Gcore Joins the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany

Gcore operates its own global IT infrastructure across six continents and is the newest member of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, founded under the umbrella of eco. In this interview, Elena Simon, Managing Director of Gcore DACH, addresses the key challenges and significant advantages of Germany as a digital location.

Digital infrastructures are an important pillar of digital sovereignty in Germany and Europe. In an interview, Elena Simon, Managing Director of Gcore, addresses the key challenges and significant advantages of Germany as a digital location. Gcore has been part of the global IT infrastructure market for over 10 years and is the newest member of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany, which was founded under the umbrella of eco.

• What advantages, but also challenges, do you see for Germany as a digital location in terms of digital infrastructure?

Germany has clear advantages as a digital location, but at the same time, this location also faces several challenges. On the one hand, Germany has the expertise and the demand: many of the most exciting projects in the field of AI and cloud computing come directly from industry, where these technologies bring tangible benefits. In addition, the requirements for data protection, transparency and compliance are particularly high - and this can be a long-term locational advantage if the appropriate infrastructure is in place. With this infrastructure, requirements can be implemented efficiently, enabling not only regulation but also controllability.

On the other hand, time-consuming approval procedures make scaling and planning investments more difficult. And even though Germany and Europe are rightly focusing on data protection and compliance, it is crucial that these requirements can be implemented in practice without slowing down innovation.

• Gcore was founded in Luxembourg in 2014 and now operates its own global IT infrastructure across six continents. What can Germany (and Europe) learn from other countries (or continents)? What do you think should be at the top of the political agenda here in your opinion?

In many areas, European providers can build independent, world-class alternatives. Gcore, for example, is a sovereign alternative to the hyperscalers - the company is GDPR-compliant and offers secure AI infrastructure and services that give customers full control over their data. At the same time, however, it has also become clear that Europe primarily lacks consistent willingness to invest. The comparison with the US and China clearly shows how crucial financial resources are for scaling and speed, so that European companies can catch up with US hyperscalers. Therefore, Germany and Europe should have at the top of their political agenda the targeted promotion of these technological approaches - and the creation of the prerequisites so that digital infrastructure can be built with the required quality and speed.

• Gcore is the newest member of the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany. Why did you join the initiative and what are you looking forward to in your exchanges with the other members?

We joined the Alliance for the Strengthening of Digital Infrastructures in Germany because we at Gcore firmly believe in the "Made in Europe" label and want to further expand Germany as a digital location. We are convinced that strengthening digital infrastructure will only be successful if regulation, market participants and investment decisions consistently work in the same direction. In our exchange with the other members, we are particularly looking forward to working together to make the relevance of digital infrastructure in Germany even more visible and thereby initiate concrete measures.