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...
The hostage-taking of our education: Microsoft as an invisible schoolmaster
Anyone who walks around in a classroom today does not immediately see it, but feels it. Everywhere you look, Microsoft is in the works. Windows on...
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...
How America turns Europe into a horny place with digital thumbscrews
The mask of European pride We like to walk around in Brussels and The Hague with our breasts ahead: “digital sovereignty, autonomy, independence.” Nice words for a conference, but in reality...
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...
Your Internet Service Provider Knows You're Watching Porn and Makes Money From It
Your browser does not lie, your DNS betrays you Most people think that the incognito mode in their browser protects them from viewers. But that is a persistent illusion. On the...
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...
A new triangle to think about...
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...
Only on Signal: on principles, pain and digital boundaries
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...
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...
From Latte to Leadership: My Day on the Nextcloud Enterprise Day in The Hague
Morning Silence and Outlook It's early. The city still breathes slowly awake while I drink my first latte of the day at Douwe Egberts in New Babylon. Outside is shimmering...
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 transmission under pressure: Will 2025 be the year of digital separation?
Alarm from Berlin Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently warned of the shaky state of transatlantic data traffic. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, she insists...
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...
Digital Sovereignty: It's time to reclaim our data.
A dead deal: The recent analysis of Simple Analytics leaves no doubt: The latest EU-US data agreement is seriously faltering. Under the guise of privacy protection...
Playing with the future of European software
A playground for digital sovereignty Imagine a digital environment in which you are in control of your own data. No ads, no hidden trackers, no dependence on American...
Free, open and unfiltered: Why you should download this Nextcloud PDF now
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...
EduNEX and Europe's AI Way: sustainable, people-oriented, sovereign
⁇ Europe is building AI factories – and that's good news While Silicon Valley is tumbling over each other in a race full of hype and risks, Europe is pushing for something radical...
Without hassle, with direction: That's how you plan me in.
⁇ From back-and-forth to click-and-ready What if you never have to email back and forth to schedule an appointment? What if one click is enough to...
The Tower of Babel gets an update (without Google).
⁇ A Translation Without Loss: Why This European Service Is So Special What if you could have a multilingual website without data-hungry tech giants or sky-high costs?If you manage a website...
A little self-deprecating
⁇ From Digital Detox to Data Dizziness "Are you busy or are you just pretending?" someone asked me the other day as I sighed and held my coffee and at the same time a whiteboard, laptop, phone...
A data guy, smile and a rubber ducky
What does a data engineer do at the Webwinkel Vakdagen? Webwinkel Vakdagen? As a Data-Pro? Yep. Where there is e-commerce, there is data. And where there is data, there I am. This event in the...
Not my job. My conviction
The comeback of Linux, on-premise and principles "It starts with one command. Then two. Then it becomes a movement." Sometimes you see something popping up that you are not going to do yourself,...
Why can't I just say no?
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...
Nextcloud's breakthrough: The tipping point is now
⁇ Nextcloud's breakthrough: The tipping point is now "We are on the verge of a digital revolution. Nextcloud is no longer a niche – it is the future.” The latest...
Dutch Governments Embrace Nextcloud
Dutch Governments Embrace Nextcloud: A Step Towards Digital Sovereignty The increasing move from Dutch governments to Nextcloud is a promising development that paves the way for enhanced digital independence and...
Morally bankrupt
Once upon a time, the United States was the land of promise, bravado, and Bruce Springsteen. A place that we as Europeans watched with awe – the country where...
From amazement to responsibility
As a self-employed person, I am constantly looking for assignments where I can use my expertise. The other day I came across a public contract issued by the municipality of Hellendoorn that started with the...
Sometimes it just doesn't fit
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...
Nextcloud: the Swiss Army Knife of Digital Cooperation
Nextcloud: The Swiss Army Knife of Digital Collaboration Nextcloud is not just a cloud storage service. It is a modular open source platform that can easily compete with tools such as OneDrive, Google...
Nextcloud: From Puzzle Pieces to a Oiled Machine
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...
From Microsoft 365 to Nextcloud: A Look Back at My Stumbling Journey to Freedom
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...
My trip to Nextcloud: A new direction in times of change
The famous dot on the horizon has been found! In a world that is changing rapidly, I have decided to take a new course. My moral compass and practical considerations...
Agendas are moving towards European alternatives. That will fill your time.
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...
My digital move
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...
The tax authorities: We can't make it any easier, and without Windows and Acrobat Reader, it won't be any more fun.
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...
Down with Windows. And then what? Choice stress!
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...
English (UK)