Denmark and the Netherlands have a special connection: the fiber optic COBRAcable that runs from Esbjerg/Endrup (Denmark) to Eemshaven (Netherlands), and is planned to be operational early 2019. The COBRAcable lands in Eemshaven, a great location for data centers, partly due to its perfect connectivity to the Dutch digital infrastructure with Amsterdam as global hub. To strengthen this special bond between the two countries, Digital Gateway to Europe invited a delegation of 40 Danish stakeholders from Esbjerg to Amsterdam-based Switch Datacenters.

Dutch connectivity

​Today, the Esbjerg-delegation comes to Switch Datacenters in Amsterdam to get an understanding of the development of a digital infrastructure and ecosystem, the economic impact, and the kind of business areas that benefit from this unique infrastructure. And the Danish have come to the right place, since the Dutch take connectivity very seriously. Over 97% of households have internet access, there is a 4G-availability of 89,6%, and the Netherlands are home to the world’s leading internet exchanges.

“As a truly Dutch and Amsterdam-based datacenter company, we are happy to show the delegation around,” says Edgar van Essen, Managing Director of Switch Datacenters. “Strong connections, from the AMS-ix and NL-ix all the way into Denmark, are important for us and for our clients. If we work closely together with our international partners, the European network will strengthen, which will benefit the whole ecosystem.”

NFIA: 20% of foreign direct investments cloud & data center

According to research by the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), already 20% of all foreign direct investments in the Netherlands, are in the cloud- and datacenter industry. And with the data demand growing, so is the industry.
There is a large economic impact of such a fiber optic cable landing in Eemshaven, where Google has announced his latest investment of €500 mln earlier this year, bringing the company’s total investment in Eemshaven to €1.5 billion. It currently employs 250 people, which will grow following the expansion. And with the COBRAcable being operational early 2019, an even greater economic impact is expected.