Oracle Opens Gen 2 Cloud Region in the Netherlands

Oracle today opened a new cloud region in the Netherlands as part of its plans to add 20 new Generation 2 Cloud datacenters globally by the end of 2020. The Amsterdam Cloud region joins the Frankfurt Cloud region to become the second Oracle Cloud Region in the EU. This is part of Oracle’s dual region strategy that enables customers to deploy resilient applications in multiple geographies for disaster recovery and compliance requirements – without having sensitive data hosted outside of the EU. Dutch customers and partners will have access to all Oracle Cloud services, including Oracle Autonomous Database, as well as Oracle Cloud Applications, to further grow and innovate.

This news follows the opening of a series of new Cloud Regions in Toronto (Canada), Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia) and Zurich (Switzerland) earlier this year. Other new Oracle Cloud regions are planned for the US (Bay Area, CA), Canada (Montreal), Brazil (Belo Horizonte), the UK (Newport, Wales), Japan (Osaka), Australia (Melbourne), India (Hyderabad), South Korea (Chuncheon), Singapore, Israel, South Africa, Chile, two in Saudi Arabia and two in the United Arab Emirates.

“We are very happy and proud that we can open a new Oracle cloud region in the Netherlands. With our powerful cloud architecture, we can offer our customers very strong isolation and security, so that their applications are not affected by applications from other customers and are better protected,” says Wilfred Scholman, Country Leader at Oracle Netherlands. "Our new Gen 2 Cloud Region in Amsterdam supports customers’ enterprise-class cloud infrastructure requirements so that our customers can continue to transform and achieve higher cost efficiency, more up-time, and improved business flexibility.”

Jean-Pierre van Tiggelen, Head of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure EMEA at Oracle, adds: “Our Gen 2 Cloud is built to help enterprises run their most demanding workloads securely. With unique architecture and capabilities, Oracle Cloud delivers unmatched security, performance and cost savings. Now, Dutch customers will have access to an integrated cloud portfolio, including Oracle Autonomous Database and Oracle Cloud Applications.”

Oracle's Gen 2 Cloud offers an extensive range of advanced technologies, including applications in the field of Artificial Intelligence, integrated security using Machine Learning, automated Analytics and Oracle Autonomous Database. Oracle Autonomous Database is the first automatic database that automatically encrypts data, automatically backs up, self-tunes and automatically applies patches for optimum security. With the help of Oracle Cloud, organizations can achieve optimum security, consistent high performance, transparent and predictable pricing, plus they can take advantage of tools and expertise to migrate workloads to the cloud quickly and efficiently.

Existing Gen 2 cloud customers

430,000 organizations in 175 countries globally currently use Oracle solutions. These customers work with Oracle to get the flexibility and agility of cloud, along with enterprise class performance, security, reliability and control. Oracle's Gen 2 Cloud gives Dutch customers a cloud region in their backyard for low latency access, with a high-performance architecture that’s consistent with all the other Oracle Cloud regions around the world. The Generation 2 Oracle Cloud architecture is optimized for Oracle Database and Applications, as well as non-Oracle workloads, especially data-centric applications that are demanding in terms of performance and reliability.

Already, the Dutch health insurer Menzis, engineering company Arcadis, software company Epicenter, and energy supplier Eneco have switched to Oracle's Gen 2 Cloud. For Eneco, the move to the Gen 2 Exadata Cloud meant a considerable cost saving, while at the same time providing improved security and compliance. “In 2019, Eneco migrated its mission-critical applications to Oracle's Gen 2 Cloud. The benefits are lower costs, higher availability, better performance and a higher degree of security,” says Eneco’s CIO Mario Suijkerbuijk.

On behalf of Menzis, Director of IT / Information Services Andre van de Wetering adds: “Many primary business processes within Menzis run on the Oracle Health Insurance platform. Continuity, continuous improvements and innovation are preconditions for Menzis for optimum service provision for its members and insured parties. With Oracle as a partner, a vision has been developed to ensure the continuity and further development of the back office in the future, in line with the Menzis cloud strategy. Menzis is the first health insurance company to bring its back office to the Oracle Gen2 Cloud in this way.”

Epicenter also switched to Oracle's Gen 2 Cloud Region in Frankfurt. They will consider switching to the new Amsterdam Cloud Region once it is operational.

With Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), Oracle's partner program, partners are provided with knowledge to develop and implement Oracle applications. OPN offers training and support with specialized knowledge of Oracle's products and solutions. Partners can distinguish themselves with the experience they have in the field of Oracle Cloud through the OPN Cloud program - an innovative program that closely matches the existing OPN program with various valuation levels and other benefits.

Oracle’s Commitment to the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, Oracle University offers software training, also on location, and certification. All courses are delivered by Oracle’s global team of experts. The format of the training allows participants to follow it at anytime and anywhere. Earlier this year, Oracle announced the opening of a local Cloud Center of Excellence at Tech Data in Bodegraven. The Cloud Center of Excellence currently serves as a knowledge center for Oracle customers and partners, but plans for growth include becoming a cloud breeding ground for many other groups, such as those from colleges, universities and startups.

This last group of new generation entrepreneurs is further supported through the Oracle for Startups program, an acceleration program that offers interaction and a program with benefits for startups, customers and Oracle. The program creates a cycle of innovation by linking the ingenuity of startups to the power of larger companies – all to create transformational solutions. Startups typically receive access to the Oracle Cloud, and then expand into a rich partnership with opportunities to participate in an extensive network of mentors, product experts and Oracle customers.