Surf
SURF is a Dutch ICT cooperative serving all universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and MBO institutes with shared infrastructure including identity management, national supercomputing, networking, cybersecurity, and storage services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersUtrecht, Netherlands
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Surf does
SURF is the ICT cooperative organization of Dutch education and research, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Utrecht with an engineering site at Amsterdam Science Park (SURFsara B.V.). It serves all Dutch universities, universities of applied sciences (HBO), university medical centers (UMCs), research institutes, and MBO vocational institutes through a cooperative membership model, functioning as the Netherlands' national research and education network (NREN). The organization delivers a broad ICT portfolio organized across eight service categories: identity and access management (SURFconext, eduID, SURFsecureID), procurement and distribution (SURFspot, SURFcumulus, SURF Vendor Compliance), security (SURFcert, SURFsoc, SURFaudit, eduVPN, Cybersave Yourself), network connectivity (eduroam, NetherLight, SURFfirewall), flexible education tools (edubadges, SURFeduhub), storage and data management (SURFdrive, Data Archive, Yoda Hosting), publishing services (SURF Data Repository, Persistent Identifiers), and compute resources including the national supercomputer Snellius and access to the European LUMI pre-exascale system.
Underlying technology includes high-performance computing infrastructure, identity federation protocols, software-defined networking, and shared cloud platforms. SURF also hosts the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system at Amsterdam Science Park under a EuroHPC JU contract worth nearly EUR 10 million. The cooperative operates 33 professional communities with more than 8,500 members, runs events (SURF Summit, SURF Onderwijsdagen, SURF Security & Privacy Conference, SURF Inkoop Connect), and publishes tech trend reports that set direction for the Dutch education sector. Its go-to-market is direct cooperative distribution: services are provided to member institutions through collective membership agreements, supplemented by government subsidies for national research infrastructure and EU-funded project participation (ODISSEE, LUMI). Pricing is not publicly disclosed, varying by institution and service bundle; the only publicly listed pricing relates to conference tickets (EUR 200-420). SURF earns through recurring cooperative membership contributions and government appropriations rather than commercial sales.
Surf firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Surf
- Legal name
- SURF B.V.
- Website
- https://surf.nl
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- SURF is a Dutch ICT cooperative serving all universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and MBO institutes with shared infrastructure including identity management, national supercomputing, networking, cybersecurity, and storage services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Surf is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Utrecht
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Surf business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Cooperative Membership Contributions: SURF operates as a cooperative funded by member institutions (universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and MBO institutes) who pay membership fees and contribute to shared ICT services. Additionally receives government subsidies for national research infrastructure.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | One time | Conference tickets for both days including networking dinner |
| Subscription | One time | Conference tickets for both days excluding dinner |
| Subscription | One time | Single day Thursday including dinner |
| Subscription | One time | Single day Thursday excluding dinner |
| Subscription | One time | Single day Friday |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels12 records
Surf product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SURF operates as a Dutch ICT cooperative providing shared ICT infrastructure and services to Dutch universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and vocational (MBO) institutions. Its core offerings include the Snellius national supercomputer and LUMI European pre-exascale system access, identity federation via SURFconext and eduID, 24/7 cybersecurity incident response (SURFcert/SURFsoc), national research networking with eduroam global WiFi roaming and 400 Gbps transatlantic links, shared cloud storage (SURFdrive, Research Drive, Data Archive), and collective procurement of software licenses through SURFspot.
