Why are there no alternatives in Europe for the cloud?
Is that really the case? Sometimes yes, often no. Are we asking the right questions?
Recently, we have been receiving requests with strict requirements. And the fact that we are receiving requests is of course good. Everyone is looking for alternatives. SIDN was also looking for hosting in the Netherlands. Although I believe that we, and other hosts, could provide that hosting, I am afraid that few can meet the specified requirements. Where does this difference come from?
The streaming service as a comparison
You are probably using one, and I use this example to make my point clear.
Suppose you have chosen a service where you pay per minute. The reason? The price per minute is low. If you are not watching, you pay nothing. If the film is paused, you pay less. Your children are watching too, and you have to account for that as well. You receive a detailed invoice afterwards, which is nice. This system works fine. However, sometimes your children just let a film play while they do their homework. And if you switch the TV to another app while the film is playing, it doesn't stop either. The costs can add up, and you can only watch American films. Time for another service!
What are you actually looking for? You have a list of requirements:
- Watch films from all nationalities
- Multiple people can watch at the same time
- Payment per minute
- Viewing detection, alerting when no one is watching
- An app that stops the film
Unfortunately, no one offers that, so you are stuck with your current choice. And that is where it goes wrong.
You should not be looking for a replacement that meets the current requirements, as over time, problems have been solved that other products do not have.
You want to be able to watch films!
The requirements are not related to the goal. Your goal is: You want to be able to watch films. All the mentioned requirements are solutions to problems caused by the supplier or the way of offering.
You have adjusted the requirements:
- Watch films from all nationalities
- Pay afterwards
- Multiple people watching at the same time
And then new possibilities emerged: For example, for €10 per month, you can watch what you want, without your usage being monitored. You can use any app.
In other words: what do you want to achieve? Do you want to host a web application, or are you looking for a database with autoscaling that scales per second and is billed per query with a clear detailed invoice? I often get the latter question, and I cannot help with that. For applications where all those "features" are not needed, I can help you. The hosting.
Does this always work? No, certainly not. More often than you think, especially with ourhelp!