Zorg & ICT 2026: three perspectives on AI, compliance, and data availability in healthcare
During Zorg & ICT 2026, the question was not whether healthcare is digitizing, but how. In a packed session room, three speakers addressed this question from their own areas of expertise: AI and infrastructure, compliance and risk management, and the practical translation to healthcare operations.
The common denominator? The biggest challenge is not technology, but the foundation beneath it.
AI in healthcare: from pilot to patient value
During the session by Lieke Hamers (Field CTO at Dell Technologies Netherlands), one question was central: how do you move from promising AI pilots to real value in healthcare practice?
AI has moved beyond the hype phase, but many healthcare organizations are still stuck in experimentation. According to Lieke, the reason is familiar: the focus is often too much on the model itself, while the real challenge lies underneath it.
Sustainable AI value does not start with technology, but with the foundation. Think of reliable data, streamlined processes, and strong governance. Without these conditions, scaling becomes difficult and impact remains limited.
In her session, she showed how Dell Technologies has gone through the same journey internally. AI is now widely applied there, from sales and support to logistics. The lessons learned from this are now being translated to the healthcare sector.
The core of this is practical and applicable: how do you turn fragmented data into a strategic asset? How do you integrate AI into clinical and operational processes without adding pressure on healthcare professionals? And how do you ensure governance becomes an accelerator rather than a brake?
Organizations that succeed in this approach look at AI differently. Not as a standalone innovation, but as part of their daily operations.
Want to learn more about how to successfully scale AI in healthcare? Watch the full interview with Lieke Hamers.
These are our speakers
Compliance: from obligation to strengthening healthcare
During the session by Bart de Man (Founder & Principal at iQomply), a familiar frustration took center stage: compliance often feels like a mandatory exercise for many healthcare organizations.
Standards such as NEN 7510, ISO 27001, and the upcoming NIS2 directive are designed to strengthen organizations, but in practice they are often perceived as additional pressure.
According to Bart, this is not caused by the standards themselves, but by how organizations approach them.
From his experience as an auditor and advisor, he showed that risk-based working makes the difference. Not by adding more rules, but by better understanding where the real risks are and acting on them in a targeted way.
In practice, this means less focus on checklists and more attention to what could actually go wrong. Organizations that adopt this approach see fewer incidents, smoother audits, and growing trust from patients and partners.
The strength of the session lay in its recognizability. No theory or abstract models, but concrete examples from audits and implementations in healthcare organizations—what works, what doesn’t, and where things often go wrong.
This brings compliance back to its original purpose: not as a burden, but as a tool to make organizations stronger and more resilient.
Curious how compliance can become a strength instead of an obligation? Watch the interview with Bart de Man.
Sovereignty: maintaining control in a complex reality
The third perspective came from Jan Vellema and Caty Hooijsma (Infinity IT), who brought digital sovereignty back to practical reality.
Their message was clear: sovereignty is not a technical issue. It is a strategic choice that directly impacts continuity, patient safety, and dependency on vendors.
In many organizations, there is still a perception that this topic is mainly for architects or CISOs. In reality, it affects everyone working with data and systems—especially in a healthcare landscape where SaaS solutions, licensing models, and international regulations are becoming increasingly complex.
The session revolved around one confronting question: who actually has control over your digital healthcare environment?
Using the Five-Pillar Model, they made this tangible. Instead of making the topic more complex, they brought it back to its essence: technology, data, applications, people, and operations. Only when these align does real control emerge.
Another key principle was highlighted: not doing everything yourself, but still staying in control. In an ecosystem of vendors and cloud solutions, that balance is crucial.
The strength of the session was its pragmatism. No abstract stories, but a realistic view of the choices healthcare organizations face today.
Want to know how to maintain control without losing flexibility? Watch the interview with Jan Vellema and Caty Hooijsma.
What can Fundaments do for your healthcare organization?
What connects all three perspectives is data availability. AI depends on data, compliance is about data, and effective healthcare processes rely on the right information at the right time.
However, this is often where the biggest challenge lies. Not because data is missing, but because it is not accessible, not reliable, or not secure enough to share. This makes data availability not a technical detail, but a strategic challenge that affects the entire organization.
At Fundaments, we encounter these challenges every day.
The challenge is rarely about choosing technology, but about bringing it together. How do you ensure that data, infrastructure, and processes reinforce each other instead of working against each other?
With a sovereign Private Cloud and a strong focus on continuity, we help healthcare organizations gain control over their IT landscape. This creates a stable foundation where innovation does not slow down, but accelerates.
