In a recent interview with ITWelt.at, Helmut Leopold, Chairman of Gaia-X Hub Austria and Head of the Center for Digital Safety & Security, outlines the key IT trends for 2026 and stresses that building a new European data infrastructure is no longer optional – it is a strategic imperative.
According to Leopold, digital and data sovereignty will be among the most decisive issues in the coming years. Only an open, standardised and distributed data exchange infrastructure will enable Europe to secure the value of its data within its own economy, strengthen digital autonomy, and create room for innovative business models. Such an infrastructure must be based on trust, interoperability and automation, supporting companies and public institutions in meeting increasingly complex regulatory requirements.
Leopold highlights that geopolitical shifts, new regulatory frameworks and growing global competition are forcing Europe to rethink its data dependencies. The solution, however, is not isolation. Instead, Europe must focus on transparency of dependencies and the development of viable alternatives, ensuring resilience without compromising openness.
In the context of the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), Leopold advises organisations to prioritise clearly defined use cases and measurable impact rather than following technological hype. A solid data foundation, combined with robust security and compliance strategies, is essential for successful AI implementation.
Initiatives such as Gaia-X illustrate how a trustworthy data infrastructure can be designed. Their goal is to create a framework that enables secure data sharing while ensuring that organisations retain full control over their data – a crucial building block for a sovereign and competitive European data economy.
Read the full interview here.