09-25, 10:40–11:05 (Europe/Amsterdam), Apollo
When you store data in the cloud, do you know who really controls it? In an era of increasing geopolitical tension and growing awareness around digital sovereignty, Dutch research institutes have already begun repatriating sensitive data from US servers to Dutch-controlled storage. This talk explores the hidden risks behind common cloud choices, from legal access by foreign governments to the ethical implications of supporting politically active tech giants. We’ll look at what it means to own your data, how regional storage might not be enough, and what it takes to build an EU-hosted, open-source data platform stack. If you’re a data engineer, architect, or technology leader who cares about privacy, control, and sustainable infrastructure, this talk will equip you with the insight—and motivation—to make different choices.
Cloud infrastructure is a foundational part of modern data platforms—but are we fully aware of the trade-offs we make when choosing a provider? This talk makes the case that using US-based cloud services may no longer be a safe or ethical default for organizations operating in Europe. It aims to shift the mindset from convenience to sovereignty, from reliance to control.
The talk will consist of five parts:
- What Is a Data Platform and How Did We Get Here?
A quick primer on data platforms—what they are, how they’ve evolved, and why they’ve become central to every modern data-driven organization.
- The Status Quo: What Do Companies Use Today?
A look at the current dominant players in the data platform landscape, especially AWS, Azure, and GCP. This part explores how and where they store data, the legal implications of data residency vs. data jurisdiction, and the misleading comfort of choosing “EU regions.”
- Why You Should Be Concerned
This section highlights real-world implications:
- US government access to foreign data, even when stored in Europe
- Political involvements: how these tech giants have aligned with political figures and governments
- The risk of losing access: What happens when an account is locked, content is removed, or services are restricted?
- Ethical concerns around surveillance, censorship, and profit from EU citizen data
It asks the uncomfortable question: What if you no longer had access to your own data tomorrow?
- What Are the Alternatives and What Do We Really Need?
We explore:
- What are EU-based data platform alternatives
- The feasibility of building your own platform based on an open data stack
- The reality that many companies may be overengineering their solutions—most workloads don’t need hyperscale complexity
- Benefits of sovereignty, transparency, costs, and avoiding vendor lock-in
This section will emphasize that EU-based and open infrastructure isn’t a downgrade—it’s a strategy for long-term control and resilience.
- Call to Action: Join the Movement
A rallying message for engineers and decision-makers to build, adopt, and contribute to an open, sovereign data platform future.
This talk is targeted at data engineers, architects, and technically-minded decision-makers. No prior knowledge of specific tools is required—just an interest in the future of cloud data infrastructure and a willingness to challenge the status quo.