Why Digital Sovereignty is in spotlight in 2026

Published on March 19, 2026

Digital sovereignty used to be a reliable way to end up with empty chairs at panel discussions - too political, too niche, too detached from reality. Those who brought it up were met, at best, with polite nods.

But that picture has changed. At the most recent business breakfast organized by Dorothee Brommer, titled “How data sovereignty makes companies resilient and competitive,” the event was fully booked. Joachim Aste from Noris Network spoke about how they build sovereign infrastructure for themselves and their clients, while Jens Horstmann from Trevisto contributed a perspective from data practice. Three regional voices and a sold-out event—clearly no niche format.

What has changed: dependencies on platforms that were considered acceptable risks just three years ago are now being discussed in boardrooms. Funding programs are investing specifically in open digital infrastructure. Public administrations are realizing that control over their own digital foundations is a prerequisite for the ability to act. Digital sovereignty has evolved from a net policy topic into a central decision-making criterion.

From Discourse to Implementation: Three Developments Showing the Shift

The Sovereign Tech Agency, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and based within the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation, is investing in the foundations of the internet: systemd, PHP, OpenSSL, Let’s Encrypt, Apache Arrow—technologies that power millions of systems. In 2026, the fellowship program is being expanded, and open source is increasingly viewed as critical infrastructure rather than a side project.

At the European level, momentum is also building. The European Innovation Council is providing €1.4 billion for deep-tech innovation. With the new Advanced Innovation Challenges, modeled after the U.S. ARPA approach, the EU is focusing on breakthroughs rather than reports. Speed determines technological independence—and Europe has recognized this.

At the same time, the debate is broadening. Digital sovereignty is now appearing in infrastructure packages, industrial strategies, and security discussions. At the EU level, funding is flowing into cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and the development of independent technological capabilities. The question is no longer whether, but how.

Digital Sovereignty: What It’s Really About

Behind the buzzword lies an uncomfortable question: how can organizations, regions, and societies remain capable of acting in a digital world whose core infrastructure they do not own?

Digital sovereignty does not mean building everything yourself. Radical autarky is neither realistic nor desirable. Rather, it’s about consciously shaping dependencies and limiting them where they become risks. Open standards play a crucial role because they enable the possibility of switching.

The effects are tangible. Municipalities lose room to act when they are locked into single software providers and no longer have access to their own data structures and small and medium-sized enterprises come under pressure when rising cloud costs cannot be offset by alternatives.
The critical threshold is reached when dependency turns into loss of control. Defining that boundary deliberately is the core of digital sovereignty.

Why Digital Sovereignty Is Becoming Visible at the Nürnberg Digital Festival

For over a decade, the Nürnberg Digital Festival has brought together business, public administration, startups, research, and the tech community. As early as Open Source Day 2025, organized by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce under the motto “Digital sovereignty begins with openness,” the festival showed that the topic has arrived in the region. In 2026, this development is even more strongly reflected in the program.

Digital sovereignty appears in many different roles and decisions—from infrastructure architectures in companies to software selection in public administration, to open ecosystems in startups and research.

This is precisely where it becomes clear that many of these questions do not arise in isolation. They affect multiple stakeholders simultaneously—and improve in quality when discussed openly rather than behind closed doors.

Key tensions become visible: open source as critical infrastructure, the question of digital administration beyond purely commercial platforms, and how to deal with AI systems increasingly shaped by a small number of providers. At the same time, it’s about Europe’s role between building its own technological capabilities, smart regulation, and targeted funding.

Digital sovereignty is not decided in concepts, but in infrastructure, standards, procurement, and skills. The Nuremberg Digital Festival 2026 creates the space where these questions can be discussed.

But space alone is not enough. If this topic is not yet on your agenda, it should be. The questions raised by digital sovereignty are becoming more urgent.

Anyone who wants to get involved as a partner, speaker, with their own events, or perspectives - The stage is set. This topic won’t wait.
Submit your event HERE!