Agenda
Our agenda is designed to inspire, challenge, and connect. From keynote sessions with industry leaders to interactive workshops and networking opportunities, each part of the event is built to spark ideas and provide practical insights. Explore the schedule and start planning your experience.
Agenda
Tuesday, October 28
IDC Cloud Summit – Germany
One day event
Registration and breakfast
Welcome and intro
Anja Lange
Moderator,
IDC Keynote: How to Build the Future on Cloud
Cloud is the foundation for the AI-fuelled digital enterprise, but to realize the full value of cloud and be ready for AI, organizations need to invest in application and infrastructure modernization. In this session, Carla will discuss key hybrid and multicloud decisions that you need to make to future-proof your infrastructure and how you can use cloud to build your AI success.
Carla Arend | IDC
Associate Vice President, Research, Cloud in Europe
Carla Arend
Carla Arend is a senior program director with the European software and infrastructure research team, and heads up IDC’s European cloud research. Arend provides industry clients with key insight into market dynamics, vendor activities, and end-user adoption trends in the European cloud market. As part of her research, she covers topics such as how European organizations are adopting cloud, how cloud drivers and inhibitors are evolving, cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud, IoT and cloud, AI and cloud, Devops and cloud, as well as GDPR impact on cloud and cloud code of conduct.
In addition to syndicated research, Arend has worked on many custom consulting projects identifying opportunities in the European cloud market and has authored white papers on subjects such as cloud management, cloud security, data management in the cloud.
Arend is regularly asked to speak at industry events, strategy workshops, sales kick-offs and training, partner events, and end-user events.
Arend holds a BA in business administration from University of Mannheim and an MSc in business administration and management of technology from Copenhagen Business School, in addition to course work at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok.
Event Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 2025 9:10 am | Location:
IDC Keynote: How to Build the Future on Cloud
Cloud is the foundation for the AI-fuelled digital enterprise, but to realize the full value of cloud and be ready for AI, organizations need to invest in application and infrastructure modernization. In this session, Carla will discuss key hybrid and multicloud decisions that you need to make to future-proof your infrastructure and how you can use cloud to build your AI success.
User Keynote: Cloud Transformation – Success through disruptive change
The presentation highlights how technological changes can be used to promote a culture of innovation and master the path of disruptive change.
Marcus Gilg | Deutsche Bahn AG
Head of IT Management Group Functions
Marcus Gilg
Event Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 2025 9:30 am | Location:
User Keynote: Cloud Transformation – Success through disruptive change
The presentation highlights how technological changes can be used to promote a culture of innovation and master the path of disruptive change.
User keynote: A manufacturing company’s journey to cloud-based and data-driven operations
The presentation describes the following milestones:
- From taking stock of the existing environment with an analysis of what needs to be implemented in advance
- The path to the Azure cloud – how do we get there?
- From the idea to the prototype to implementation
Christian Meyer
Leiter Digitalisierung und IT, Rhenus Lub GmbH & Co KG
User Keynote: The Future of Industry: Hybrid Cloud as the Foundation for Integration and Sovereignty
Gerresheimer is transforming its IT landscape with a hybrid cloud model that intelligently combines edge, private and public clouds. The presentation will show how this approach effectively combines production proximity, global integration and digital sovereignty, creating a scalable and future-proof infrastructure for industry.
Benjamin Benning | Gerresheimer AG
Global IT Director
Benjamin Benning
Event Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 2025 10:10 am | Location:
User Keynote: The Future of Industry: Hybrid Cloud as the Foundation for Integration and Sovereignty
Gerresheimer is transforming its IT landscape with a hybrid cloud model that intelligently combines edge, private and public clouds. The presentation will show how this approach effectively combines production proximity, global integration and digital sovereignty, creating a scalable and future-proof infrastructure for industry.
Coffee Break & Networking
Customer Keynote
Topic and speakers to be announced
Partner Keynote
Topic and speakers to be announced
Partner Keynote
Topic and speaker to be announced
User keynote: Reinventing the cloud in times of geopolitical uncertainty – sovereign and hybrid solutions for European companies
Geopolitical risks and uncertainties are increasing. At the same time, many people want a stronger and more independent Europe. For IT decision-makers, these issues are playing a greater role in redefining their own cloud strategy than they did a few years ago. In addition to using global, well-known cloud service providers, the implementation of hybrid and sovereign solutions must be a fundamental part of the cloud strategy. In his keynote speech, Dr. Nikolaus Schmidt will explain how the cloud is changing and what a cost-effective and efficient solution model could look like, especially for regulated companies in Europe.
Dr. Nikolaus Schmidt
Global Head of Technology & Innovation, Commerz Real AG
Presentation of the Roundtable Connect Session in the afternoon
Lunch & Networking
Panel Discussion
Topic and speaker to be announced
Room Change
IDC Connect Roundtable Session 1 and 2
Room Change
IDC Connect Roundtable Session 3 and 4
Coffee & Networking Break
User Keynote
Topic and speaker to be announced
User keynote: Strategic management of IT organisations in times of cloud transformation and AI
IT organisations ranging from upper mid-sized companies to large corporations are facing enormous challenges in the digital age. On the one hand, technological leaps from AI and robotics to process-oriented SAP S/4HANA require new IT skills. On the other hand, costs must be reduced and external service providers often eliminated. In this keynote speech, Andreas Polak shows how he achieved true cost transparency at Flender GmbH’s global IT organisation and how he realigned resource management – in terms of skills, systems and costs – using an innovative methodology.
Andreas Polak | Flender GmbH
Group CIO
Andreas Polak
Event Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 2025 4:05 pm | Location:
User keynote: Strategic management of IT organisations in times of cloud transformation and AI
IT organisations ranging from upper mid-sized companies to large corporations are facing enormous challenges in the digital age. On the one hand, technological leaps from AI and robotics to process-oriented SAP S/4HANA require new IT skills. On the other hand, costs must be reduced and external service providers often eliminated. In this keynote speech, Andreas Polak shows how he achieved true cost transparency at Flender GmbH’s global IT organisation and how he realigned resource management – in terms of skills, systems and costs – using an innovative methodology.
Closing User Keynote: Beyond Migration: How to catapult your cloud strategy to digital transformation
The keynote address is aimed at executives and IT decision-makers and aims to present cloud usage beyond mere migration as a driver of digital transformation. It will highlight the challenges of the current cloud reality, develop a vision of the cloud as a catalyst for innovation, and present practical solutions for implementing this vision. The overarching goal is to inspire companies to view the cloud not just as a cost factor, but as a strategic foundation for future competitiveness.
Andre Sauer |
Interims CIO/CDO-Advisor
Andre Sauer
Event Sessions
Tuesday, October 28 2025 4:25 pm | Location:
Closing User Keynote: Beyond Migration: How to catapult your cloud strategy to digital transformation
The keynote address is aimed at executives and IT decision-makers and aims to present cloud usage beyond mere migration as a driver of digital transformation. It will highlight the challenges of the current cloud reality, develop a vision of the cloud as a catalyst for innovation, and present practical solutions for implementing this vision. The overarching goal is to inspire companies to view the cloud not just as a cost factor, but as a strategic foundation for future competitiveness.
Summary & Key Takeaways
Anja Lange
Moderator,
Final Networking
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