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De Digitale Bermudadriehoek in Den Haag - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- Almost no parliamentarians in The Hague want to join the Digital Affairs committee because it is seen as career suicide.
- Hardworking digital experts like Hind Dekker and Lisa van Ginneken have been punished by their parties with low list positions.
- Current active members of DiZa (Martijn Buijsse, Barbara Kathmann, Jesse Six Dijkstra, Jan Valize) are placed in un-electable spots or leaving politics, except Marieke Koekkoek.
- Many parties (BBB, D66, CDA, DENK, SGP, SP, CU) never attend DiZa meetings despite the importance of digital issues.
- DiZa achieved a debate on dependency on US cloud providers and partially halted the migration of government email to Microsoft servers.
- Parties are now dismissing these experts, threatening digital expertise in parliament—a call to action via #NerdVote urges keeping digital-savvy MPs.
- The broader issue is that MPs strong on content are punished, risking neglect of IT knowledge in Dutch politics.
Bijeenkomst Cloud en Digitale Open Strategische Autonomie - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- A meeting on March 27 at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate addressed Europe's heavy dependence on US cloud providers (AWS, Azure, Google).
- The meeting was prompted by SIDN (.NL registry) concluding no European provider could meet its needs, planning to use an Amazon-backed consortium.
- US hyperscalers dominate European markets, but their dominance raises risks: US government access to data (even on EU servers), loss of local skills, and cultural control over content.
- European cloud providers are fragmented and far smaller, lacking the full service range of hyperscalers, leading to a 'megascaler' idea—a set of basic services that European providers could offer.
- The Dutch government is inadvertently deepening dependence by migrating its own email and data to US clouds, instead of acting as a lead customer for European alternatives.
- Cloud migration does not always reduce costs; organizations often see IT spending rise, and security is not automatically guaranteed.
- Resistance to datacenter construction in the Netherlands further hampers European cloud infrastructure.
- The author urges building a European cloud industry (like Airbus) by defining essential services, fostering government procurement, and maintaining digital self-sufficiency.
Communications without Musk and Trump: Cloud Kootwijk - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- Historically, the Netherlands built Radio Kootwijk to escape foreign dependency on British-controlled cables for communication with the Dutch East Indies.
- Today, Europe and the Netherlands are heavily reliant on American cloud services, risking government communication and data privacy.
- The author proposes creating a 'Cloud Kootwijk'—a European-owned cloud infrastructure for secure, independent government communications.
- Urgent action is needed to build and use such a system daily, as current reliance on American tech poses an intolerable risk.
Cloud Kootwijk: Alles hangt af van de verkiezingen - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- The Dutch government is increasingly dependent on US cloud services like Microsoft, raising concerns about data sovereignty and security.
- Cloud Kootwijk is a proposed backup facility on European soil to ensure confidential government communication in case of emergencies.
- Despite political support and motions passed, there is no budget allocated for Cloud Kootwijk, hindering implementation.
- Digitalization and cloud sovereignty receive little attention from political parties in the upcoming elections, with knowledgeable IT candidates often placed in unelectable positions.
- The current parliamentary committee on digital affairs has been crucial in driving progress, but continued advocacy is needed to maintain focus.
- Other positive developments include Schleswig-Holstein's independence from US software and EU funding for cloud contracts, but these require political will to succeed.
Europe's executives need to skill up to solve our total US cloud dependency - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- Europe's nearly total dependence on US big tech (Amazon, Microsoft, Google) is a crisis of digital autonomy.
- Upper management in governments and companies lack technical expertise and rely on consultants who exclusively promote US cloud providers.
- Contrary to claims, it is possible to store data fully in Europe using local servers and generic IT capabilities.
- Examples include the Dutch tax agency moving to Microsoft cloud despite vulnerabilities and the CCB director's mistaken belief that full European data storage is impossible.
- Leadership must skill up and reengage with European generic IT to break free from US tech hegemony.
