Cloud & AI Infrastructure
Cloud & Cyber Security Expo 
Big Data & AI World 
Data Centre World 
Sovereignty at Tech Show Frankfurt
What is Sovereignty?
Digital Freedom, Defined
Sovereignty means taking ownership of the digital foundations that power our economies, societies, and organisations.
In practice, it’s about maintaining control over data, infrastructure, and technology - ensuring that what drives our digital transformation is not solely dependent on external jurisdictions or providers.
For Europe and Germany, this isn’t a new idea. It builds on a long tradition of informationelle Selbstbestimmung - the right to control one’s own information.
But sovereignty has evolved: it is no longer only about compliance or localisation. It’s about strategic capability, having the freedom to innovate, compete, and decide your digital future on your own terms.
In practice, it’s about maintaining control over data, infrastructure, and technology - ensuring that what drives our digital transformation is not solely dependent on external jurisdictions or providers.
For Europe and Germany, this isn’t a new idea. It builds on a long tradition of informationelle Selbstbestimmung - the right to control one’s own information.
But sovereignty has evolved: it is no longer only about compliance or localisation. It’s about strategic capability, having the freedom to innovate, compete, and decide your digital future on your own terms.
Why does Sovereignty matter?
01.
Most organisations in Germany and across the DACH region already recognise the importance of sovereignty.
The question today is how to achieve it, and how to use it to our advantage, rather than see it as a limitation.
Data protection and localisation are already part of the corporate fabric here. What’s changing is the scale and speed of dependency on global platforms.
True sovereignty ensures continuity and resilience: it’s about having a choice - to switch, to relocate, to secure, to innovate - without disruption.
Owning your digital infrastructure doesn’t mean isolation. It means the freedom to experiment safely.
Initiatives such as Gaia-X and the rise of sovereign cloud providers show that open, federated ecosystems can combine trust with progress.
Sovereignty enables faster adoption of AI, smarter data sharing, and the creation of value within a trusted European framework.
For enterprises in the DACH region, sovereignty has become a mark of quality - and a selling point.
Customers and partners increasingly ask: Where is my data? Who controls it? How can I be sure it’s protected?
Companies that can answer these questions with confidence gain a real competitive edge in both B2B and public-sector markets.
The question today is how to achieve it, and how to use it to our advantage, rather than see it as a limitation.
Data protection and localisation are already part of the corporate fabric here. What’s changing is the scale and speed of dependency on global platforms.
True sovereignty ensures continuity and resilience: it’s about having a choice - to switch, to relocate, to secure, to innovate - without disruption.
Owning your digital infrastructure doesn’t mean isolation. It means the freedom to experiment safely.
Initiatives such as Gaia-X and the rise of sovereign cloud providers show that open, federated ecosystems can combine trust with progress.
Sovereignty enables faster adoption of AI, smarter data sharing, and the creation of value within a trusted European framework.
For enterprises in the DACH region, sovereignty has become a mark of quality - and a selling point.
Customers and partners increasingly ask: Where is my data? Who controls it? How can I be sure it’s protected?
Companies that can answer these questions with confidence gain a real competitive edge in both B2B and public-sector markets.
Sovereignty at Tech Show Frankfurt
Across our stages and show floor, sovereignty is more than a discussion point - it’s a ubiquitous theme.
At Tech Show Frankfurt 2025, thought leaders from across industries explored how control, trust, and innovation intersect in real-world transformation.
-
In “From Legacy to Sovereignty”, Allianz Direct’s Sergiu Petean shared how platform engineering delivered innovation sovereignty — the ability to create and decide without vendor lock-in.
-
Christin Kiessling from STACKIT / Schwarz IT presented Digitale Transformation souverän meistern — the Schwarz Group’s journey towards a truly sovereign digital ecosystem.
-
Panel discussions across Cloud, AI, and Data tracks revealed a common shift: sovereignty is no longer an obstacle to agility but a foundation for sustainable innovation.
From Vision to Deployment
The 2026 programme explicitly builds on last year’s conversations about independence, resilience, and trust, showing how organisations are moving from strategy to sovereign-by-design execution.
The flagship stream, “Building Sovereign, Scalable & Trusted Innovation: From Strategy to Successful Deployment,” places sovereignty at the heart of digital transformation. It highlights how enterprises are translating boardroom vision into compliant, future-ready deployments, with ROI-led sovereignty playbooks and frameworks that help navigate Europe’s complex regulatory landscape.
The flagship stream, “Building Sovereign, Scalable & Trusted Innovation: From Strategy to Successful Deployment,” places sovereignty at the heart of digital transformation. It highlights how enterprises are translating boardroom vision into compliant, future-ready deployments, with ROI-led sovereignty playbooks and frameworks that help navigate Europe’s complex regulatory landscape.
For exhibitors, this conversation defines opportunity: how can your solutions enable control and compliance while unlocking innovation?
For visitors, it’s a chance to compare technologies that align with Europe’s digital values - and find partners who share your standards for trust, security, and independence.
For visitors, it’s a chance to compare technologies that align with Europe’s digital values - and find partners who share your standards for trust, security, and independence.
The DACH Region: Leading the Sovereign Digital Future
Germany stands at the centre of Europe’s sovereignty movement. Government initiatives, enterprise investment, and a thriving open-source ecosystem are converging to build Europe’s next-generation digital backbone.
- Frankfurt is Europe’s leading data-exchange hub, home to DE-CIX and a rapidly expanding network of sovereign data-centre operators.
- Germany’s Sovereign Tech Agency and national digital strategy actively fund open infrastructure and European-based cloud solutions.
- Austria and Switzerland are advancing parallel efforts, focusing on cross-border cloud governance and AI ethics.
Within this landscape, the DACH region is not just responding to global pressures - it is actively shaping the blueprint for trustworthy, human-centred digital transformation.
Join the Conversation
Sovereignty is not the end of globalisation - it’s the beginning of responsible interdependence.
At Tech Show Frankfurt, discover how leading innovators, policymakers, and technologists are turning sovereignty into progress.