What disruptive potential do digital ecosystems offer? This is a topic covered in this short eco interview with the gridscale CEO Henrik Hasenkamp. At the Data Center Expert Summit in Darmstadt on 9 June, he will talk in detail through the role that cloud-based IT infrastructures play on this path.
How important are digital ecosystems for our economic future?
Digital ecosystems will become the central neural pathways of our economy. Many sectors and industries have already had to experience how new corporate alliances and the digital platform economy have caused disruptive changes and have also completely shaken up long-established market structures in a very short space of time. This trend will continue and accelerate further. This is however good news for the German economy, which tends to be dominated by SMEs, as it offers the opportunity to participate significantly in this development in the future thanks to its own innovative strength and the network effects of digital ecosystems.
What are the main challenges for digital infrastructures?
Digital infrastructures form the critical success backbone for the entire value creation and for all business processes in the company. If IT stands still, all the other wheels in the company stand still as well. Digital infrastructure must therefore never become a limiting factor, but must be available at all times and everywhere in high quality and to an unlimited extent. In concrete terms, this entails key requirements for performance and availability, scalability and security, as well as economic efficiency, compatibility and future-proofing. Modern, cloud-based IT infrastructures address these requirements and have meanwhile proven and established themselves as technological architecture concepts.
Why is data sovereignty a success factor in this regard?
Data sovereignty – and even more so, the somewhat broader concept of digital sovereignty – are not only success factors, but often absolutely necessary prerequisites for digital data exchange. This applies equally to the economy and to our society. It is crucial for companies to protect their data from possible influence, especially from abroad, and thus be able to act independently. This is particularly true for the mostly internationally connected digital ecosystems. Modern IT infrastructures must therefore take these demands into account, because data sovereignty and data security are of great importance in Germany in particular and are often also prescribed by law. Official certifications from accredited testing and monitoring companies help companies to document their careful and data protection-compliant handling of data and in this way strengthen mutual trust in digital business transactions.
Mr Hasenkamp, thank you very much for the interview.
