From Hidden Champion to Cloud Leader: CEO Arno Schafer on UpCloud’s Vision
In this special season finale of Cloudscapes, we’re joined by Arno Schafer, CEO of UpCloud, for an in-depth conversation about his first six months leading the company and his vision for the future of cloud infrastructure in Europe.Arno shares what convinced him to take on the role at UpCloud, the surprising strengths he discovered within the team and product, and why he believes the European cloud industry is at a pivotal moment. From tackling the challenge of visibility as a “hidden champion,” to seizing the opportunity of data sovereignty and compliance in a shifting geopolitical landscape, Arno reflects on both the opportunities and responsibilities facing European providers today.We also discuss why businesses are increasingly moving between cloud providers, what customers really look for beyond price and performance, and how UpCloud is positioning itself as a trusted, flexible, and innovative alternative to the hyperscalers.If you’re curious about leadership in tech, the future of European cloud, or how companies can stand out in a crowded market, this episode offers valuable insights from the very top!
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Messaging Without Limits: How Quriiri Builds for Scale at UpCloud
In this episode of Cloudscapes, we sit down with Thomas Wahlberg, CTO of Quriiri, to dive into the fast-changing world of business messaging and the infrastructure powering it. From SMS and email to the rise of RCS and rich media messaging, Thomas shares insights on how Quriiri helps businesses reliably reach their customers — and why trust, security, and compliance are at the heart of it all.We also explore:- The technical challenges of scaling modern messaging platforms- How sender verification and GDPR shape today’s communication landscape- Lessons learned from building a resilient infrastructure over 10+ years- Why disaster recovery and monitoring are mission-critical for messaging at scaleWhether you’re a developer, architect, or just curious about the future of digital communication, this conversation offers a rare inside look into the tech and thinking behind messaging platforms used by organisations of all sizes.
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Breaking free from Big Tech: Building sovereign collaboration tools
In this episode of Cloudscapes, we talk to Niels Kersic, founder of mosa.cloud, about his mission to challenge the dominance of Big Tech and build a new generation of open-source collaboration tools rooted in privacy, transparency, and European data sovereignty.Drawing from over 15 years of experience working with small and medium-sized businesses, Niels shares the story behind mosa.cloud, a platform designed to help businesses collaborate securely and independently, without relying on major cloud providers. Hosted entirely on UpCloud’s fast and sovereign European infrastructure, mosa.cloud offers a glimpse into what the future of ethical, open and resilient SaaS can look like.From the limitations SMBs face in Big Tech ecosystems to the growing appetite for independent, privacy-respecting alternatives, this conversation is a must-listen for developers, founders, and IT decision-makers exploring new possibilities for cloud-native collaboration in Europe.
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Keeping Healthcare Data Safe: Cloud, Compliance and the European Advantage
In this episode of Cloudscapes, we’re joined by Johannes Holvitie, Chief Technology Officer at Oiva Health, to talk about the challenges and opportunities of keeping healthcare data safe in the cloud. Johannes shares how Oiva Health has grown as a platform and how their partnership with UpCloud took shape through a shared focus on performance, security, and European data sovereignty.We explore the legal and ethical implications of handling sensitive health data, especially within the European regulatory landscape, and why storing that data outside of the EU poses serious risks. Johannes offers a deep dive into Oiva Health’s cloud strategy, touching on infrastructure choices, compliance challenges, and what it takes to scale a healthcare operation securely while balancing agility with governance.The conversation also covers how encryption, access control, and proactive risk management play a central role in building trust and resilience—and why alignment across teams is key to making cloud strategy work in a highly regulated environment. We wrap up with a forward-looking view on the role of AI in healthcare and what’s next for both Oiva Health and the wider healthtech ecosystem.Tune in now to learn how Oiva Health is securing the future of digital healthcare in Europe!
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Beyond the Cluster – Abstraction, Adoption and the Future of Kubernetes
Kubernetes has come a long way from its early days of container orchestration hype. In this episode, we sit with Hijmen Fokker from Pionative to take a deep dive into what makes Kubernetes so crucial to today’s cloud-native world.We unpack the rise of platform engineering and the critical shift from everyone running their own clusters to dedicated teams managing infrastructure behind the scenes. We discuss why developers shouldn’t have to know how etcd works, when not to adopt Kubernetes, and how abstraction layers can both empower and endanger your stack—depending on your team’s readiness.From operators managing stateful services like Postgres and Kafka to the hidden costs of DIY Kubernetes, we get into the real trade-offs companies face when scaling their cloud-native workloads.Whether you're a CTO deciding how to build your next platform, a DevOps engineer wrestling with Helm charts, or just Kubernetes-curious—this episode will give you a clear, honest lens on where the ecosystem is heading.
Cloudscapes is UpCloud’s podcast created for those building, scaling, and navigating the cloud with purpose.
In each episode, we chat with cloud experts, partners, and customers about real challenges, trends, and decisions - from data sovereignty to cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes, security, startup scaling, and much more.
Straightforward, insightful, and grounded - this is your space for smarter cloud conversations.
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