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During the AWS Summit in Amsterdam, the cloud giant will highlight its activities in the Benelux. Belgium and the Netherlands are at the top of the European league
During the AWS Summit in Amsterdam, the cloud giant will highlight its activities in the Benelux. Belgium and the Netherlands are at the top of the European league when it comes to cloud and AI adoption, says local general manager Danielle Gorlick.
AWS’ European tour stops in Amsterdam. In the run-up to the annual High Mass re:Invent, the cloud provider organizes regional events worldwide to give local partners and customers a chance in the spotlight. Mainly Dutch customers are represented during the event. Of the Belgian parties, only Luminus is mentioned in passing.
In the Benelux, AWS may need to emphasize its local contributions more than elsewhere in the world. AWS may claim to be a pioneer of public cloud on a global scale, but in the Benelux (and particularly Belgium) it is overshadowed by Microsoft.
The AWS Summit is also a baptism of fire for Danielle Gorlick, who has been regional general manager for the Benelux since February. In her keynote, Gorlick emphasizes the great economic importance of the public cloud and AI for the region. “A 75 percent adoption rate for AI could increase the Netherlands’ GDP by up to 230 billion euros by 2030.” The cloud will play a fundamental role in this transformation.”
We play cards with Gorlick. The American has been working for AWS in Europe for twelve years. She praises the speed at which companies in the Benelux change. “Belgium and the Netherlands are leaders in cloud adoption: the adoption rate here is twelve percent above the European average and this also applies to AI.” The shortage of skilled workers can pose a problem for business growth in the Benelux countries: less than ten percent find the workers they are looking for.”
Gorlick does not mention any differences between countries, although the European Union still rates the Netherlands (and Luxembourg) significantly higher than Belgium. Digital Economy and Society Index. Jean-Pierre Le Goaller, Head of Solution Architecture Benelux and a native of Luxembourg, agrees, but at the same time adds a nuance. “Dutch customers generally moved to the cloud faster, but Belgian companies have caught up.”
Belgium and the Netherlands are leaders in cloud adoption: the adoption rate here is twelve percent above the European average.
Danielle Gorlick, General Manager AWS Benelux
AWS now has around ten thousand customers in the Benelux countries, emphasizes Gorlick. These are now mainly served by data centers in neighboring countries, with or without the help of a local intermediary, such as the De Cronos Group in Belgium. AWS confirmed several years ago that local zones would be introduced for Belgium and the Netherlands, but Gorlick cannot confirm when these will be ready.
“We now have eight cloud zones in Europe and we are certainly not finished yet. Wherever we operate in Europe, we apply the same security principles to comply with local and European legislation. “On-premises infrastructure primarily offers added value in supporting low latency applications,” is the tactical answer.
For the majority of AWS customers, an on-premises data center isn’t necessarily a must, Le Goaller and Gorlick agree. Le Goaller: “Belgian and Dutch organizations generally think very ‘European’. As long as their data stays in Europe and meets legal requirements, it’s good for them. The impact of latency is limited for many workloads.” “The Benelux countries are small, so companies benefit from an international mindset. We think it’s a win-win to encourage this,” Gorlick adds.
With the announcement of the European Sovereign Cloud, AWS wants to anchor its cloud services more locally. “It will act as an independent region entirely for and through Europe,” says Le Goaller. “For highly regulated sectors like finance, compliance is critical. The regulations will continue to evolve. Companies that are showing interest in a sovereign cloud are not necessarily doing so because they need it now, but because they think they will need it in the future.”
The jump from the public cloud to AI is quick. Le Goaller also sees companies in the Benelux making rapid progress in adopting (generative) AI. On the other hand, there are also signs that Belgian companies are cautious. “It is still a new domain for many organizations. For most people, this phase remains a matter of experimentation, but they are actively working on it.”
“The answers provided by GenAI systems are highly data dependent. “This will lead some companies to be more cautious with the technology,” Le Goaller continues. “That’s why we also introduced Bedrock Guardrails to filter out risks as much as possible from the input and output of AI models and help organizations adopt AI responsibly.”
“Which AI strategy companies use depends partly on which provider they choose. At AWS, we don’t believe there is one model that governs all use cases. What is the best model today will not necessarily be the best model tomorrow. We believe it is important to provide customers with choice and the necessary tools for model evaluation. This means they don’t have to start from scratch, but can build on a reliable basis,” concluded Le Goaller.
Belgian and Dutch organizations generally think very “European”. As long as their data stays in Europe and meets legal requirements, it’s good for them.
Jean-Pierre Le Goaller, Head of Solution Architecture AWS Benelux
Source: IT Daily
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