As of 1 August, you will jointly take over the management of the eco Association. Under what heading would you categorise this new phase of the association’s history?
Alexander Rabe: Only together are we strong. This motto has characterised eco since 1995 in our interactions and work with our member companies, which now number over 1,000. And the eco team and all its employees have always been committed to this motto. This recipe for success will continue to position eco and its work uniquely in the association landscape in the future, and I am pleased to be able to continue to develop this path together with a highly motivated team and great member companies.
And after all, we all know that the importance of digitalisation is no longer a niche topic, but will decisively shape our lives and work in the coming decades – and, by now, this should also be the consensus in politics, business and civil society. The Internet industry is therefore one of the great growth drivers of the future with enormous leverage for the economy in Germany, Europe and the world.
In my opinion, it needs a strong and authentic voice more than ever – for example, to respond appropriately and effectively to critical debates or political regulatory intentions. As an association, we have repeatedly proven over the past 25 years that we have the know-how, the experience and the network to be this voice and to represent the interests of our member companies in the external world. This will continue to be the main driver of our work in the years to come.
Andreas Weiss: There is nothing as constant as perpetual change. We look back on an impressive development of the Internet and also with huge respect on the special achievements of Harald A. Summa, who was instrumental in managing both eco and DE-CIX very successfully during this time. At the same time, however, we have had strong teams standing behind us, which means that we are now maintaining continuity while at the same time shaping change.
We are increasingly finding that both the Internet and the associated industry are systemically relevant for cloud and digital services. The demands of the industry in implementing digital business models in particular are challenging and far beyond websites, video calls and messaging. This transformation will occupy our members for the next 10 years, and we as an association are providing the required input.
In continuing the proven model of dual leadership in the eco management, how will you divide up the tasks in concrete terms?
Rabe: From August 2023, I will be responsible in particular for the eco Group’s finances. However, my field of responsibility will continue to include the political positioning of the association’s work and the corresponding representation vis-à -vis the political stakeholders, as well as the interaction with our members to formulate political demands and positions. Specifically, I will therefore continue to be responsible for the Policy, Law & Regulations division as well as eco’s Berlin Capital Office. Of course, I will also remain responsible for the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, which I co-initiated, and I am particularly pleased to draw attention to the importance of the ecosystem of digital infrastructures for high-performance and sustainable digitalisation.
I will also continue to be responsible for the public relations work that is so central to our association in the division of Association Communications/Political Communications, and I will continue to drive forward the internationalisation of eco.
Weiss: My field of responsibility includes the strategically relevant topics that are geared towards member retention and recruitment. There are also direct synergies with the Marketing & Events division, for which I am also responsible. But the coordination and continuation of the numerous support projects such as GXFS and Car Repair 4.0 or European support projects such as Tango and Fame will also continue to be looked after in the Digital Business Models division. Fundamental eco topics such as AI, IoT, mobility and New Work will also be further developed here, and an overarching concept for involving our members will be established.
The CSA – Certified Sender Alliance also falls within my scope. In the coming years, it will establish a new business model and at the same time offer our members and the marketing industry relevant added value for email marketing in accordance with regulatory requirements. In general, Human Resources also comes under my field of responsibility.
What goals have you set for the association? What do you want to tackle in the first 100 days, and what will be at the top of your agenda in the next two years?
Weiss: First of all, we will concentrate on the organisational adjustments mentioned above. Based on this, we will focus on the strengths of the association in a strategic process. eco has always been the leading association for digital infrastructures with Internet technologies, extended to include the cloud and digital services. The current hot topic in Europe is the development of federated decentralised data infrastructures and ecosystems. Our efforts as eco Association have shown that we are uniquely positioned, especially in the environment of the technical operators of such ecosystems in Germany, but also in Europe. We will apply this strength even more vigorously in the future.
Rabe: In the first 100 days, we primarily want to lay the foundation for sustainable membership growth with our activities and further intensify the cooperation with our existing members. In the future, we will bring it home to even more companies that our services and the added value of membership in the eco Association are worthwhile. What’s more, on the strength of our member initiatives, we will boost the involvement and loyalty of our more than 1,000 eco member companies.
Hardly any other industry has developed as rapidly in the last 25 years as the digital industry, which is now one of the fastest growing industries in Germany and Europe. Where do you see the biggest challenges for your member companies in the next five years and, as an association, how do you want to support them in this context?
Rabe: The dynamics of digitalisation as well as the explosive nature of the issues surrounding our handling and use of digital technologies and services are constantly increasing, but the core issues of digitalisation have remained almost the same for over 25 years. These include the question of how we can expand and strengthen high-performance, reliable, secure and sustainable digital infrastructures in the face of constantly growing demands on computing power. At the same time, however, the question of how we can fundamentally use digitalisation to benefit people is increasingly at the centre of many public discussions; in my view, this set of topics is gaining in importance, and rightly so. Politicians, civil society and also the media expect our industry to provide answers to these questions and to adopt positions.
Here I see an essential task for us as an association to develop these positions together with our member companies, to discuss these questions in exchange and discourse with the public and politicians, and to develop resilient scenarios for the future.
Digital services and technologies are currently under attack in the media and the public – for example, with regard to their climate impact or in the context of the latest quantum leaps in AI development. How do you assess these debates and what role do you see eco as an industry association playing here?
Weiss: It is right and important that these debates are held and that we as an industry seriously treat these questions that the world is asking us. We are very clearly of the opinion that digitalisation and, therefore, our industry are part of the solution to many global challenges, such as overcoming climate change and dealing with the scarcity of resources. I see it as our task as an association not only to represent these positions, but also to help shape their practical implementation, to provide guidance, to pool the individual commitment of many companies to these important goals under our umbrella, and to thus further boost their external impact.
You have both been working for the eco Association for many years. Where do you see the strengths of the association, and what added value do member companies get from eco that is not available from comparable industry associations?
Rabe: We are certainly not like any other association, because we are not “only” the mouthpiece of the industry; we are also part of the industry ourselves through our 100% shareholding in DE-CIX, the largest Internet Exchange with headquarters in Frankfurt. This means we are very close to the pulse of the times and the needs of our most diverse members. We are authentic, we are part of the industry, and everyone can be sure that our positions and demands are arrived at in a balanced member dialogue and thus always reflect a reliable overall picture of the industry. Last but not least, every four years on the occasion of the German Bundestag elections, our members can, for example, also jointly define the essential political positions and fundamental lines of the association’s work in our Internet Policy Agenda.
Weiss: Our strength is our focus on the Internet and the diversity which it entails, and a strong network in business, politics and civil society that has grown over 25 years, which we make available in principle to every member company – whether global players, SMEs or start-ups. We see ourselves as a platform and amplifier for the issues that are close to the hearts of our members and offer a variety of opportunities for participation within the framework of our Competence Groups, events and publications, all of which are freely accessible to all of our member companies.
Thank you very much for the interview!
