2025 in Review: Change at Top Speed

Change as a Constant: Personal, Organizational, and Technological

It is December 16th, that final week where everything is being wrapped up before everyone turns their attention to the holidays and the New Year. I have never experienced a year that went by so quickly: partly due to Fundaments' 25th anniversary, which we celebrated with all our colleagues during a fantastic weekend in Maastricht. Several times this year, Jeroen, Raoul, and I looked back at how those 25 years have flown by.

But why did this year go by so fast? And why don't the 25 years I celebrated feel like 25 years? The answer: the continuous change we experience, initiate, and which also forms my driving force. Changes among customers and the market. Among suppliers. And within our own organization. This year, we had the full package, more on that below. An interesting year as a harbinger of the future. I think I really thrived on it.

First, the world: with worrying developments that no one could have missed. The war in Ukraine continues, and as a result, the three superpowers are determining what should happen with the future. Three? I hear you thinking. No. Europe seems to be left out when it comes to being labeled a superpower. That calls for drastic changes. Europe and the Netherlands must think more seriously about the threat from Russia, a wavering American NATO partner, and the consequences thereof. Time for action: to protect ourselves on multiple fronts and to arrange that OURSELVES.

Sovereign Cloud: From Abstract Concept to Measurable Reality

On multiple fronts does not just mean organizing our European defense. It certainly also means protection and self-regulation in the IT domain. Specifically looking from our Private Cloud market, it is vital that we become (even) more aware of our dependence on the major American players. It is no longer a question, but a strategy to break free from this. Sovereign Cloud is therefore not a hype, but a necessary building block for organizations that want to maintain a grip on data, compliance, and continuity. Especially for sectors with critical processes or sensitive information. A topic the European Commission has already addressed, resulting in the measurability of sovereignty that can now be achieved with the Sovereign Cloud Framework. A framework that easily shows how your Cloud partner scores on various sovereignty goals. A very valuable tool to transform an abstract term—which sovereignty certainly is—into a measurable definition.

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Private AI Requires Private Cloud

And that this is a current dossier is very visible in the requests we receive from our customers: for example, regarding the deployment of Private AI. Companies and their employees are increasingly using AI applications. Even if it is in small steps. But with that development, the desire to protect the data processed by AI is also growing. Precisely because there is a critical attitude about "what that AI might know." And rightly so, if you ask me. The persuasive power of AI is great; look, for example, at the popularity of ChatGPT. We should want that same level of appeal when it comes to protecting data. That requires conscious choices about where you run AI and how you handle sensitive information. A Private Cloud is not a detail in that regard, but a serious consideration and solution.

Protecting data via a Private Cloud has rightly become a growing priority for organizations. The dependence on the digital world and AI is already significant and is increasing further due to the acceleration of digital working and the continued growth of IT. That dependence requires control. Control over data, over infrastructure, and over the location where critical information resides.

This means that organizations must take action themselves when organizing their Private Cloud. Do not hand everything over, but make conscious choices about control and responsibility. With the current threat of war in Europe, we cannot afford to be naive: a war is also fought digitally these days. In networks, in data centers, and in the Cloud. That is precisely why we must not underestimate the threat and its consequences, and it is necessary to protect what we are building at such a rapid pace.

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VMware After Broadcom: From Unrest to Focus

And then we have a cherry on the change-cake this year: VMware. Since the acquisition by Broadcom at the end of 2023, there has been a lot of unrest in the market. Yet, through my CTO lens, I see a clear focus emerging and a concrete answer to many challenges in the field. The launch of the Private Cloud product VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) fits seamlessly into that.

VCF offers an integrated solution for scalability, consumption speed, security, and automation of the Private Cloud. The platform brings together all the essential components an organization needs to realize a modern Private Cloud, hosted in a local data center, with full control over data and costs. Despite all the turbulence, Broadcom has delivered: VCF works, was rolled out on time, and aligns with the needs of organizations that are serious about their Private Cloud.

And with all these changes, I am looking forward to 2026 with great anticipation. The coming year will clarify much and offers the space to truly take action. In the re-evaluated cloud landscape, we see that technology alone is not enough. It is about who provides the technology, where data is stored, and under which legal regime that data falls.

Fundaments therefore continues to focus on further expanding its Private Cloud solution, with VCF as the engine and sovereignty as the starting point. By making the sovereign cloud concrete and applicable, we help organizations make well-considered choices regarding their cloud strategy. In this way, we offer a sustainable path toward 2026 and beyond. Not based on lock-in, but on management and control.

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Looking ahead to 2026: building a European cloud vision

The coming years will be decisive for the extent of Europe's digital independence. This requires vision, collaboration, and the courage to re-examine existing assumptions. At Fundaments, we are happy to think along with you on your cloud journey.

Not only technically, but also strategically:

• about the role of Private Cloud in your organization's IT landscape;

• about alternatives and realistic scenarios;

• and about how to make choices today that will still hold up tomorrow.

Not because everything has to change. But because standing still is simply no longer an option.

Let’s build a powerful, future-proof European cloud world together in 2026; with control over data, infrastructure, and your own choices.

I wish everyone a fantastic holiday season and a healthy 2026!