Europe's Silicon Valley is taking shape in Heilbronn

Europe’s Silicon Valley, IPAI for short, is taking shape in Heilbronn. That warms my Heilbronn-born heart. Day 1 of the prostep ivip Association symposium is already over, and it was a full one: packed with informative talks and great conversations.

IPAI: Europe’s Silicon Valley is taking shape in Heilbronn

Ghoutam Banerjee talked about the plans of Schwarz Digits: nothing less than becoming the leading trust broker for a sovereign digital ecosystem. I of course already know IPAI, but it is still impressive to see so clearly, at an event like the ivip symposium, what is happening in the city of Heilbronn right now.

I am also curious about Schwarz’s Sovereignty Maturity Assessment, based on European frameworks. It is supposed to go live soon.

The real transformation is not technical

AI is everywhere at the symposium anyway. By now this should be common knowledge, but I still think it is right that Patrick Müller and Frank Patz-Brockmann of CONTACT Software made the point once more in their keynote: the real transformation is not technical. AI is no longer the limiting factor. That fits perfectly with my own thesis that unsuitable information architectures are often the real bottleneck.

SUMS and cybersecurity: a new initiative takes shape

Thomas Dickopf’s talk on SUMS (Software Update Management System) and cybersecurity was a must-attend for me. In a customer project, I actively helped shape the necessary methods and tooling foundations for an automotive manufacturer, so it was reason enough to see how AUDI AG looks at the topic.

And Thomas is still looking for people to join him. Under the ivip umbrella, a cross-company initiative is forming with the goal of standardizing SUMS processes.

So. I’m looking forward to day 2, and I’m now heading off toward Kap Europa.