Delivering Zellis HCM Cloud Migration

CASE STUDY - UK HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

The Requirement

A UK higher education institution required a secure and future-proof HR and Payroll platform to replace its existing on-premise system ahead of contract expiry. The objective was to migrate a mature business-critical platform to the cloud while maintaining continuity of payroll, HR operations and statutory reporting.

The programme needed to preserve existing processes, historical data and system integrations, while reducing infrastructure overhead and creating a more resilient foundation for long-term service delivery.

The Challenge

This was a large-scale transformation involving a core HR and Payroll platform supporting thousands of employees, over 20 years of historical data and more than 10 integrations across finance, recruitment, identity management and BI systems.

The delivery had to protect payroll continuity, preserve statutory reporting outputs and manage a shift in technical architecture from Oracle-based integration patterns to an MS SQL cloud environment. Senior stakeholders from HR, Finance, IT and programme leadership all needed confidence in the solution, budget, delivery plan and operational model.

Our Approach

Solution Delivery Model: Maxica supplied the core delivery team across project management, business analysis, solution architecture, change management and testing to lead the programme successfully end to end.

Full Lifecycle Involvement: We supported the programme from business case, budget and resourcing through to technical architecture, implementation planning, cutover preparation and definition of the post-project operating model.

System Integrator Management: Maxica managed the system integrator to ensure solution design, delivery quality and timescales remained aligned to business requirements.

Governance & Control: We established structured governance across senior stakeholders, managed risks and dependencies, and coordinated delivery across HR, Payroll, Finance, IT and supplier teams.

Our Solution

Maxica led the delivery of a like-for-like migration of the client’s HR and Payroll platform to Zellis HCM Air. The solution included migration of the core system, redesign of 10+ integrations, implementation of single sign-on, reporting refactoring and end-to-end testing across test and production environments.

The design preserved existing business processes, historical employee data and statutory reporting capability while enabling a more secure, scalable and supportable cloud operating model.

Benefits

Controlled Delivery at Scale: A multi-hundred-thousand-pound programme delivered with clear governance across senior stakeholders and third-party suppliers.

Operational Continuity: Payroll, HR operations and statutory reporting were protected while the platform moved to a new cloud architecture.

Reduced IT Overhead: The move away from on-premise infrastructure reduced support burden and created a more resilient service model.

Future-Ready Foundation: The solution retained what worked, reduced transformation risk and created a platform for continuous improvement.

Why it Worked

The programme worked because the client adopted a pragmatic low-risk strategy and Maxica provided the delivery leadership to execute it. Full lifecycle ownership meant that business case, budget, resourcing, architecture, delivery and post-project operations were treated as one joined-up transformation rather than separate workstreams.

By supplying the core team and managing the system integrator, Maxica created clarity, control and accountability throughout delivery. The result was a stronger solution with lower implementation risk and a better long-term operating position.

Learn More

If you are planning a complex HR, payroll or business systems transformation, Maxica provides the delivery capability, governance and technical leadership to help you succeed.

Call us on +44 333 700 2014

Email us on hello@maxica.com