In November 2018, the European Commission launched the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) in Vienna. The EOSC envisions establishing a European data infrastructure, integrating high-capacity cloud solutions, eventually widening the scope of these services to include the public sector and the industry. Understanding the EOSC structure is a first step in recognizing the opportunities offered by the newly launched EOSC. This article offers some reflections for a better understanding of the realization of the EOSC at the present stage, including currently ongoing developments. Burgelman and Schouppe published under their own names and their text does not necessarily represent the view of the EC.