Sovereign by Design: Control, Resilience and Innovation (w/ The AI Collective and NEA)
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Welcome to a joint event - AI Collective and NEA (Network for Enterprise Architects) adress the important subject of Sovereignty
Sovereignty in a Connected World
In an increasingly digital, connected, and uncertain world, organisations are becoming more dependent on technology, data, infrastructure, platforms, and global supply chains.
This raises an important question:
What does sovereignty mean for organisations today?
This session takes a broader look at sovereignty from different perspectives—including data, technology, infrastructure, security, resilience, regulation, and strategic autonomy.
From Dependency to Deliberate Choice
Most organisations rely on a complex ecosystem of cloud providers, software vendors, data platforms, hardware suppliers, and external partners.
The challenge is not necessarily to eliminate dependencies. It is to understand them—and make deliberate choices about where control, independence, resilience, and trust matter most.
Our starting point is simple:
Sovereignty is about knowing what needs to be controlled, protected, governed, and owned—and where collaboration and external dependency create value.
We will explore three connected perspectives:
01 — Data and Information Sovereignty
Where does critical data reside? Who can access it? How is it governed, protected, and used?
02 — Technology and Infrastructure Sovereignty
Which systems, platforms, infrastructure, and capabilities are critical to control? Where are organisations dependent on suppliers or global ecosystems?
03 — Strategic and Operational Sovereignty
How can organisations balance innovation, efficiency, security, resilience, compliance, and long-term freedom of action?
We’ll Explore
🔹 What sovereignty means in practice for companies and public organisations
🔹 Data sovereignty, data residency, access, and ownership
🔹 Technology dependencies and critical infrastructure
🔹 Cybersecurity, resilience, continuity, and trust
🔹 Regulation, compliance, and the changing geopolitical landscape
🔹 Cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and European technology alternatives
🔹 Open-source and proprietary technologies
🔹 Supply-chain risk and vendor dependency
🔹 How to make technology choices that support long-term business strategy
🔹 Where AI fits into the broader sovereignty discussion
Different Perspectives on Sovereignty
Sovereignty means different things to different organisations.
For some, it is about protecting sensitive data. For others, it is about operational resilience, regulatory compliance, cyber security, access to critical infrastructure, or reducing dependency on a small number of powerful providers.
It is not about becoming independent from every supplier.
It is about understanding which dependencies are acceptable, which introduce risk, and which capabilities must remain under your control.
The key question is:
What do we need to control ourselves in order to remain secure, resilient, competitive, and able to act?
Speakers
We are delighted to welcome leaders who will share perspectives from technology, infrastructure, security, biometrics, and enterprise innovation:
Mats Thulin, Axis
Lars Larsson Lundsten, Elastisys
Roger Pettersson, Precise Biometrics
Benny Olsson, CTO, Norce
Together, they will discuss how sovereignty is shaping technology choices, business strategy, security, innovation, and the future of digital infrastructure.
Who Should Attend?
CDOs, CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs
Technology, data, and infrastructure leaders
Enterprise architects
Cybersecurity, risk, legal, and compliance professionals
Business and transformation leaders
Engineering and product leaders
Public-sector and critical-infrastructure professionals
Anyone interested in digital resilience, strategic autonomy, and long-term technology choices
If you are considering how data, technology, infrastructure, security, and external dependency affect your organisation’s future, this session is for you.
What to Expect
A practical and interactive discussion on a timely and increasingly important topic.
We will move beyond the question of individual technologies and focus on the strategic questions that leaders need to consider:
What are our most critical assets and capabilities?
What dependencies do we have today?
Which dependencies create value, and which create unacceptable risk?
How can we innovate while protecting security, resilience, and freedom of action?
What choices should we make now to remain flexible in the future?
Agenda
Part 1
17:00–17:30 | Registration & Networking
Part 2
17:30–17:40 | Welcome & Introduction
Part 3
17:40–18:30 | Panel Discussion: Sovereignty—Different Perspectives
Part 4
18:30–19:00 | Discussion & Audience Insights
Part 5
19:00–19:15 | Menti: What is on top of your sovereignty agenda?
19:15–19:20 | Thank You & Closing 🙂
And for those who would like to continue the conversation, you are very welcome to stay a little longer, grab something to eat, and connect with others in the room.
Why This Matters
The technology choices organisations make today shape their ability to act tomorrow.
Without a clear view of critical dependencies, ownership, and risk, efficiency can come at the expense of resilience, security, and strategic flexibility.
With deliberate choices, sovereignty can become a source of trust, resilience, innovation capacity, and long-term competitiveness.
The question is no longer only:
“Which technology should we use?”
It is:
“What must we control in order to remain resilient, trusted, and free to act?”
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As always, food and drink, engaging conversation, and incredible company will all be provided!
Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!
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