GITEX Europe 2025: Digital Sovereignty takes center stage in Berlin

After three exhilarating days navigating GITEX Europe 2025 in Berlin, Alec and Martijn from Cyso Cloud have returned with coffee-fuelled insights and a treasure trove of observations. Armed with comfortable walking shoes and an unhealthy amount of enthusiasm, they traversed six expansive halls, chatted with hundreds of exhibitors, mingled with fellow tech explorers, and managed to squeeze in several talks between booth-hopping sessions.

The digital sovereignty movement gains momentum

Walking through the exhibition halls, one theme dominated conversations: digital sovereignty. The irony wasn't lost that even US hyperscalers were presenting on how to achieve digital sovereignty — a clear acknowledgment of Europe's growing demand for data control and regulatory compliance.

The event's underlying message was unmistakable: Europe is ready to challenge American tech dominance. Cloud Network's interactive booth perfectly captured this sentiment with their 'Team US vs Team EU' assessment, highlighting the strategic choice facing European businesses today.

Key takeaways for European Cloud seekers

GDPR-Compliant Infrastructure is in high demand
Nearly every conversation touched on GDPR compliance and data residency requirements. Companies are actively seeking alternatives to traditional hyperscaler dependencies, creating significant opportunities for EU-based cloud providers offering European cloud solutions.

German market characteristics
German companies remain notably conservative in their European cloud adoption, with many still operating primarily on-premises infrastructure. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity — businesses that can bridge the gap with localised, compliant cloud solutions (like Frankfurt-region services) are well-positioned to help German enterprises modernise whilst maintaining control.

The developer talent paradox
Despite dozens of exhibitors claiming to offer 'the best developers,' the talent shortage remains acute. Companies continue struggling to fill engineering and development positions, suggesting that businesses offering both cloud solutions and development expertise have a competitive advantage.

Market observations at GITEX Europe 2025

The startup ecosystem was vibrant, with the Dutch government pavilion alone hosting numerous scale-ups and emerging companies. However, many 'cloud' solutions still rely heavily on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud infrastructure, highlighting the gap that true sovereign cloud providers can fill.

AI remained the dominant buzzword across presentations and booth displays, but the focus has shifted toward practical implementation rather than theoretical possibilities. Two particularly intriguing demonstrations caught attention: an AI hologram that could answer visitor questions and a 3D humanoid robot serving the same function. Both had noticeable delays in their responses, creating an interaction that felt more like querying a search engine than having a natural conversation.

These implementations raised fascinating questions about the future of AI interfaces, will we gravitate toward immersive 3D experiences, stick with traditional flat-screen solutions, or adopt different formats depending on context? More importantly for the sovereignty-focused audience, both demonstrations highlighted critical concerns about data handling: what happens to the information these systems collect during interactions, and how transparent are their decision-making processes?

Companies are now looking for AI solutions that can operate within European data governance frameworks whilst addressing these fundamental questions about data privacy and algorithmic transparency.

Strategic implications

For companies evaluating cloud-native and sovereign cloud solutions, GITEX Europe reinforced several critical trends:

• Regulatory compliance is driving purchasing decisions more than cost optimisation

• Data sovereignty concerns are creating market opportunities for EU-based providers

• Hybrid approaches that help traditional on-premises companies transition gradually are in high demand

• Local presence and support (particularly in key markets like Germany) provides significant competitive advantages

Looking forward

GITEX Europe's inaugural success demonstrates that European businesses are serious about digital independence. The event created a platform where sovereignty isn't just a compliance checkbox—it's a strategic imperative driving technology decisions.

For companies in the sovereign cloud space, the message was clear: Europe is choosing Europe, and the market is ready for solutions that deliver both innovation and independence.

The abundance of quality coffee at exhibitor booths was an unexpected bonus, proving that even in serious discussions about digital sovereignty, good hospitality goes a long way in building business relationships.

Ready to join Europe's digital independence movement?

Our European cloud platform delivers precisely what we observed companies seeking in Berlin: GDPR-compliant cloud solutions built on European cloud infrastructure. Unlike cloud providers that rely on American hyperscalers, our cloud and managed kubernetes services operate entirely within EU borders, ensuring complete digital sovereignty for your data. From cloud server solutions and object storage to comprehensive cloud services, our platform combines the performance you'd expect from global providers with the regulatory compliance and local support that European businesses demand.