Ranked 4th in Europe and performing above the regional average in ALL innovation pillars, the Netherlands is a country known for its forward thinking and innovative culture. A large portion of innovation in Holland is IT-related, pushing the boundaries in areas such as multimedia, virtual labs, parallel computing, and modelling. Many tech start ups go to the Netherlands rich talent pool to hire IT-based professionals with big ideas and a great understanding of the industry to fast-track their innovation and growth.
And here’s just a few examples of the sort of tech innovation that we’ve seen from the Netherlands over the years:
Microscope – Father-son team Hans and Zaccharias Hansen , 1590’s
Telescope – Hans Lippershey, 1608
Eye test – Herman Snellen, 1862
Cassette, CD, DVD, and Blue-ray –Phillips
Bluetooth – Dr Jaap Haartsen, 1990’s
Wi-fi – Vitor Hayes & Cees Links, 1990s
The Stock Market – 1602
As a technology business, there’s a lot we can learn from the way the Netherlands approaches innovation and it’s why we’re excited about our newest technology partner, Xelion.
Introducing Xelion
The Dutch are ranked No.2 in the world for online connectivity, with 98% of households having broadband connectivity. The country is also widely recognised for being a global leader in digitalisation and integration. It’s one of the many reasons why, when looking at the market for a new cloud telephony and unified communications partner we knew when we found Xelion that we’d discovered something very special for both us and our customers. Founded in the Netherlands in 1988, Xelion brings together the very best functionality of cloud telephony and unified communications to create a full communication and collaboration solution. It’s been built as a single solution, including integration with many tools as standard such as Microsoft teams, WhatsApp, SMS, video, CRMs and more. Since entering the UK market five years ago, Xelion has won numerous industry and customer awards and continues to go from strength to strength, innovating continually with new features and functions that make colleagues and customers lives easier and better every day.
We’re excited to announce that Xelion is now a strategic part of our Unified Comms solution. It combines innovation with ease of use within an all-inclusive user licence. Give us a call on 0800 160 1111 to book your demo.
AI in The Netherlands
If you want to know where Xelion got their drive towards integration and AI from, it’s simply inbuilt in The Netherlands. The Netherlands recognised a while ago that AI is a key driver of opportunity in the 21st century, and in 2019 the Dutch government put a plan in place called the Strategic Action Plan for AI which introduces 3 pillars:
1. Capitalise on the societal and economic opportunities of AI
2. Advance AI knowledge through research and development
3. Protect the public interest by establishing ethical guidelines in AI
Of course we need to acknowledge that AI can be dangerous, and ethical guidelines are necessary, however developing these products could make so many positive changes to the way we live day-to-day. This plan is being accelerated to develop AI in the Netherlands. Big companies pursuing AI, like ABB, Brain Corp and Wonderkind, are all putting down foundations in the Netherlands to capitalise on the innovation and ability for testing in a fast-growing industry.
Collaboration and how it aids innovation
Through all of this there’s one simple thing to learn. Innovation thrives on collaboration. The Dutch are famous for their collaboration, and much of their innovation stems from this. Businesses and universities are encouraged to pool their knowledge to accelerate innovation and development – sharing credit is not something to be feared, and allows creativity to excel and accelerate. There are specific campuses where businesses can collaborate and research together to uncover ground-breaking research. The Netherlands also creates an easy platform for collaboration with its connections to Europe and the rest of the world thanks to its robust digital infrastructure.
Let’s collaborate and innovate together
Our partnership with Xelion has added a versatile unified communications solution to our portfolio. Wherever you are on your cloud telephony and unified communications journey, we can scale and flex with you, your colleagues and your customers – providing all the functionality and features you need for one easy price, whenever you need them.
Xelion stretches cloud telephony that bit further, combining communication and collaboration and integrating seamlessly with MS Teams, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, Video and Chat. Everything you need in one place, wherever you are.
As always, we want to help you maximise your company’s potential with an easy solution to your telephony needs – if anything in this blog sounds like what you need for your company, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@windsor-telecom.co.uk or give us a ring on 0800 160 1111.
