In five years virtually every enterprise will be using the public cloud in one form or another and more than 80% will be using ERP in the cloud – most of them fully.

More than 70% of cloud users are not satisfied with the cost savings offered by the cloud, while 67% are puzzled by the compliance and security challenges.

Despite these challenges, more than 60% are planning to move more workload to the cloud, with the most common driver being cost optimization.

There are many enterprises that simply do not understand the difference between the private and the public cloud. Today there’s all-in hybrid, private cloud in public cloud, and private clouds hosted in the public cloud. Sounds like a mess, right?

In the Nordic region in particular it is difficult to understand what hyperscale really means. A datacenter of thousands or even tens of thousands of servers might sound big and capable, but it is tiny compared to the giants of the industry. If you have 50 locations on every continent, each of which is home to several datacenters containing hundreds of thousands of servers, that is hyperscale.

So, why does scale matter?

Removing the variable of scale totally changes the enterprise architecture and with it, the business model. Now we are talking about a real paradigm shift. We can forget about the traditional challenges regarding infrastructure, cost, and availability and start to concentrate on direct support for business. This is why 72% of enterprises now look to the cloud to help them become more agile.

Who can I turn to for help and advice?

Call the hyperscale vendors? Nope. They are just going to tell you that their solution is the best and why; they rarely tell you what their weaknesses are and you’ll hear a lot of “Yes, but…” excuses. You need to go very high in the organization and establish a high level of trust to hear the things you really need to hear.

What about hiring your own people? Well, that might work for a while, but the teams need to be extremely well connected and willing to continuously develop, and there will be little time for anything other than simply keeping pace with the surrounding changes. It’s also very expensive.

While this might sound very black and white, the fact is that getting accurate, useful information in the middle of the cloud boom is not that easy. One very good recruitment consultant told me that headhunting a high-quality cloud expert is virtually impossible – and not worth the effort since they would not stay for long anyway.

So, network with a company you can trust, one whose business priorities and investments are not only focused on traditional computing or business models. Your chosen partner needs to earn their money – and your trust – by showing that they can give you good, actionable advice. The more trust you give, the more you gain.

Trust does not just mean co-creation, it means taking risks, investing when uncertain, and being open to exploring new options. In this specific case, trust comes from the best practices and knowledge that your chosen partner has built and that your organization is willing to take on board.

Finally, your chosen partner should be one with whom you share common goals, who says you need to take more than just one step towards the public cloud, and who tells you when to slow down, take a step back, and plan your strategy and journey before you jump to conclusions.

Read more: SAP on Public Cloud