Martijn Veldkamp
Enterprise Architect · Virtual CTO · Farmer · Sarcastic Realist
Cutting Through the Hype
I spend my days architecting large-scale solutions for the complex organisations and my evenings staring at the horizon on a farm in North Holland. It’s a contrast that keeps me sane: cutting-edge AI and cloud architecture by day, and things that actually work like gravity, old Volvos, and slow-drip coffee from my Mocca Master.
My philosophy is borrowed from Colin Chapman: “Simplify, then add lightness.”
In a world obsessed with adding more “features” (and currently, throwing “AI” at problems like it’s magic dust), I focus on strategic architecture, Conway’s Law in action, and maintaining a healthy scepticism for the current AI gold rush. To me, most Generative AI is a very expensive, very advanced autocomplete. It’s a tool, not a saviour.
Latest Articles
Thoughts on architecture, AI strategy, governance, and the art of building systems that last.
- You bought a logo, not the understandingYou can buy a company’s code, its customers and its logo in an afternoon (well sort of, you know what I mean). What you cannot buy, is the… Read more: You bought a logo, not the understanding
- Gratis af te halenAfter I got back from camping and rediscovered that tap water is a miracle (last week’s story), I did the other summer ritual, I cleared out the barn.… Read more: Gratis af te halen
- Luxury AmnesiaEvery summer I do something that, on paper, makes no sense. I leave a farm that has hot water, rain shower, a real bed, and three horses who… Read more: Luxury Amnesia
- LinkedIn respects your privacyThere is a fence near where I walk the dogs. It runs about fifteen meters along the edge of a field and then simply stops. It connects to… Read more: LinkedIn respects your privacy
- Did anyone brief the Agent?In January 2024, a DPD chatbot told a customer, in writing, that DPD was the worst delivery company in the world. The customer had asked it to. The… Read more: Did anyone brief the Agent?
- The Metric that eats itselfThere is a slide that has been appearing in decks lately. It has a bar chart. The X-axis is team names or business units. The Y-axis is tokens… Read more: The Metric that eats itself
Work With Me
I help organisations cut through complexity — whether that means designing an AI strategy that isn’t just a vendor pitch, untangling technical debt, or providing Virtual CTO leadership for teams that need strategic direction without the permanent headcount.
What I bring: Strategic architecture, data & AI governance, digital transformation leadership, and the pragmatism to tell you when the emperor has no clothes.
Reach out on LinkedIn or drop me an email.