Event retrospective – Taking control of your data storage in a changing world.
On 25 September 2025, the Bechtle data centre event took place at the heart of the southern Netherlands’ digital infrastructure: the Interconnect data centre in Den Bosch—a leading regional facility for colocation, cloud, and connectivity. IT managers and specialists from both the public and private sectors gathered for a day of insights, inspiration, and real-world examples. Whether you missed the event or want to revisit the highlights, here’s what stood out.
The day began with coffee and, of course, Bossche bollen—a local Den Bosch speciality of chocolate-covered cream puffs. But the focus soon shifted to the big data centre questions of today: How do you stay in control of your data? What does data sovereignty really mean? And how do you translate geopolitics, legislation, and technological developments into a future-proof IT strategy?
Finding the right data centre strategy in 2025 is no simple task, but with the right insights, questions, and choices, you move closer to genuine control.
In 2025, your data centre strategy isn’t about more technology, but about greater control. You need to know where your data is, whom you trust, and where your boundaries lie.
Stijn Grove, Directeur of the Dutch Data Centre Association (DDA)
Key takeaways:
Dependence on American cloud services was a recurring theme throughout the event. For most organisations, data sovereignty remains more of an ideal than a reality. The message: avoid black-and-white thinking and instead make conscious decisions based on risk, dependency, and trust. It’s also important to define what you ultimately want to do with the data you aim to safeguard.
True control begins with strategic thinking.
Where is your data stored? How do you deal with vendor lock-in? Attendees were challenged to ask themselves, “How can I fail?”—a way to expose vulnerabilities in compliance and governance. Don’t think in terms of isolated projects or tools, but in ecosystems. IT companies play an increasingly crucial role in safeguarding essential services for our society, such as in energy security and supply chains.
Technology alone isn’t a strategy.
Choosing a modern data centre solution is about much more than technology. It starts with communication, building support within your organisation, and understanding the biggest risks. Decisions about cloud and on-premise infrastructures increasingly revolve around balancing flexibility, compliance, and data sovereignty. When developing your data centre strategy, start with your organisation’s internal needs.
The panel discussion made it clear that many organisations have long opted for convenience and consolidation. But if you want to ensure continuity and flexibility today, you need to diversify your cloud services, partners, and infrastructure.
Hybrid is the new normal.
The panel discussion also made it clear that there’s no such thing as the perfect data centre strategy. What does work? Diversifying, continually evaluating, and having the confidence to make choices based on your own priorities. The panel and audience discussed data sovereignty, vendor lock-in, and pay-per-use models. Organisations that want to stay in control consciously choose flexibility and build a hybrid approach.
We didn’t replace everything in our data centre, but we did rethink everything. Control doesn’t mean doing everything yourself. It means knowing where your data is and who has access to it.
William Staals, IT Systems Manager at Trespa
Session recaps.
Session: Session: Welcome by Gijs van der Putten (host) and Jeroen Stevens (Interconnect).
“We talk about data centres every day, but we rarely see them up close.”
Our host, Gijs van der Putten, and Interconnect CTO and founder Jeroen Stevens set the tone right away. Interconnect offered a behind-the-scenes look. From music festivals to government e-mail, much of the Netherlands’ digital infrastructure comes together at Interconnect’s data centre. Jeroen showed that Interconnect manages everything in-house—a family business from the Brabant region with a Tier 3 data centre that’s as secure as a police station (or perhaps even more so).
Session: Kees Verhoeven, tech expert and former Member of Parliament.
“The world’s power has shifted from politics to technology.”
In his session, Kees painted a clear picture of the geopolitical landscape around data, cloud, and AI. Power has shifted from politics to technology (Big Tech). Europe now faces a choice: continue focusing on regulation or create space for innovation. The Amsterdam–Brussels–Paris–London corridor has the potential to become a strong European counterweight to the dominance of major American tech companies.
But to make that happen, Kees argued, the Dutch government needs to give businesses more breathing room. A great example of what happens when government and business join forces came from Interconnect itself: they are now using residual heat from one of their data centres to heat an entire neighbourhood (Meerhoven) in Eindhoven.
Session: David Schepanske, Senior IT Business Architect at Bechtle.
“How do you make well-informed choices in a complex data centre landscape?”
Striking the right balance has never been more critical. Organisations are constantly navigating trade-offs between performance and compliance, innovation and EU regulation, and flexibility and control. In this landscape, Bechtle doesn’t offer a one-size-fits all solution, but a modular platform that helps organisations structure their decision-making. As a multi-cloud provider, Bechtle can offer European alternatives that remain manageable and transparent.
According to David, every strategic decision starts with understanding the needs and expectations of your organisation’s departments and users. “Who are you serving? What are their expectations?” Only when that’s clear can you build the right infrastructure. Not everything needs replacing, but everything should be reconsidered. And now, more than ever, that calls for clear communication within organisations.
Session: Stijn Grove, Director of The Dutch Data Centre Association
“Time for action! Data centres are essential to safeguarding the critical services our society depends on.”
Stijn challenged IT managers with probing questions that got them thinking. He emphasised that the pace of change is accelerating. The future calls for more strategic thinking. What dependencies do you have? How do you ensure energy security? His core message: “Don’t just ask where to store your data. Ask how you’ll maintain control over your data, your suppliers, and your risks tomorrow.”
Interview: William Staals from Trespa.
“We went from downtime to uptime without a full migration.”
In a candid conversation, William Staals (Systems Manager at Trespa) and Joost van Lochem (Business Consultant Hybrid Data Centre at Bechtle) shared how Trespa initially approached Bechtle for a storage project, which led to the complete transformation of a faltering IT environment. From downtime to uptime, without a full migration.
The project wasn’t just about technology—it was about trust, communication, and bringing users along. Joost: “We took our time, and it paid off.” William agreed: “Once the new system was up and running, incidents dropped immediately.”
Panel discussion
The closing panel brought together a range of perspectives. Is data sovereignty achievable? Some felt it’s still out of reach, while others advocated for diversification and a European approach. Stijn summed it up: “There’s no perfect model. But if you want to steer towards control, you need to make choices that fit your organisation.”
Statements like “Pay-per-use is the future” and “a hybrid strategy is essential” sparked lively debate with the audience. The common thread? There’s no golden formula—but you can take ownership of your own situation.
Dive deeper at the Dell Technologies Forum.
Taking control of your data means making choices. On Thursday, 13 November, you’ll have the chance to explore those choices in more depth. Bechtle and ARP invite you to an exclusive roundtable at the Dell Technologies Forum 2025—the event where the latest IT developments converge.
Interested in joining the Dell Technologies Forum in Nieuwegein? Just reach out to your account manager for details.