It is increasingly important for organisations to know exactly where and when which data resides. Not only to get new business insights from this data faster, but also because compliance and other regulations are becoming increasingly strict. To guarantee this data sovereignty, Dutch Cloud provider Fundaments only works with purely Dutch data centres and with technology from VMware. In the collaboration with VMware, Fundaments even recently became the first Cloud provider in the Netherlands to achieve the VMware Sovereign Cloud status.
‘Fundaments is Cloud provider for resellers who value Dutch quality,’ begins CEO Raoul Werger. ‘We are eight years old, but have over two decades of experience in hosting. Our establishment is linked to the rise of hyperscale and big Cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud. We wanted to be a fully Dutch, certified answer to that.’
Partly from its experience with managed hosting and with a view to accelerating growth, Fundaments focused from the start on cooperating with partners in offering IaaS services. Partners get a lot of autonomy with the Cloud provider to manage and offer services to their customers, such as restoring backups themselves et cetera.
‘We can provide that autonomy using our platform and VMware technology,’ Werger states. ‘But autonomy does not mean ‘doing everything yourself’. Partners can always turn to our 24x7 helpdesk for the technical support they need. In that too, we are an alternative to hyperscalers. Our managed hosting providers had the experience that they could not turn to an Azure or AWS at night in case of problems. With us, they can quickly connect with an engineer for a customer problem they cannot solve themselves.’
Sovereign cloud
Fundaments offers a 100% Dutch, ‘sovereign’ Cloud environment that complies with all applicable laws and regulations (data must remain in the Netherlands), says CTO Larik-Jan Verschuren. ‘We find that organisations often worry about where they actually have their company's digital crown jewels. Whether they are well protected, or even allowed to be in a certain location themselves. Our Cloud has features that go beyond a generic public Cloud. You always know where the data is and you know you are compliant with Dutch and EU legislation.
In addition, according to Verschuren, Fundaments can operate Cloud-independently and everything is in control from A to Z: from people to process and technology. ‘This starts with how we set up a data centre, up to how we guarantee the continuity of organisations with the choices for hardware, software and its set-up. We also ensure that we take day-to-day management to the highest level with our knowledgeable colleagues.’
Mission Critical cloud
The Fundaments platform runs many mission-critical services that cannot afford outages. That also makes the Fundaments Cloud a Mission Critical Cloud, Werger argues. “And not just for data such as patient or banking data. Workspaces can also be mission-critical applications, or an e-commerce company's transaction platform. If that platform is down for a while during a peak period due to a failure, they miss out on huge amounts of money. “
Verschuren emphasizes that Fundaments then also opts for best-of-breed technology for other parts of the Fundaments Cloud. “Whether it's a choice for Dell or VMware, we always choose what we think are the best products and services. That way you can secure the quality you promise and we can be especially busy with our partners and their customers. And regardless of which Tier3+ data center our Cloud resides in, we use the same template. That standardization keeps our platform simple.”
Taking it a step further
Fundaments' partners include ISVs using the Fundaments Cloud for their software applications on one side, and MSPs and IT service providers such as workplace providers on the other. “We offer them a range of services around platform and helpdesk,” Werger emphasizes. “Such as onboarding, a partner marketing kit with all our products and services that they can include bite-sized and as a white label in their expressions and offers. And sometimes we assist when a partner needs some customization, for which we can draw on our previous experience. In that, I think we do go a step further than average.
“The level of support also depends on the type of partner, Werger observes. “One gets by with access to our portal and a virtual data center. Another needs more knowledge, advice or a spokesperson. We now also have a revamped partner program, which allows us to serve our partners completely. Deal registration processes to properly support partners with technological support for (end) users. This is what partnership means to us: doing business together.”
Partnership with VMware
VMware has already been mentioned once. Fundaments works intensively with this leading provider of Multi-Cloud services and is one of the few companies in the Netherlands to be a VMware Cloud Verified partner. The choice of VMware is logical, Werger believes, because the company's technology has clearly proven itself. “Moreover, they offer good support, assistance and training. If something does go wrong, we can escalate quickly with them and you are referred to a team that knows your market and market challenges.“
”We first worked with open source technology” adds Verschuren. “Great technology, but nothing to fall back on for support. Forget scalability, everyone is putting out fires all the time. With VMware, we offer our partners and their customers a stable, reliable and scalable platform that also puts much less strain on our people and those of our partners with all kinds of failures. With the current shortage in the labor market, this is becoming increasingly important.
“This also frees up more time to innovate based on the VMware technology used, such as the recently launched Fundaments service CPaaS on VMware Tanzu, Verschuren continues: ”VMware supports us in this. They make time for you, listen to what you want and take you through their roadmap, so you know what's coming. Also, your relationship with a vendor has to be a partnership and you don't find that nearly everywhere.”
1) all VMware partners with their own data centers that use VMware software to serve their customers (such as Fundaments).
2) MSPs that VMware serves through its data centers for Cloud AWS, the ST1 service based on Velo Cloud, security services based on Carbon Black and Verizon Cloud Services, among others.
Both segments fall under the VMware Cloud Provider Program (VCPP). The Cloud Verified partnership is the most far-reaching within this program and is the partner variant of the VMware Verified Design program - designing for end customers across the range of VMware's cloud-based solutions.
Godwin notes, “Cloud Verified partners have a high status that only a limited number of partners have - six in the Netherlands. It gives us confidence that when a party like Fundaments brings a solution to market, it is done according to our architectures and designs in its purest form. Any party that invests in VMware in such a way is highly committed to us.”
Sovereign Cloud
Fundaments also recently became VMware's Sovereign Cloud partner. And that's not nothing, Godwin argues. He says the rise of the concept of sovereign Cloud and data sovereignty stems from the fact that the use of hyperscalers sometimes carries risks for organizations and their data in compliance and regulation. However, if a Dutch organization chooses a European cloud provider that partially stores user data in an American data center, it still runs the risk of being non-compliant.
Godwin: “Our Sovereign Cloud initiative was launched last year to prevent this. It focuses on partners that not only provide data center infrastructure, but also a certified sovereign Cloud experience. Then, as an organization, you can be 100% sure that you're partnering with a company that will only store your data where it's allowed under the relevant regulations - the AVG, for example."
Strict requirements
While Cloud Verified already imposes strict requirements on partners, Sovereign Cloud does so even more. Just as far from every VMware partner will become Cloud Verified, far from every Cloud Verified partner will become a Sovereign Cloud partner. The fact that Fundaments has now achieved this status as the first cloud provider in the Netherlands means, according to Godwin, that they are a top partner for VMware at this point.”
Whereas with our Cloud Verified partners we have a hands off approach - we trust these partners to deliver the best VMware cloud product - with Sovereign Cloud it is much more hands on. Partly because this is also a new initiative for us, but also partly because the data sovereignty of our end customers is critical to us. This is not a trust issue, but means we want to learn, develop and grow together in a complex, heavily regulated partner market.”
With a party like Fundaments, Godwin therefore expects to jointly benefit from a long-term relationship collaborating on Sovereign Cloud designs. “We are only at the beginning now and need to start putting into practice how this initiative will work for our customers. But given the rigorous certification that Fundaments meets - I have no doubt that we will achieve good results.”
