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
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