Transport and Technology Infrastructure

Ask any North American SSC why they're here and they'll tell you - proximity to customers. The Netherlands' dense, high-quality infrastructure offers fast connections no matter how you're traveling - air, road or rail; fiberoptic or wireless. It's no different than at home: all the technological services that are available in the U.S. are available in the Netherlands.

Transport Infrastructure

"We consider Schiphol to be the finest airport in Europe. Very easy to get in and out of major cities across the world."
Bill Koehl, VP & GM, BMC Software, Inc.

One of the Netherlands key transportation assets is Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.  It has been voted Europe's best airport more than 20 times by readers of Business Traveller magazine, and has won more than 100 international prizes for its excellent level of services and handling of passenger traffic.

It offers service to some 2000 international destinations - with more than 200 direct flights to 82 countries - and smoothly handles 10.2% of Europe's passengers.

Another advantage is that Schiphol is only 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam's center and can be reached by car within an hour and a half from all major Dutch cities. 

The Netherlands is served by a dense and sophisticated network of highways and secondary roads which also offers access to international roads across Europe.  The Netherlands is always upgrading its transportation systems and to that end has allocated substantial budget (about $49 billion, or 6% of the GDP) to keep traffic flowing smoothly during rush hour in traffic-heavy areas.

The railroad system in the Netherlands is ultramodern and efficient, too. Businesses enjoy fast connections to cities throughout the European Union on cars that are renowned for their cleanliness, speed, safety and on-time arrivals. In addition, high-speed passenger service now links Amsterdam and Rotterdam to France, Belgium, Germany, and via Eurostar connection to London.

Technology Infrastructure

"We chose the Netherlands because of multilingualism, the education level of the working population and the excellent telecommunications infrastructure."
Tijmen Kos, Managing Director EMEA, Sun Microsystems

The Netherlands hosts the largest Internet hub in Europe. As a result of the government's stimulation of Internet usage, the Netherlands is at the top of the list for access among major European countries. All common IT service providers available in the U.S. are available in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is highly ranked in terms of energy infrastructure, fresh water transport, gas infrastructure and telephony network. It also ranks among top EU nations for the speed, quality and reliability of its cable and digital systems, as well as its telecommunications network. Call completion rates are high. Response times are fast. The fiber-optic network is 100% digital. Plus, an expanding array of providers is helping to steadily decrease tariffs, further improving cost competitiveness. With all these advantages, the Netherlands emerges as the ideal environment for your Shared Services operation.

In addition to ISDN, ADSL and WAP, specific demands can be met, including dedicated networks with the PSN, international toll-free numbers, and a Netherlands direct service that lets customers call the Netherlands directly from foreign countries. Also available:

• International green numbers and shared costs (IGN)
• National green numbers (toll-free 0800 numbers)
• Universal international free-phone numbers (UIFN)
• Premium rate 0900 numbers

The Netherlands contributes nearly one percent of its gross domestic product to telecommunications and its technological infrastructure, making it a European leader in technological investment.