Prior to the collaboration with Uniserver, Acto managed two proprietary environments: a housing environment at NorthC Datacenters in Almere for client environments, and a proprietary on-site environment in Amersfoort. All hardware was owned by Acto, purchased, maintained, and managed by its own team. Lifecycle management, licenses, knowledge: full responsibility lay internally.

In the past, that was financially more attractive than full outsourcing. But in 2024, the balance shifted. Hardware was approaching the end of its lifecycle and required major replacement investments. At the same time, there was a growing realization that the organization needed to become more efficient and decisive, focusing on where the real value lies: software development.

The initial orientation led Acto towards Azure. The market had a strong focus on Microsoft, and the ability to facilitate customers with international service organizations worldwide made public cloud strategically attractive.

But the picture shifted. Data security, data ownership, and the question 'where is our data?' increasingly proved to be decisive criteria in client journeys. Acto wanted to distinguish itself from competitors precisely in this area, with a clear strategy: preferably European, and in any case out of American hands.

For international clients providing services worldwide, the public cloud remains an option. However, for the core of its business operations, Acto deliberately chose a private, sovereign environment. No dependency on American parties, full control over data and resources.

Acto compared four parties, of which two were ultimately invited for a proof of concept. The selection criteria were clear: performance, stability, specialization, and the willingness to genuinely contribute to the architecture. Customization was not a requirement; Acto sought a partner offering a solid standard within which its own applications could function optimally.

Within Uniserver's offering, Acto deliberately chose dedicated hardware in a Private Virtual Datacenter. The reason: complete control over resources, without the risk of interference from other users within a shared environment. This isolation is essential, especially for database-intensive workloads.

The current environment is the result of a deliberate architectural choice. Uniserver manages the entire infrastructure layer: the Private Virtual Datacenter, firewalls, virtualization, and managed backup. Acto purchases these services as a service, including the security layer.

The OS layer and everything above it—databases, application configurations, and specific setup choices—remains under in-house management. Not because Acto wants to maintain control, but because that knowledge is so specialized that only Acto itself can manage the applications correctly.

The impact of the switch is immediately noticeable in daily reality. No more hardware to purchase or replace. No more licenses to keep track of, other than the Microsoft SPLA licenses that are part of the contract. No more knowledge required regarding virtualization, hardware maintenance, or infrastructure management. And fewer people needed to keep it all running.

Moreover, costs have become predictable. Whereas investments in hardware previously had to be capitalized and depreciated, Acto now pays a fixed monthly fee. This makes it easier to substantiate business cases for clients and to provide insight into the costs per client environment.

For other organizations in the installation industry or the broader software sector that are hesitating between their own hardware, a public cloud, or a private VDC, Alwin Roelofs has clear advice:

For Acto, the move to Uniserver was more than a technical migration. It was a strategic repositioning: less management, more focus, and the assurance that customer data is securely and sovereignly stored within the Netherlands.