Cloud technology is the foundation of the digital government. However, reliance on foreign providers weakens this base, especially as geopolitical and technological developments unfold rapidly. This makes the question of how the Netherlands can gain greater control and sovereignty more urgent than ever.
Under the leadership of Ron Kolkman, the Cloud Acceleration Team is creating a unified strategy to future-proof the government and lessen its reliance on external parties. “The government has been using cloud technology for years,” says Kolkman, “but the urgency to organise this collectively, securely, and sovereignly is increasing rapidly. Now is the time to do this together.”
Ron Kolkman is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Rijkswaterstaat, part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat or IenW). In his role as chair of the Cloud Acceleration Team, he serves on the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy Council (NDS Council). Within the Cloud Acceleration Team, he represents the Government CIO Council (CIO-beraad Rijk) and guides government-wide efforts to accelerate cloud adoption. “Cloud technology is, of course, not a new concept,” Kolkman notes. “But we are only now truly realising how dependent we have become. And it’s time to address that.”
A critical role in digital infrastructure
Ron Kolkman has spent years working on government IT. His affinity for cloud development stems from that experience and from his firm belief that cloud technology plays a critical role in the Netherlands’ digital infrastructure. “Cloud is no longer a niche topic,” he emphasises. “It has become the backbone of almost everything we do. If that backbone fails, the entire digital government fails with it.”
The vulnerabilities linked to reliance on foreign providers are becoming more apparent. Kolkman offers examples of how foreign policy decisions or commercial choices directly influence the Dutch digital infrastructure. “When major providers decide to change or shut down a service, the consequences can be enormous. Everything grinds to a halt. The dependency is significant. And it’s only growing.”
It is precisely this dependency that makes sovereignty essential: maintaining control over critical digital services, not by building everything in-house, but by making deliberate choices and structuring technology to prevent the Netherlands from being caught off guard by external parties. “Sovereignty means taking ownership,” Kolkman explains. “It means not being entirely at the mercy of a provider’s whims or geopolitical shifts.”
The mission: toward a sovereign government cloud
The Cloud Acceleration Team operates with 1 central mission: to develop a sovereign cloud infrastructure for the entire government. This includes exploring potential models for a ‘marketplace’, where government organisations can select reliable, secure cloud options from both internal government providers and external suppliers that comply with shared agreements.
This government cloud is not a physical building filled with servers labelled ‘Government Cloud’. Kolkman emphasises that it is a layered concept. “It’s about supporting the government’s IT ecosystem,” he explains. “With layers tailored to different security levels and data types. Highly sensitive information must be able to operate fully sovereign, while other services could potentially reside elsewhere, provided the risks are clear and manageable.”
No need to reinvent the wheel
The first step toward a sovereign government cloud is clearly defining what it entails, in collaboration with the market and other government bodies. “We’ve already launched a wide market dialogue,” Kolkman explains. “We’re inviting suppliers, integrators, and knowledge institutions to contribute their insights. Cloud technology has been invented thousands of times over; we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The techniques already exist. Even the Ministry of Defence is using similar solutions. The challenge is to bring it all together intelligently. We want to leverage all the market’s expertise to determine how the government can smartly implement this.”
Cloud technology touches on nearly every priority of the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS). The AI Acceleration Team, the Cybersecurity Acceleration Team, and the teams focused on generic digital services all rely on a solid cloud foundation. Kolkman doesn’t see his team as the central hub, but as an essential prerequisite. “If the cloud infrastructure isn’t in order, you can’t build a government-wide AI platform. You can’t properly organise cybersecurity without a reliable foundation. Everything is interconnected.”
Seduction beats coercion
The Cloud Acceleration Team itself includes representatives from all levels of government: municipalities, water authorities, executive agencies, provinces, and the national government, all sitting at the same table. Kolkman sees this as essential, as cloud initiatives already exist across the country. Bringing them together is the biggest challenge. “Everyone is already on the move,” he says. “That’s what makes it so exciting. We want to build something so compelling that everyone will want to join. Seduction beats coercion.”
According to Kolkman, there is considerable energy in the existing initiatives, such as the 4 current government data centres that are already working together. “We don’t need to start from scratch. The building blocks are already there. The art is bringing them together. Now is the time. We all feel we can’t afford to wait any longer. The urgency is so great that everyone is eager to get involved.”
Not a talking shop
Kolkman has 3 key expectations from members of the Cloud Acceleration Team: active participation, input from their supporters, and help with spreading the message. “This isn’t a talking shop,” he stresses. “It’s about building something real. This demands commitment, communication, and persuasion. Getting people on board is just as important as the technology itself.”
He sees his role as chair as driving things forward and bringing people together. “I will make sure everything is brought together, that we keep moving forward, and that everyone assumes their role.”
“We must act now”
Kolkman expects that by the end of next year, the idea of the sovereign government cloud, including its technological aspects, will be fully defined. He also plans to begin taking initial small steps toward implementing some parts of it. “It will happen gradually,” he states. “But I am confident we will succeed. The goal is ambitious, and our commitment to making it work is firm.”
Kolkman concludes with a firm warning and an opportunity. “Our reliance on non-European providers is simply too high. This isn’t just about geopolitics; it’s also about price increases and supplier decisions beyond our control. We can’t continue taking those risks. We must act now.”
At the same time, he recognises a significant collective benefit. “If we get this right, we’ll also save a lot of money together as it will keep everyone from reinventing the wheel. This movement is good for sovereignty and for efficiency.”