De digitale coalitieplannen: gaat het ook echt gebeuren? - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- The coalition agreement includes ambitious digital plans: centralized ICT in government, mandatory standards, a 'Digital Service' with enforcement power, moving away from US clouds, and national stress tests for digital autonomy.
- Implementation faces major hurdles: a decentralized ICT culture, heavy reliance on US big tech, and resistance from government IT staff, consultants, and officials who prefer the status quo.
- Key political figures include State Secretaries Willemijn Aerdts (digital economy & sovereignty) and Eric van der Burg (kingdom relations & effective government), with potential involvement from Minister Vincent Karremans on digital infrastructure.
- A positive update: Eelco Eerenberg, a new candidate for State Secretary of Finance with IT background, could help the troubled Tax Authority's IT systems.
- Tensions remain over transferring ICT units between ministries (BZK and EZ), creating uncertainty about the fate of the planned 'Dutch Digital Service'.
- The coalition agreement is silent on the previously praised National Digitalization Strategy (NDS), which was criticized for involving US-dominated NLDigital to reduce US dependency.
- A controversial LinkedIn post from the Strategic Supplier Management Microsoft Rijk downplaying risks of Microsoft dependency was quickly deleted, suggesting possible change in attitude.
- The author warns that without top-down enforcement from a strong Digital Service, the government's big-tech marine culture will persist, further increasing dangerous US dependency.
Praatjes - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- Lists public or widely announced talks (praatjes) on topics including digital autonomy, sovereignty, and cloud dependency.
- Covers talks scheduled for years 2024, 2025, and 2026, with various Dutch organizations such as AFM, CBS, Kiesraad, and more.
- Not exhaustive; earlier years available on an old page, and some talks are not publicly announced.
- Organized chronologically by date, with occasional topic descriptions in parentheses.
Rapport digitale autonomie binnen de energie-intensieve industrie voor Energy Innovation NL - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- The report examines digital autonomy in the energy-intensive industry, based on interviews with directly involved employees.
- Critical machinery is still largely controlled by local computers, with minimal reliance on non-European clouds.
- The immediate environment of operational technology is increasingly cloud-dependent, affecting dashboards and document access.
- Logistics and staff scheduling rely on multiple foreign clouds, risking production if disrupted.
- Suppliers provide fewer autonomous solutions, often requiring cloud connections for sensors and devices.
- The industry lacks collective action to reduce cloud dependency and lacks long-term plans for cloud failures.
- Cloud-based communication and critical documents create vulnerability during crises when clouds may fail.
- AI adoption pressures further reliance on non-European clouds for economic viability.
Digitale Autonomie 2.0: en nu echt - Bert Hubert's writings
2 days ago
- Digital autonomy and resilience are interconnected; the Netherlands is critically dependent on US cloud providers (e.g., Microsoft, Amazon), with all government, banking, and education sectors relying on them, creating vulnerabilities.
- US companies can access data or shut down services at any time, and special agreements do not prevent this; European alternatives exist (e.g., Aisle, Galileo, SURF Nextcloud) but are underused due to lack of awareness and training.
- The IT education system exclusively trains users for US cloud platforms, while management and IT staff resist change because it disrupts established routines and profit models.
- Political will for digital autonomy exists (150 votes in parliament), but funding is lacking, and middle management is the biggest obstacle, having ignored IT for decades.
- Solutions include starting small but significant (e.g., SURF's Nextcloud pilot), building on standard open components (PostgreSQL, Keycloak), and treating IT as a core government task.
- Organizations should first implement low-hanging fruit (e.g., self-hosted services); if they refuse, it shows lack of genuine commitment.

cloud dependency

De Digitale Bermudadriehoek in Den Haag - Bert Hubert's writings

Bijeenkomst Cloud en Digitale Open Strategische Autonomie - Bert Hubert's writings

Communications without Musk and Trump: Cloud Kootwijk - Bert Hubert's writings

Cloud Kootwijk: Alles hangt af van de verkiezingen - Bert Hubert's writings

Europe's executives need to skill up to solve our total US cloud dependency - Bert Hubert's writings

De digitale coalitieplannen: gaat het ook echt gebeuren? - Bert Hubert's writings

Praatjes - Bert Hubert's writings

Rapport digitale autonomie binnen de energie-intensieve industrie voor Energy Innovation NL - Bert Hubert's writings

Digitale Autonomie 2.0: en nu echt - Bert Hubert's writings