Continuity on BeLibre - Belgian independent knowledge and policy platform

Caterer Mike and the Alphabet Soup

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On vendor lock-in and enshittification, without a single line of tech. A story about a caterer, a vanished kitchen and the price that never appears on the invoice.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? When Geopolitics Hits Your Cloud, HR and Bank Account

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:00:00 +0100

# The Reality of Digital Dependency

DNS records from the previous article paint a clear picture: over 70% of Belgian public institutions (e.g. hospitals, police, schools, defence, municipalities) rely on Microsoft’s cloud for daily operations. Systems run smoothly. Salaries arrive, patients receive care, lessons continue. The instinct to maintain what works makes sense.

The challenge comes from concentration: a single foreign platform supporting critical workflows, subject to distant laws and remote management. By late 2025, US providers held over 70% of Europe’s cloud market, local alternatives below 15%. Belgium’s situation highlights what happens when public services align on one stack. Recent events show these dependencies carry real consequences, but they also illuminate substantial opportunities ahead.

Banks and the Digital Divide: Let's Build Solutions Together for Everyone

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0100

The testimony from Nathalie on the RTL website has touched us in the BeLibre community. In many places, we heard and read indignation about the way these persons got handled. This story is about ING, but we notice a trend toward further digitalization and dehumanizing of consumer banking at multiple banks.

The move toward digital banking offers opportunities for convenience and innovation. The past decades have already proven this. Banking with the card reader has become commonplace, and for many, it has become unthinkable that you would still need to queue at the counter for a simple transfer. Yet thirty years ago there was also much protest when this concept was introduced. Are we being too conservative again, clinging too tightly to our established certainties?

Belgium Can’t Afford Microsoft to Go Down: A Wake-Up Call on Digital Sovereignty

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 17:20:14 +0100

So we’re using Microsoft at the Belgian government? So what, that’s not a bad thing, is it? I mean, it does a great job and everybody uses it. Right? After all, it’s the safe option. “Nobody ever got fired for choosing ~~IBM~~ Microsoft.

“Hey US, I thought we were friends?” This question isn’t rhetorical anymore. As tariff threats escalate, wars redraw geopolitical alliances, and digital infrastructure becomes the backbone of every critical service, Europe faces an uncomfortable truth: we’ve outsourced control of our digital future to a handful of American corporations.

BeLibre Sovereignty Map

Mon, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Interactive map where you can discover digital sovereignty in municipalities, schools, emergency services or other critical infrastructure in our country and beyond.