Fundaments 25 years

How have you experienced the past 25 years?

Jeroen: “Looking back on the last 25 years, what strikes me most is that back in 2000, we had no intention of doing what we do now. Our original idea, the carpooling site, never actually happened. And look where we are today: we have over 50 colleagues and have made a massive professional leap to become the Private Cloud experts we are now.” Or as Larik-Jan puts it: change is the only constant. Larik-Jan: “The world around us is constantly changing, which means we haven’t been doing the same thing for 25 years, but have instead continuously adapted. That’s what makes it so fun for me! It hasn’t always been a straight line upward, and that realization is important. We have to carry these constant changes as a team, because it’s not the technology, but the people who make us good at what we do.”  

Raoul also emphasizes this professionalization: “Seeing how much we’ve transformed into the Fundaments of today has been a real rollercoaster. From a hosting provider to a sovereign Private Cloud specialist. It happened so fast, but that’s a good sign. It never feels like: I have to go to work again. What I do notice is that the rapidly changing world demands much more from colleagues than it did years ago. People are more stimulated. We’ve adjusted our policy to focus more on employee well-being, providing healthy lunches, an hour of professional group exercise per week, and walks in the park next to the office.”

What is your favorite memory?

Larik-Jan: “There have been so many great moments. If I have to pick one, I love that 2.5 years ago we were the first in the Netherlands to position ourselves as a sovereign Cloud provider. Back then, people didn't really care, but now it’s a daily topic in Parliament. The way we have been ‘operating sovereignly’ for years is about to become a requirement. What I love is that we did this across the entire organization. Literally everyone helped—from marketing to setting up the processes and the technology to keep it solid. It was a true joint effort.” Raoul also highlights the team: “The trips, like to VMware Explore in Barcelona, are always great memories. You talk to colleagues in a different way, which changes the dynamic and makes it easier to connect back at the office.”

For Jeroen, external recognition is always a great milestone: “We team up with suppliers more and more, and we’ve won awards from almost all of them. Think of the VMware Partner Innovation award, the Cohesity MSP Partner award, and the Dell Technologies Cloud Services Provider of the Year award. Our suppliers tell us they enjoy working with us because we aren't afraid of innovation. We can jump on new things quickly, and that is highly valued.”  

What is the best development?

Jeroen: “I love seeing how we are spreading across the country like an oil slick. Where we used to only have data centers in the East and West of the Netherlands, we are now also on-site at client locations or at locations chosen by the client. If the business case allows, we literally come to the client. That opens new doors.” The arrival of AI also opens new doors. Larik-Jan: “AI is causing a massive shift: with the arrival of Private AI, the share of virtual servers is decreasing because Private AI workloads use AI-optimized GPU hardware. The great thing is that we literally have the foundation—the knowledge and expertise—to move along with this.”  

Raoul: “I’d like to add that I am very grateful and proud to say that after 25 years, Fundaments has become a great success story and that all our (former) colleagues have contributed to this. That remains special to me!”

How do you see the future?

Larik-Jan has a vision: “I see us as the party that lays the foundation for the Private Cloud world. The architects for all variants of Private Cloud. In the current, traditional world, applications reside in databases, servers, or SaaS services. But the future brings change: data will be exchanged between AI agents, which we can then host from a Private Cloud proposition. With our 25 years of experience, we can develop new concepts and convert existing platforms into more innovative forms.”  

Raoul: “Positive! Where we are now with Fundaments is just the tip of the iceberg. Especially regarding sovereignty and the momentum we have. I also think we have a lot of potential with AI if we lean into it. The first clients are already asking if we will offer AI models. Will we just offer the infrastructure with the computing power to run AI, or go further? One thing I know: we are far from done growing!” Jeroen adds: “I recently saw a video where NVIDIA announced its new developments. It was mind-blowing. AI will play an even bigger role and lead to some very cool developments. I hope Fundaments can play a great role in that.”