Name: Data Thursday
Start: 2026-02-26T18:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-02-26T21:30:00+01:00

Hi✋

At[ Data Tribes ](https://www.datatribes.nl/)we organise Meetups because we truly care about sharing knowledge both inside and outside the organisation. We believe that it is beneficial to us and to the market as a whole to connect, create, learn and grow together!

**The agenda**

// Doors open 6.00pm
// Drinks and Pizza’s 6.30pm
// Start presentations 7.00pm
**Henk van der Valk:** "Optimizing the Azure cloud?" ***Who really cares about Cost & Co2?***
// Start networking 9.00pm
// End Meetup 9.30pm

Greetings,
Data Tribes Inc.

Alex Ritter

Data Thursday

Data Tribes Inc.

Aerospike

Ellie AI

B. Amsterdam - connecting the minds that build our future.

B Amsterdam

Datavault Builder

Neo4j

Technology

Python

Business Intelligence

Data Science using Python

Microsoft Azure

Artificial Intelligence

Machine Learning

Data Vault Database Modeling

Apache Kafka

Data Management

Data Lakes

Data Analytics

Snowflake

Automation

**Henk van der Valk** is a Microsoft Azure cloud optimization specialist focused on one thing: getting **more value out of Azure** across the three dimensions that matter most: **performance, cost, and sustainability**. A **Green Software Champion** and former **Microsoft Global Black Belt Technical Specialist**, Henk has helped organizations worldwide optimize Azure data platforms and turn cloud complexity into measurable business outcomes.

During his tenure at Microsoft, Henk advised enterprises on Azure data solutions including **SQL (on-prem and Azure), APS, Azure SQL DWH, Synapse**, and **AI/ML**. He is known for his precision approach to **rightsizing**, end-to-end **performance tuning** (from application to database to infrastructure), and pragmatic governance improvements that deliver results fast — whether as targeted interventions or as part of broader migration programs.

Henk is also the founder of **CloudXcellence.com**, a support platform built to modernize day-to-day cloud operations and maximize cloud value with an “extra pair of eyes” when teams need it most.

**Highlights from his work include:**

* saving **millions** in cloud spend
* cutting **tons of CO₂ emissions** through smarter cloud usage
* enabling major performance leaps such as **3× faster fraud detection** and **2× faster trading operations**
* contributing to landmark engineering feats, including powering the world’s largest offshore wind farm and building record-breaking data platforms (including extreme-scale SQL and ETL loading records)

At Data Thursday, Henk brings a practical, no-fluff mindset: **quick wins you can implement fast, measure immediately, and feel in your next invoice, without a six-month transformation program.**

Data Thursday

Aerospike

Ellie AI

B Amsterdam

Datavault Builder

Data Thursday

Data Thursday

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Aerospike

Ellie AI

B Amsterdam

Datavault Builder

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