The short version For decades, governments and organizations could run services based on servers we actually owned. These days, we’ve allowed the IT world to convince us no computing is possible outside of US-style clouds, for which we have no European equivalents. And because of this conviction, we are now moving our most precious data and most critical services to US controlled servers. Yet most of European government software still runs on locally owned systems.| Bert Hubert's writings
Advanced cloud services are based on good hardware, decent software, and surrounding infrastructure that combines these both into solid solutions that can be provided as a business activity. Europe is good with operating the hardware. And surprisingly, we are also good with writing software. Much of the software used by the main cloud providers is based on open source, and lots of that open source is authored by European programmers. What we sorely lack here are providers of higher level clou...| Bert Hubert's writings
A brief addition to the 50000 words I wrote earlier on the cloud: what is the European situation? Software Initially, companies and governments would buy licenses to software. You’d typically have a piece of software in your office, on one of your computers, to calculate payroll with. Most other computers would have copies of WordPerfect installed. This software would function for years without updates or maintenance. If WordPerfect-the-company would disappear, you would not even notice.| Bert Hubert's writings
The very brief version: “going to the cloud” can mean renting services/servers that you could get from anywhere. There’s little lock-in. The same four words “going to the cloud” might also mean locking your operations to a specific cloud provider, whose proprietary services will now be part of your business processes “forever”. Be specific which variant of cloud you are signing off on! I’m mostly out of the office but this post was already in the pipeline and I thought it migh...| Bert Hubert's writings
In the earlier post ‘But how to get to that European cloud?’ I alluded to a coherent strategy that might get us to such a non-US cloud. In the present article I hope to clarify what this could mean, and why I think it could work. Here I focus especially on what should happen concretely, and who should do it. Note that this page is compatible/congruent with the latest EuroStack document.| Bert Hubert's writings
Earlier, I wrote that there isn’t just one type of cloud; it ranges from renting out servers to fully managed office software as a service. One relevant type of cloud use is what’s informally called “cloud-native.” I wrote in that earlier page that a “cloud-native developer” does not work based on servers. If you rent out virtual servers and call yourself a cloud company, a cloud-native developer won’t understand you at all.| Bert Hubert's writings
The very short version: It has now become clear that European governments can no longer rely on American clouds, and that we lack good and comprehensive alternatives. Market forces have failed to deliver a truly European cloud, and businesses won’t naturally buy as yet unproven cloud services, even when adorned with a beautiful European 🇪🇺 flag, so for now nothing will happen. This article is part of a series of posts on (European) cloud challenges.| Bert Hubert's writings
We have extensive discussions about our enormous dependence on American clouds, but what exactly are we talking about? And is Europe equally dependent on all types of cloud? This article is aimed at policy makers, but it may also provide some clarity about the broader landscape to actual cloud users. There is also a Dutch version of this page. Cloud in Shapes and Sizes Public cloud, private cloud, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, IaC, CaaS – what do all these terms mean?| Bert Hubert's writings
The very short version: it is madness to continue transferring the running of European societies and governments to American clouds. Not only is it a terrible idea given the kind of things the “King of America” keeps saying, the legal sophistry used to justify such transfers, like the nonsense letter the Dutch cabinet sent last week, has now been invalidated by Trump himself. And why are we doing this? Convenience.| Bert Hubert's writings
In the beautiful Dutch booklet Over en Uit: Driekwart Eeuw Radiocommunicatie 1900 - 1975 (‘Over and out: 75 years of radio communications’), we read: 1916: As a result of British cable censorship, free communication between the Dutch government and the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies was no longer feasible. (Dutch version of this post is here) The Netherlands was dependent on foreign countries for communication, which had already caused problems earlier:| Bert Hubert's writings
Naar aanleiding van veel misverstanden hier een kort stukje over: Helpt het als Microsoft/Google/Amazon beloven dat mijn gegevens op servers in de EU worden opgeslagen? Kan ik met “eigen sleutels” / bring your own key / double key encryption / aparte opslag, mijn data in praktische zin beschermen tegen Amerikaanse spionage? Kan ik me zo beschermen tegen Amerikaanse sancties / dreigementen / Trumpiaanse woedeuitbarstingen? Het antwoord op alledrie de vragen is helaas “nee”.| Bert Hubert's writings
“Be even more suspicious […] of all those who employ the term ‘we’ or ‘us’ without your permission. This is another form of surreptitious conscription, designed to suggest that ‘we’ are all agreed on ‘our’ interests and identity. […] Always ask who this ‘we’ is” – Christopher Hitchens in Letters to a Young Contrarian. It is so easy to write “Europe must invest more in AI”, but it is a red flag that reveals sloppy thinking on two levels.| Bert Hubert's writings
Dit is een licht verbeterde versie van mijn praatje op 7 juni op de Public Spaces conferentie in Amsterdam, en ik wil de organisatie graag bedanken voor hun uitnodiging, en het publiek voor de goede vragen & reacties zelfs al tijdens het praatje. Vind de oorspronkelijke slides met notities hier. Of, voor wie zin heeft, hier is de oorspronkelijke video. Nou, wat fijn dat jullie er allemaal zijn. Ik heb misschien een wat ander, minder technisch verhaal dan vele mensen die mij voorgingen hier.| Bert Hubert's writings
Lately there’s been some confusion: places like SIDN (Dutch national operator of all internet names that end on .NL) claim that nobody in Europe can deliver their computer needs, and that they therefore must outsource their operations to American cloud providers. Dutch version of this page here: Cloud Native, Europa, de ‘Bijenkorf’ Megascaler 🇳🇱 Meanwhile, we have large providers of servers and services in the Netherlands and in Europe who claim that they can (and do) provide thes...| Bert Hubert's writings
The short version: organizations often hesitate for many years before outsourcing tasks, particularly in the field of ICT (Information and Communication Technology). During those years, valuable ICT employees leave because constantly justifying their own existence is frustrating. In the long run, something will eventually go wrong, making the decision to outsource much easier: “We can’t and don’t want to do this ourselves anymore.” However, by hesitating for so long, you have created ...| Bert Hubert's writings
This is a lightly edited transcript of my presentation today at the ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar ‘Cyber Security and Society’. I want to thank the organizers for inviting me to their conference & giving me a great opportunity to talk about something I worry about a lot. Here are the original slides with notes, which may be useful to view together with the text below. In the notes there are also additional URLs that back up the claims I make in what follows.| Bert Hubert's writings
This article is part of a series on (European) innovation and capabilities. The very short version: All of computing is moving to the cloud at a rapid pace, including (government) parts you might want to keep under your own control Europe has no relevant ‘hyperscaler’ cloud providers at all, and there is a desire to change this by policy means Competing with the IKEA-concept is nearly impossible. Offering IKEA-like products but then with a smaller range is not an attractive proposition.| Bert Hubert's writings
