Insights from NASTD Spring Conference 2026: Why Cloud Centers of Excellence Are Stuck in the “Messy Middle”

At the NASTD Spring Conference 2026, many teams described a similar challenge. While front-end cloud adoption is progressing, the back-office processes required to support it are still highly manual.

Usage data is often pulled from platforms like Azure, exported, manipulated, and then sent to finance teams for billing. In some cases, this process is partially automated. In others, it is entirely manual.

This is what many referred to as the “messy middle.”

It’s the gap between cloud consumption and financial operations. And it’s where scalability starts to break down.

Cloud and AI usage are inherently variable. Consumption changes daily, sometimes hourly. Pricing models are dynamic, with tiers, usage thresholds, and multiple service components.

Trying to manage that level of complexity with static spreadsheets creates friction at every step.

Delays become common. Errors become more likely. And finance teams struggle to keep up with the pace of change.

For CCoEs, this creates a fundamental limitation.

You cannot operate as a true service broker if you cannot efficiently translate usage into accurate, timely billing. Without that capability, the model loses credibility.

Agencies expect clarity. They want to understand what they are consuming and how it translates into cost. When that connection is weak or delayed, confidence in the system declines.

The states making progress are recognizing that this middle layer needs to be treated as a system, not a process.

It requires automation. It requires integration between cloud platforms and financial systems. And it requires a structured way to normalize, allocate, and present usage data in a way that both IT and finance can rely on.

CCoEs are not failing. They are evolving.

But to fully realize their role as internal service brokers, the financial operations behind them need to catch up with the pace of cloud and AI adoption.

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