

• Expense Classifications

• Procurement Workflow

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Change Management

• Different functionality by version

• Use of Sandbox versions

• Testing of Internal Process Updates

• Functional Testing of Standard

Processes

• Breakout of testing teams:

• Internal Accounting initial testing

• Operations (engage field/gather feedback)

• Adjust controls based on feedback

• Retest regularly, will overlap with all

phases

• New SW version

• Custom PowerPoint slides with

instruction and version 7.1.1 visuals:

• Unique for each Timesheet Class

• Internal Process Updates/Functional

• Recorded general videos:

• AD Manager account creation

• Timekeeping

• Expense Reporting

• Live daily standup meetings with

corporate staff and Site Managers at

all locations:

• Live Training

• Live Q&A

• Live Feedback of Testing Plan

Training

9Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Change Management

Communication

• Good opportunity to scrub the list of

BI reports

• Good opportunity to purge old/bad

data

CleanupUser Experience

• Consider varying training needs by

organization, project, location, etc.

• New user interface

• Self-service for user account

maintenance

• Making sense of the different links

(account vs. CostPoint)

• Cannot control timing of updates –

need flexibility

• Staff meetings

• Announcements

• Leadership presentations

• Project team meetings

• Geographic dispersion is a big

consideration

• Post go-live support & training,

Q&A

• New look to interfaces

10Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Technical Considerations

User Account Setup is a significant process

Users must set up cloud accounts (outside of CostPoint). Password resets and lockouts handled differently.

Significant time and energy required to set up user accounts. Plan for the unexpected, such as verifying email addresses.

Depending on number of users, new accounts may need to be uploaded over time. We uploaded ~150/day, staggered over time in order to avoid overload of questions.

Uploaded test database in advance in order to allow users to log in and experience the system before going live (need to ensure users don’t keep using Test after go-live)

11Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Technical Considerations – Database Access

Full database is uploaded to the cloud…

Uploaded test database in advance in order to allow users to log in and experience the system before going live (need to ensure users don’t keep using Test after go-live)

Uploading the database – don’t do it yourself, let Deltek cloud ops do it. May be a charge depending on how many times this is done but worth it. We did 4 complete uploads. Two on weekend of conversion due to Deltek code conversion/upgrade. Need to look out for this.

Moving user accounts from pointing to test database to point to production database – had to be done one by one (another good reason to clean up the inactives)

No longer have direct access to data tables

Manipulation of data must be submitted as a ticket to Deltek

May need to update business processes. E.g. we eliminated a manual custom script from our biweekly payroll process

12Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Technical Considerations

Don’t forget the integrations!

Integrations must be updated. Work differently than on-prem, plan ahead for learning new rules.

ODBC connectivity is good, allows us to read data as needed.

May involve upgrading to current versions of CostPoint and T&E. May look significantly different depending on current version.

13Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019

Key Takeaways

Define the purpose of the migration.

Change management is paramount. Harvest as much support from the work force as possible.

Build and manage to a real project plan.

Ensure the implementation team is adequately staffed and supported.

Understand the technical considerations. Keep in mind there will be things you don’t think of and need to resolve in real-time.

Matthew M. Pflieger, CPA, PMP, CTP

VP, Corporate Controller & Treasurer

Mission Essential

New Albany, OH

Matthew.Pflieger@missionessential.com

Michael MillerKenley Dull

Sr. Accounting Manager

Mission Essential

New Albany, OH

Kenley.dull@missionessential.com

Principal Customer Success Manager

Deltek, Inc.

Herndon, VA

michaelmiller@Deltek.com

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Thank you for your time!

Mission Essential // CostPoint Cloud Migration // 20 November 2019