Is the trade conflict spilling over into IT? Here’s how Infodation is preparing

These are tense times on the global stage, and their impact on IT services may be greater than expected. The threat of steep import tariffs on European alcohol shows just how quickly a trade conflict can escalate. The question is: will this tension extend to the IT sector as well? At Infodation, we are preparing for that possibility by exploring European alternatives and staying ready for every potential scenario.

As IT professionals, we rely on a wide range of applications, tools, and other resources from a variety of vendors. I work on a MacBook Pro (Apple), communicate with my team via Teams (Microsoft), and host our applications on GCP (Google). All of these companies, of course, are American. Until recently, that all felt entirely normal and unproblematic. But the rapidly rising geopolitical tensions of recent weeks have made me take a step back and ask: What if we had to move away from our 'default' solutions? What European alternatives are actually available?

Yes, these companies operate European entities, and yes, we host our data in European data centers. But at the end of the day, the parent companies remain American. And what if we were forced to pivot away from them? For now, replacing all these services—from hardware to software—with European alternatives is more a dream than a reality. Still, we’re not just waiting around.

At Infodation, we’ve taken a proactive step by launching a test with Scaleway, to better understand what's available on the European market. This gives us hands-on experience and prepares us to advise our clients effectively—should the need arise. We’ll be sharing the results of this testing phase soon.

“At Infodation, we are preparing for that possibility by exploring European alternatives and staying ready for every potential scenario.”

Jelle Keppels is the lead of the Cloud, Support, and Security team at Infodation, specializing in Google and Azure cloud environments with a focus on security and integrations.