- Majority of German companies convinced: Digital sovereignty will secure Germany as a business location
- Europe needs an intelligent mix of digital infrastructure providers
- 61% of corporate decision-makers in Germany demand a stronger promotion of digital sovereignty by the German federal government
Digital sovereignty in the form of high-performance and secure digital infrastructures is a key success factor and decisive for the future viability of Germany as a business location. This is the opinion of the overwhelming majority (80 percent) of decision-makers in German companies, according to the results of a current representative survey conducted by the market and opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of eco – Association of the Internet Industry among 500 corporate decision-makers from various industries.
Europe needs an intelligent mix of digital infrastructure providers
eco therefore welcomes and supports in principle the considerations of the German federal government presented today at the Digital Summit in Dortmund by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, regarding the conception of an efficient, secure, and sovereign European data infrastructure in dialogue between state, industry, and research.
“Europe needs an intelligent mix of digital infrastructure providers and a strengthening of the business location for providers of such services. We therefore believe that user companies – whether SMEs, global players, or even the public administration itself – need support in the form of the availability of trustworthy infrastructures – from edge computing to cloud computing to hyperscalers – in order to be able to make confident economic decisions in this age of digital transformation,” says eco Chair of the Board, Oliver Süme.
“Data sovereignty and data access are essential success factors for a data-driven economy, especially for developments in the field of artificial intelligence and the business models based on it,” Süme continues.
61% of corporate decision-makers in Germany demand a stronger promotion of digital sovereignty by the German federal government
“High-performance data centers are the key to this digital sovereignty in Germany for an agile digital ecosystem in which data is trustfully shared and innovative applications are developed and brought to the market.” According to Oliver Süme, operators of digital infrastructures and the market conditions that they face in Germany should therefore be more strongly integrated into digital policy strategies by politicians.
This is also the view of the majority of business leaders in Germany. According to a recent survey commissioned by eco, more than 60 percent call for the German federal government to show greater commitment in this field.
As the sole shareholder of the world’s largest Internet exchange DE-CIX in Frankfurt, eco itself forms part of the industry. “DE-CIX is the best example of how a vital ecosystem of digital infrastructures can become a driver of digital innovation and business models,” says Süme.
