Few stories sum up the opportunity of cloud computing any better than the one shared in this video.

Managing the Belgian EU Presidency on a cloud platform
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An agency of the Belgian government needed to expand its computing capabilities quickly, easily and cheaply to meet a spike in demand due to Belgium’s role of presidency of the European Union. 

This need opened an opportunity for a small European technology business, the UK-based Huddle, to show how it could use cloud  services online to expand quickly and easily to meet the needs of the Belgian government. Huddle’s software solution is built on the Windows Azure platform. The company was recognized as “Startup of the Day” as part of Microsoft’s BizSpark programme, and is one of many small companies in Europe realizing the potential of cloud computing.

In addition to finding a solution to provide more computing capabilities for less cost, this project required Huddle to meet the security and interoperability needs of the Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Social Security, the government agency.  With cloud computing services Huddle met the challenge and seized the opportunity.

What can FPS Social Security do with Huddle’s cloud service?  Better coordination and collaboration on documents, between offices within Belgium and with agencies around the Union – an important function during the EU presidency.  Better tools to ensure a green, paperless environment.  Better accessibility to data from different agencies using different software in their offices.  Better security against hackers.

Looks like the Digital Agenda in action!

Tom Auwers from FPS Social Security and Alistair Mitchell, CEO of Huddle, share their perspectives in this interesting 3 minute video that illustrates how European governments and European small businesses can benefit from cloud computing. 

Please also see this article “How the European Union Went for Cloud Cover” by Tom Auwers.


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