Why does the (semi) government still opt for digital dependency?
The shock of a vacancy Sometimes you read something that makes you laugh awkwardly. A vacancy at a large hospital, for example, where it is fun to look for a BI developer who helps...
Water Board Vechtstroom learns nothing from Hardenberg
Our local authorities as digital satellite statesThe Water Board Vechtstroom does exactly the same as the municipality of Hardenberg: transfer our local government systems and data to a foreign power. It's like being consciously...
Europe in digital chains: From naive control to shameless betrayal
Where the hell do I start? There's so much happening at the same time that I don't really know where to start. The European dream of freedom and transparency is about to collapse. While civilians...
Digital Sovereignty is a Lie We'd Like to Keep Believing in
⁇ Everyone wants it, nobody dares to do it Digital autonomy. Every policy paper, party program and strategic government document talks about it. Ministers call it in interviews. Members of Parliament ask questions about it....
Big Tech and the new feudalism: we are declared digitally obsolete
⁇ Secret infrastructures, open wounds On August 6, NRC published an article that reads like a dystopian paragraph from 1984: Israel turns out to be systematically listening to Palestinian phone calls and beating...
Dodging Big Tech for 30 euros per month: That's how I built my own cloud empire.
Hills and valleys: I'll take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives. I...
Wetransfer, Washington and We: Why Digital Sovereignty Is No Longer a Hobby Project
Sovereignty starts with discomfort I had promised myself (and my wife) not to write business blogs during my vacation. Still, I'm here. In the French sun, with a glass...
Building Europe Itself: From Key Figures to Key People
⁇ The urgency of today: Building Digital Sovereignty Thursday, June 5th, my alarm went off at 2:30. After only two hours of sleep, I got up, packed my suitcase, drank a...
Between storm and silence: Why I'm Hopeful Today
A particularly difficult season Sometimes it is as if life is piling up for a while. In recent months, my family and I have been confronted with no less than five personal dramas in...
Stopover to the future
As the train whizzes towards Arnhem, I let my gaze rest on the passing landscape. This journey is more than just a physical journey. It's a...
The Red Button: How the U.S. Banned an International Criminal Court Prosecutor from Accessing His Email
Digital sovereignty is no longer an abstract concept Imagine: You're an internationally respected lawyer, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and suddenly you can't join your...
Digital Sovereignty: A New Course for Municipalities. Are you reading Hardenberg?
The recent news that forty Dutch municipalities are launching their own sovereign cloud environment is an encouraging sign of progress. This initiative, which stems from the Open Web concept, offers municipalities...
Digital sovereignty? Not in Hardenberg, apparently.
While Europe is looking at digital independence and more and more governments are reconsidering their trust in American tech giants, the municipality of Hardenberg is happily opting for a deeper...
It is political: Insights from the Nextcloud Enterprise Day 2025
Sometimes you visit an event that broadens your view of technology, data and society in one fell swoop. Yesterday was such a day. During the Nextcloud Enterprise...
Hello Windows, hello freedom: Why I Switched to Linux
Hills and valleys: my Journey away from Big Tech I take you on my adventure to switch from Big Tech software to more reliable, European or open-source alternatives...
A European façade on American foundations
New commitments, old dependencies On 30 April, Microsoft published a comprehensive statement entitled ‘Our European Cloud Principles and Commitments’ (source: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/04/30/european-digital-commitments/). In it, the company promises, among other things, data centers...
⁇ Time for Action: Europe, now or never
An ethical digital future begins today The letter from seven Dutch technology companies to the House of Representatives, shared via post on LinkedIN, is no ordinary lobby letter. It's a manifesto. Sendent,...
Data on the fence – how Europe is losing its digital wool
⁇ Our data, their business model Imagine a field. On the right: Europe, where exhausted citizens in frayed clothes try in vain to stop a flow of sheep. To the...
English (UK)