it-sa 2026 in Nuremberg showed once again how broad the field of IT security has become. Artificial intelligence, the protection of industrial infrastructure, regulatory requirements and digital sovereignty shaped the event. Amid all the technological variety, however, what we valued most was once again the personal exchange about the questions that genuinely concern businesses.
Two topics kept coming up in our conversations: digital sovereignty and transparency over one’s own IT infrastructure. At first glance, they have little to do with each other. In this post, we explain why they are closely connected upon closer inspection and what this means for companies’ IT security.
How were we represented at it-sa 2026?
Once again this year, we were present as a partner on the Cisco stand. The joint presence provided a good setting for talking to prospective customers about current security issues and the evolution of modern IT infrastructures.
What will stay with us above all are the many encounters and in-depth expert discussions.
How self-determined is our IT?
Digital sovereignty took up a particularly large part of our conversations. In light of current geopolitical developments and technological change, companies are now engaging very closely with their digital capacity to act. That was clearly noticeable.
What does digital sovereignty mean for networks and communications?
Most discussions centred on what sovereignty means for network and communications infrastructures. Particularly in enterprise networks and in Unified Communications & Collaboration (UCC), modern, increasingly cloud-based technologies open up new possibilities. However, they also create new dependencies.
These questions also arise in the Cisco environment. As a Cisco partner, we therefore never look at technological possibilities in isolation, but always in the context of our customers’ individual requirements and strategic goals.
Does digital sovereignty mean doing without modern technology?
No. Our takeaway from the conversations is that digital sovereignty does not mean giving up modern technologies or international partners. It is about shaping dependencies deliberately, keeping options open and remaining able to act in the long term.
Why is infrastructure documentation a security issue?
Another focus at the event was network and infrastructure documentation. The fact that this very topic was discussed so intensively at a cybersecurity trade fair shows how important it is for secure and reliable IT operations.
The discussions centred on a reliable source of truth, the quality and timeliness of infrastructure data, and how this data can be used for automation, reporting and audits.
Why is an up-to-date information base more than documentation?
In complex IT environments, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of systems, components and their dependencies. A consistent and up-to-date information base is therefore far more than technical documentation. Only with it can risks be assessed more accurately, changes be implemented in a traceable way and processes be reliably automated.
How does transparency help with IT security?
Organisations that know their infrastructure and can rely on their data are able to plan security measures in a more targeted way, track their implementation more effectively and respond faster and on a sounder basis when incidents occur.
At it-sa, we had the impression that infrastructure documentation is increasingly more than an operational necessity. It is also gaining importance as a strategic foundation for transparency, automation and cyber resilience.
What do digital sovereignty and transparency have in common?
The two topics have more in common than they might first appear to. Digital sovereignty is about how companies remain technologically self-determined and able to act. Reliable infrastructure documentation provides the transparency needed to make well-founded decisions about operating and developing their own IT.
Both strengthen a company’s resilience, in other words its ability to respond appropriately to change, disruption and new threats while keeping business-critical processes running.
This development was evident across it-sa 2026 as a whole. Alongside traditional security solutions, the focus increasingly shifted to strategic questions such as cyber resilience, digital sovereignty and the secure design of complex IT environments.
Conclusion: What are we taking away from it-sa 2026?
For us, it-sa 2026 was above all a great opportunity to maintain existing contacts, meet new prospects and discuss current issues from different perspectives. The joint stand with Cisco proved ideal for this.
The conversations about digital sovereignty and infrastructure documentation in particular showed how closely technology decisions are now linked to security, transparency and long-term capacity to act. For us, IT security cannot be viewed in isolation. It is part of the bigger question of how companies can shape their digital future securely, resiliently and on their own terms.
We are leaving Nuremberg with plenty of fresh ideas and look forward to continuing the discussions with our customers and partners.