Building a European alternative to dominant cloud platforms takes more than infrastructure, it requires a compelling user and partner experience. In this thesis, you’ll dive into one of Europe’s most strategic cloud initiatives and explore how proven engagement strategies can be reimagined for a federated, open ecosystem. Your work will help define how future users interact with a next-generation cloud platform rooted in transparency, interoperability, and European digital sovereignty.

💡Areas of Interest: cloud, UX, infrastructure

ECOFED is a collaborative initiative between TNO, Info Support, BIT, I3D.net and AMS-IX. It is one of 109 projects supported by IPCEI-CIS (Important Project of Common European Interest – Cloud Infrastructure and Services), a strategic European Commission program. IPCEI-CIS aims to reduce dependence on non-European cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud by investing in a sovereign European cloud ecosystem. ECOFED supports this goal by developing a federated, open infrastructure where software, data, and virtual services can be exchanged directly between affiliated providers, without relying on centralized platform intermediaries. Info Support plays a key role in designing the architecture, APIs, and core components for the initial industrial deployment.

Hyperscalers like Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud have achieved widespread adoption not only due to their technical capabilities, but also because of their seamless user and partner experience. These platforms offer streamlined onboarding, self-service interfaces, integrated partner programs, and well-curated marketplaces. Features that significantly reduce entry barriers and promote sustained engagement.

Although ECOFED provides the technical foundation for a federated alternative, it does not yet include mechanisms that deliver the level of user experience found in hyperscaler platforms. As a prospective federation provider within ECOFED, Info Support is exploring how to design a user experience that matches the usability, support, and engagement offered by major cloud providers, while upholding the principles of openness, transparency, and interoperability.

The Assignment

In this thesis you will investigate how major cloud hyperscalers structure and deliver their user and partner experiences. The focus lies on identifying which onboarding and engagement mechanisms (e.g., documentation, incentives, service models, marketplaces) are most effective and transferable to a federated cloud model that values transparency and interoperability.

Your task is to:

1. Analyze user and partner support strategies of leading cloud hyperscalers.
2. Evaluate which of these strategies are relevant and feasible within the open, decentralized values of ECOFED.
3. Define the components of a user experience strategy tailored for a federation provider like Info Support within the ECOFED ecosystem.
4. Validate the proposed experience model through stakeholder feedback, prototypes, or a Proof of Concept.

Deliverables may include a strategic framework, validated service blueprint, or a demonstrator that supports adoption.

About Info Support

Info Support specializes in custom software, data/AI solutions, management, and training and is active in the Finance, Industry, Agriculture, Food & Retail, Mobility & Public, and Healthcare sectors. We provide solid and innovative solutions for complex and critical software issues. Our headquarters are located in Veenendaal (NL) and Mechelen (BE). At present, approximately 500 employees are employed by Info Support.

Info Support's working method is characterized by a number of core values: solidity, integrity, craftsmanship, and passion. These core values are intertwined in our work and the way we interact with each other.

To ensure that all employees are always up to date with the latest developments, Info Support has an in-house knowledge center that eagerly satisfies the hunger for more or different knowledge and skills.

B2 language proficiency in Dutch is required.