The New Role of IT - Fsas Summit 2026

Rethinking IT: Between intelligent automation and digital sovereignty

The IT we know today is at a turning point. Infrastructures are becoming more intelligent, systems are taking over more operational decisions, and the question of control over data, platforms, and critical processes is becoming a strategic business issue.

Two sessions at the Fsas Technologies Summit 2026 address this very development: In his keynote, Christian Schulte explores the boundaries of our current understanding of IT. In their breakout session, Philipp Proebster and David Weyand demonstrate how organizations can concretely strengthen their digital independence. Together, they paint a relevant picture for IT architects, decision-makers, and companies: The future of IT is not just technological—it is a matter of responsibility, trust, and the power to shape the future.

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The end of IT as we know it

In his keynote, "The end of IT as we know it," Christian Schulte, Head of Consultative PreSales at Fsas Technologies, continues his exploration of the IT transformation. This time, the focus is on a near future where the boundaries of traditional IT are increasingly shifting.

For a long time, IT was primarily a tool: applications were operated, data was stored, networks were managed, and security mechanisms were implemented. But with artificial intelligence, highly automated platforms, and new infrastructure models, this role is changing fundamentally. Systems no longer just support people in their tasks—they prepare decisions, identify patterns, manage resources dynamically, and can automate parts of their own operation.

As a result, IT is evolving from a pure cost and operational factor into an active, co-creative entity within the company.

This development opens up great opportunities:

• Faster decisions through data-driven analysis
• Higher availability through automated monitoring and self-healing
• More efficient use of computing power, storage, and network capacity
• New business models through AI-supported products and processes
• Less operational burden for internal IT teams

At the same time, new questions are emerging that cannot be answered by technology alone. Who controls automated decisions? What data goes into AI models? How transparent must systems be when they influence business-critical processes? And how can trust be established as IT landscapes become increasingly complex and autonomous?

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Between data power, energy demand, and security

Technological momentum has a physical and strategic flip side. Increased computing power, larger volumes of data, and AI-intensive applications drive up the demand for infrastructure and energy. Companies must therefore not only evaluate what is technologically possible, but also what remains responsible, economically viable, and secure to operate in the long term.

Christian Schulte’s keynote addresses exactly this tension: data power meets energy hunger, the pressure to innovate meets security requirements, and automation meets the question of human control.

For companies, this means that a modern IT strategy requires more than just adopting new technologies. It must treat architecture, operations, governance, and risk as a cohesive task.

Key guiding questions include:

• Which decisions should systems be allowed to prepare or make automatically?
• Where is a clearly defined human checkpoint still required?
• Which data is particularly sensitive or business-critical?
• How can AI and automation platforms be operated transparently?
• What impact do growth and scaling have on energy consumption and costs?
• How can infrastructure remain resilient against outages, attacks, and dependencies?

The philosophical core of the keynote lies in a very practical realization: technology does not remove responsibility. It merely changes where and how responsibility must be exercised.

From dependency to independence

While the keynote opens up a broad technological horizon, the breakout session "From Dependency to Independence: The Path to Sovereign IT" focuses on a central question: How can organizations strengthen their digital self-determination?

Digital dependency exists in many forms today. It can arise from individual cloud providers, proprietary platforms, data sets that are difficult to migrate, complex licensing models, or a lack of internal expertise. Not every dependency is inherently problematic. It becomes critical when companies no longer have a realistic choice, cannot manage risks, or lose control over business-critical data and processes.

Philipp Proebster, Strategy Lead & Evangelist at FsasTechnologies, and David Weyand, Cloud Native Evangelist at SUSE, are therefore focusing their session on concrete strategies rather than abstract demands. Sovereign IT does not mean developing every technology yourself or rejecting every external service. It means being able to make informed decisions.

Digital sovereignty includes, in particular:

• Control over critical data, identities, and access rights
• The ability to migrate applications and workloads as needed
• Open, documented interfaces instead of avoidable lock-in effects
• Transparent operating and security models
• Clearly defined responsibilities between companies and service providers
• Competencies to make well-founded technological decisions

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Sovereignty is an architectural decision

The path to greater independence does not necessarily begin with a complete platform migration. It often starts with transparency: Which applications are business-critical? Where is the data located? What technical, contractual, or organizational dependencies exist? Which components could not be replaced at short notice in the event of a disruption?

On this basis, companies can gradually develop their target architecture. Cloud-native technologies, containerized applications, automation, and open platforms can help improve portability and operational capability. The decisive factor, however, is that the architecture aligns with your own risk appetite, regulatory requirements, and existing capabilities.

A practical approach can look like this:

1. Identify critical applications, data, and dependencies
2. Standardize data classification, access models, and security requirements
3. Evaluate platforms for openness, integration capabilities, and migration options
4. Define operating models: Public Cloud, Private Cloud, On-Premises, or Hybrid
5. Deploy automation strategically and establish clear control mechanisms
6. Build internal knowledge and consciously integrate external partners into governance

This approach is gaining even more importance, particularly in Switzerland and in highly regulated industries. Data residency, data protection, availability, and traceability are not secondary aspects. They directly influence a company's trust, compliance, and long-term operational capability.

The role of BWO Systems AG

At BWO Systems AG, we do not view modern IT as a collection of individual products. Future-proof IT emerges where infrastructure, cloud, security, networking, and operational processes work together effectively.

This means we support companies in leveraging technological innovation without relinquishing control. Whether it is a secure hybrid cloud architecture, a high-performance network foundation, modern cybersecurity, or the integration of intelligent automation—the key is always finding the right balance between flexibility, protection, and independence.

The questions from the two summit sessions are therefore highly relevant:

• Where should we automate – and where do we consciously need human decision-making?
• Which data and systems must we be able to control ourselves?
• How do we avoid unnecessary dependencies without sacrificing our ability to innovate?
• How do we create an infrastructure that remains efficient, secure, and adaptable?

The future of IT will not be decided by new technologies alone. It will be determined by the quality of the decisions companies make today regarding their data, platforms, and responsibilities.

The recordings with Christian Schulte, Philipp Proebster, and David Weyand provide valuable insights – technically sound, strategically relevant, and intentionally provocative. They make it clear: the IT of tomorrow must not only be more powerful. It must also be designed to be trustworthy, responsible, and sovereign.

Contact us – together, we will build an IT environment that is secure, sovereign and ready for the future.

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