Fundaments and inlumi find common ground in the sovereign cloud

Published by Dutch IT Channel

inlumi and Fundaments have been working closely together for nearly three years. Fundaments provides the data center infrastructure, while inlumi handles tasks such as the technical management of the application stack. Wessels: “The partnership exceeds expectations, especially because Fundaments is so proactive. If extra attention is needed somewhere, Fundaments has already arranged something or proposed a solution.” Verschuren: “inlumi keeps us sharp in a positive way and challenges us technically. We make each other better and more professional.”

Utrecht-based full-service provider inlumi is a major player with offices in ten countries and over 250 employees. It serves approximately 75 large, often well-known clients across various sectors. Wessels: “Over 23 years, we’ve evolved from a technical implementation specialist for enterprise performance management software into an all-round service provider covering the entire cycle of implementations, managed services, administration, support, and consulting. We focus on digital transformation for the CFO. Enterprise performance management remains the foundation: software for financial reporting and planning, among other things. However, automated integrations and extracting insights from data are becoming increasingly important. Our clients are often companies with multiple business units and annual revenues exceeding 500 million. That level of financial complexity creates a need for deeper insight.”

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Data sovereignty

Both CTOs see the cloud world changing, with data protection playing an increasingly vital role. Fundaments provides ‘Sovereign Datacenter as a Service,’ which guarantees data sovereignty. This means all data remains on Dutch soil and is fully compliant with Dutch laws and regulations. Fundaments takes this very seriously and is one of the select few companies with VMware Sovereign Cloud status. Verschuren notes that even the major hyperscalers are slowly moving in that direction. “Google recently proudly announced their first sovereign cloud. That shows the message is resonating. More frameworks for data management are emerging, and there are calls to regulate data interoperability between major cloud providers so that data can be easily retrieved. It’s all about data sovereignty. I also notice that companies view this differently than before. It’s no longer just about moving to the cloud; they are increasingly thinking about what exactly happens to their data, especially given today’s geopolitical situation.”

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Surprised

Wessels also sees a shift. “Organizational maturity varies. Sometimes I’m still surprised that a large publicly traded organization subject to all kinds of regulations still lacks the right IT or security strategy. But for other organizations, the sovereign cloud already plays a key role, and they know exactly where their data is and how it’s handled. Fortunately, that latter group is growing. Companies now almost always ask for certifications. I also see more value being placed on data availability and integrity.”

Verschuren nods in agreement. “That’s exactly what’s happening. Data center technology has become so advanced that it’s excellent everywhere. But while it used to be easy to just put everything in the cloud, the question of where that data is actually going is being asked more often. Many companies are in that phase now. Furthermore, there is a growing divide between enterprise cloud applications and what I call ‘born in the cloud’ applications. Often, enterprise applications don’t fit well with the technology of the major hyperscalers. As a result, different applications are landing in different places.”

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Cultural match

The two companies are aligned on almost everything, which is the foundation of a successful partnership that began three years ago. Wessels: “We once had our own colocation in Dutch data centers to provide hosting services for a number of clients. A few years ago, we decided to move away from that because managing hardware, connectivity, and contracts isn’t our core business. We decided to leave that to a partner with a technically sound solution and the same strict requirements we set. We were also looking for a cultural match, as the partner needed to be able to deliver custom work with us. We spoke with several parties, and Fundaments stood out both technically and culturally. The past three years have proven it was the right choice. We accelerated our internal phase-out and have already said goodbye to our last private rack in a data center. Everything is now with Fundaments.”

Wessels and his colleagues build on the foundation provided by Fundaments, including designing and supporting custom infrastructure, connectivity, and secure access methodologies. This includes services like solution development, office integrated chatbots, Robotic Process Automation, load and performance testing, functional availability testing, unit testing, and release testing. Ultimately, this allows the end user to focus on governance and functional management, enabling employees to concentrate on what they do best. Verschuren calls it a perfect partnership. “The way inlumi works is a great complement to the data center foundation we provide. Beyond their product, we see them as a partner we can deploy to manage enterprise applications effectively. It allows us to help clients with specific challenges. It’s often about governance these days, and we fill that role together beautifully.” Wessels: “We’ve created an environment where we can help our clients to their satisfaction using our own processes, procedures, and people. The IT component Fundaments provides, combined with our client interaction and technical application management, is a truly great proposition.”

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