Over the years, the IT Forum Upper Franconia has established itself as a central platform for exchange between business, IT practice and research. in 2026, the event will focus on a topic that is becoming increasingly important in light of geopolitical developments, cloud dependencies and AI dynamics: digital sovereignty. In this interview, Prof. Dr. René Peinl, Head of the Institute for Information Systems at Hof University of Applied Sciences (iisys) and organizer of the IT Forum Upper Franconia, talks about the goals, the main focus of the programme and why companies in particular should rethink now.
Prof. Dr. Peinl, what is the overarching goal of the IT Forum Upper Franconia 2026 – and what has made the event successful for years?
“Our aim is to bring providers of IT products and services together with consumers and at the same time to network academic research more closely with industry. In my view, the success of the IT Forum lies in the balanced mix: we address highly topical issues, but also deliberately provide impetus for foreseeable future developments.”
What is the current status of the organization for the upcoming event?
“The program and the date have already been set. We have once again been able to attract top-class keynote speakers (“campuls-digital” reported). In addition to outstanding personalities from the region, some national experts will also be represented in the parallel panels.”
Why was the key topic “Digital sovereignty – data and IT under control?” chosen for 2026, and what significance does it have for the region?
“The topic has been on our minds at iisys for a very long time. I myself have been a member of the Open Source Business Alliance, which is dedicated to precisely this topic, since 2011. For a long time, however, digital sovereignty was dismissed as a hobby of a few “weirdos” – to put it bluntly.
Despite data protection scandals and successful lawsuits, the attitude that there was no alternative to US hyperscalers such as Microsoft or Google persisted. However, since Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and especially since Trump’s second term in office, the perception has changed significantly. Sovereignty – including digital sovereignty – is now being discussed more widely in society. With the IT Forum, we want to shake up decision-makers and show them: There are alternatives, and some companies are already implementing them successfully.”
Which target groups do you want to reach with the IT Forum and what specific benefits do you want participants to gain from it?
“The IT FORUM addresses the following target groups: Decision-makers and management from the companies, employees from the chambers of industry and commerce, IT managers and IT service providers as well as generally interested parties. The added value is created through the exchange of ideas among each other, but also through the impulses from keynotes and expert panels. Participants should take away both directly applicable knowledge and food for thought to enable them to make the right strategic decisions at an early stage.”
Can you give us an outlook on the key topics that are particularly relevant for companies?
“Under the umbrella of digital sovereignty, we deal with open source as a foundation, sovereign cloud solutions, AI and robotics as well as data strategies for companies.
This means we cover a broad spectrum: from software deployment and cloud outsourcing to hardware – especially for AI – and artificial intelligence itself. Despite the current hype, AI has the greatest potential for transformation, but it can also lead us further into dependencies. Without data, there is no AI – which is why we place a strong focus on data management as the basis for rational decisions and our own AI developments.”
To what extent does the IT Forum offer space for exchange, networking and practical solutions?
“We have planned several longer breaks and offer sufficient space for direct exchange and discussions both before and after the official program. Networking is a central component of the forum.”
What expectations do you have for the future development of Upper Franconia as an IT location?
“Upper Franconia is not known as a classic IT stronghold. With the IT Forum, however, we want to show time and again that there are indeed efficient and innovative providers here. This becomes even more important in the context of digital sovereignty.
If companies work together more closely and do not invest their budget in licenses and cloud fees from US hyperscalers out of habit, this would have enormous positive effects for the region. Of course, the path to greater digital sovereignty is not painless. But it is necessary for risk management reasons alone – and has nothing to do with ideology, even if people like to claim that.”
Thank you very much for the interview.
