The global and independent platform for the SAP community.

A Fundamentally New Way of Thinking With Cloud

"Cloud" is at the top of my hit list of meaningless IT buzzwords. Although perhaps meaningless is a bit harsh. It's more the mechanics of the discourse that keeps us talking about the cloud, but often at cross-purposes.
Julia Rettig, Nagarro
March 10, 2025
avatar

What do we mean by "cloud"? Deployments, servers, subscriptions, mindset. These are all topics that can be examined quite transparently, but "cloud" faces the same challenge as other buzzwords: there is no universal definition. As a rule, the definition of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is commonly used.

ISO 22123-1

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), on the other hand, follows the ISO standard (see ISO 22123-1). ISO describes the whole thing using the most complex language possible: "A paradigm for enabling network-based access to a scalable and elastic pool of shared physical or virtual resources according to the principle of self-service and on-demand administration.”

Crucial to the BSI's choice of definition is that cloud computing is described as a "paradigm"—in other words, a fundamental way of thinking. This proves helpful, because if we look at the technical fundamentals or deployment models, we see that it is not just a matter of looking at things from a technical perspective, but that mindset also plays a role.

Returning to the cloud, there are several operational levels to discuss. First, there is the delivery model. In the SAP ERP area, we need to decide between private and public cloud. Multi-cloud or hybrid scenarios are also relevant for many companies.

SaaS, IaaS, or PaaS?

On the other hand, there are service models, mostly on a subscription basis: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), which are based on the application, platform, and infrastructure layers of cloud computing. GROW with SAP, for example, is delivered as SaaS in the public cloud, while RISE with SAP combines components from SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS and is, according to SAP, a business transformation-as-a-service.

Cloud mindset

There is one perspective missing from the cloud discourse that I mentioned earlier: the mindset. I once asked Copilot what SAP means when it talks about the cloud—especially in terms of tone and messaging. The answer was: "Overall, SAP's messaging is positive, forward-looking, and designed to deliver tangible business value, with a focus on security, compliance, and sustainability."

Breaking open silos

The cloud is supposed to unleash our pioneering spirit and take us to new heights. It sounds great, but it also brings with it some very human challenges. When it is necessary to make do with the delivered (but no less efficient) best-practice standard, then change management is necessary. When departments are brought closer together because the cloud breaks down the silos which used to facilitate hiding from difficult discussions, this initially leads to internal resistance. And then it is necessary to find a way to deal with managers' sense of entitlement. They promise the quantum leap through the cloud, but there are twenty years of legacy to work through before they can reach utopia.

Finally, there's just one question left: what does the cloud have to do with meatballs (a movie recommendation, despite the absurd title)?


To the partner entry:

avatar
Julia Rettig, Nagarro

Julia Rettig is responsible for the SAP go-to-market and portfolio at Nagarro. She deals almost exclusively with SAP and relevant buzzwords.


Write a comment

Working on the SAP basis is crucial for successful S/4 conversion. 

This gives the Competence Center strategic importance for existing SAP customers. Regardless of the S/4 Hana operating model, topics such as Automation, Monitoring, Security, Application Lifecycle Management and Data Management the basis for S/4 operations.

For the second time, E3 magazine is organizing a summit for the SAP community in Salzburg to provide comprehensive information on all aspects of S/4 Hana groundwork.

Venue

FourSide Hotel Salzburg,
Trademark Collection by Wyndham
Am Messezentrum 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
+43-66-24355460

Event date

Wednesday, May 21, and
Thursday, May 22, 2025

Regular ticket

EUR 590 excl. VAT

Informationen Teilnehmer:

Die nachfolgende Abfrage zur Altersgruppe dient rein statistischen Zwecken. Wir bitten Sie freundlicherweise um eine freiwillige Angabe.


Rechnungsadresse:

Falls Sie hier Ihre E-Mailadresse angeben, wird Ihre Rechnung ausschließlich per E-Mail nach Veranstaltung an die angegebene Adresse gesendet.

Laut Steuergesetz müssen Firmenbezeichnungen in Rechnungen korrekt sein. Ihre eingegebenen Daten werden zur Rechnungsstellung übernommen.

Venue

Hotel Hilton Heidelberg
Kurfürstenanlage 1
D-69115 Heidelberg

Event date

Wednesday, April 22 and
Thursday, April 23, 2026

Tickets

Regular ticket
EUR 590 excl. VAT
Early Bird Ticket
available until 1.10.2025
EUR 390 excl. VAT
The event is organized by the E3 magazine of the publishing house B4Bmedia.net AG. The presentations will be accompanied by an exhibition of selected SAP partners. The ticket price includes attendance at all presentations of the Steampunk and BTP Summit 2026, a visit to the exhibition area, participation in the evening event and catering during the official program. The lecture program and the list of exhibitors and sponsors (SAP partners) will be published on this website in due course.

Informationen Teilnehmer:

Die nachfolgende Abfrage zur Altersgruppe dient rein statistischen Zwecken. Wir bitten Sie freundlicherweise um eine freiwillige Angabe.


Rechnungsadresse:

Falls Sie hier Ihre E-Mailadresse angeben, wird Ihre Rechnung ausschließlich per E-Mail nach Veranstaltung an die angegebene Adresse gesendet.

Laut Steuergesetz müssen Firmenbezeichnungen in Rechnungen korrekt sein. Ihre eingegebenen Daten werden zur Rechnungsstellung übernommen.