Product overview
SURF is the ICT cooperative organization of education and research in the Netherlands, operating as a platform-plus-modules architecture offering over 60 distinct products and services. The portfolio is organized into eight main categories: Identity and Access Management (edu.nl, eduID, SURFconext, SURFsecureID), Procurement and Delivery (SURFspot, SURFcumulus, SURF Vendor Compliance), Security (Cybersave Yourself, eduVPN, OZON/NOZON, SURFaudit, SURFcert, SURFsoc), Network Connectivity (eduroam, SURFdomeinen, SURFfirewall, EVPN, SURFwireless, SURF Time&Frequency), Flexible Education (edubadges, Kies Op Maat, SURFeduhub, eduXchange), Storage and Data Management (Data Archive, Object Store, Research Drive, SURFdrive, Yoda Hosting, dCache), Publishing (CopyrightCheck, edusources, Persistent Identifiers, SURF Data Repository), and Compute (Snellius national supercomputer, HPC Cloud, SURF Research Cloud, LUMI European supercomputer). Additionally, SURF hosts events including SURF Security & Privacy Conference, SURF Onderwijsdagen, and SURF Inkoop Connect. The organization also partners with EuroHPC JU to host the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system at Amsterdam Science Park.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- eduID: Identity and access management service for educational institutions
- SURFconext
- SURF Research Access Management
- SURFsecureID
- SURFspot
- SURFdrive
- SURFfilesender
- SURF Vendor Compliance
- SURFcert
- SURFaudit
- Snellius
- Cloud Research Consultancy
- eduVPN
- Cybersave Yourself
- Data Archive
- SURF Data Repository
- edubadges
- Yoda Hosting
Products and services
- Snellius National Supercomputer
Quantifiable outcome
- Upgraded transatlantic network capacity to 400 Gbps for international research collaboration
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Surf
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Surf technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature8 records
Surf partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- CanariecorePartnership with Canarie of Canada to upgrade the transatlantic line between Montreal and Amsterdam from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. Part of efforts to enhance performance, resilience, and flexibility of the global research and education network.
- NordUnetcorePartnership with NordUnet of the Nordic region to upgrade the transatlantic line between Montreal and Amsterdam from 100 Gbps to 400 Gbps. Collaboration aims to enhance international research network connectivity for data-intensive science.
- Center for Internet Security (CIS)corePartnership to promote cybersecurity best practices across Europe. Includes initiatives to raise awareness and provide access to CIS security standards and tools to SURF's member institutions. Collaboration supports the broader goal of improving cybersecurity posture in education and research sectors.
- EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU)flagshipEuroHPC JU commissioned the EuroSSQ-HPC quantum computer system to be hosted by SURF at Amsterdam Science Park. Project budget of nearly EUR 10 million with potential upgrades and broad access for scientific and industrial users across Europe. Represents SURF's role as national host for European quantum computing infrastructure.
- CERNcoreCERN is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project (EU-funded initiative for exabyte-scale scientific data processing). ODISSEE entered its second of three years in 2026 with focus on RISC-V open standards for sovereign European hardware stack.
- SKAO (Square Kilometre Array Observatory)coreSKAO is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to development of computing solutions for exabyte-scale scientific data processing. Project aims to address computational challenges posed by facilities generating petabyte-scale data per second.
- CNRScoreCNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project for European exabyte-scale scientific data processing solutions.
- EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreEPFL is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to EU-funded initiative for computing solutions for exabyte-scale scientific data processing.
- ETH ZurichcoreETH Zurich is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project for exabyte-scale scientific data processing, exploring RISC-V open standards for sovereign European hardware.
- SiPearlcoreSiPearl is a consortium partner in the ODISSEE project, contributing to development of European processor technology for high-performance computing and AI workloads.
- NpulscoreNpuls is a National Growth Fund program where SURF works together with MBO Raad and Vereniging Hogescholen on ICT innovation in education. SURF shares responsibility for this program advancing digital transformation in Dutch education.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Surf competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Surf social profiles
Digital presenceSurf compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Surf financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Surf leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Surf subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Surf funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Surf M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Surf
What does Surf do?
SURF operates as a Dutch ICT cooperative providing shared ICT infrastructure and services to Dutch universities, universities of applied sciences, university medical centers, research institutes, and vocational (MBO) institutions. Its core offerings include the Snellius national supercomputer and LUMI European pre-exascale system access, identity federation via SURFconext and eduID, 24/7 cybersecurity incident response (SURFcert/SURFsoc), national research networking with eduroam global WiFi roaming and 400 Gbps transatlantic links, shared cloud storage (SURFdrive, Research Drive, Data Archive), and collective procurement of software licenses through SURFspot.
Is Surf a public or private company?
Surf is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Surf founded?
Surf was founded in 1987. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Surf based?
Surf is headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Surf make money?
One revenue line is on record: cooperative Membership Contributions.
Does Surf have an API?
No public API is recorded for Surf.