Large organizations such as Accenture had been used to earning certifications and having them be good for three to five years, Hoff said. But with cloud platforms changing monthly, weekly or even daily, there's a far greater need for ongoing certification management tools that can adapt to the latest technology archetypes, he said.

A shortage of cloud-savvy talent in the marketplace was also a factor in Accenture's purchase of Cloud Sherpas, Hoff said.

"It is very difficult to get talent," Hoff said. "With the acquisition, Accenture immediately acquired some great processes and some great people."

Solution provider Paragus IT has also needed to change some of its talent to better support the cloud, according to operations director Tyler Lucas.

The Hadley, Mass.-based IT consulting firm – which primarily supports small and mid-sized businesses – found that it needed to attract different skillsets and ways of thinking. Lucas said that hasn't always been easy given the resistance to new business models in some corners of the IT industry.