Conference Description
Key Takeaways
- Cloud and AI convergence: The festival addresses how organisations translate cloud computing and artificial intelligence ambitions into measurable business outcomes
- Regulatory landscape: Sessions cover compliance with GDPR, the European AI Act, and emerging data sovereignty requirements
- Enterprise architecture: Content spans hybrid, multi-cloud, and on-premise strategies alongside modern infrastructure decisions
- High-performance computing: Dedicated tracks explore HPC applications in healthcare, research, energy, and industrial contexts
- Target audience: IT decision-makers, CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, enterprise architects, and technical leads from both private and public sectors
- Scale: More than 3,000 IT professionals, 120 speakers across four stages, and an extensive exhibition area
Introduction
The Computerworld Cloud & AI Festival returns to Ballerup Super Arena in Denmark on 16–17 September 2026, bringing together more than 3,000 IT professionals for two days of strategic and technical content focused on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Organised by Computerworld, the festival addresses a central challenge facing enterprises and public organisations alike: how to move beyond experimentation and convert cloud and AI investments into tangible business value. With geopolitical tensions reshaping technology supply chains, European regulations tightening around data handling, and AI capabilities advancing rapidly, the timing reflects an industry at a critical inflection point.
About the Computerworld Cloud & AI Festival
The festival operates across four stages, delivering keynotes, multi-track sessions, tech talks, and hands-on workshops. The programme spans strategic decision-making at the executive level through to deep technical implementation guidance. Speakers include practitioners from organisations such as Danske Bank, Novo Nordisk, Københavns Lufthavne, Statens IT, ATP, Danfoss, Lundbeck, Rigspolitiet, Copenhagen Business School, and the Niels Bohr Institute. Technology perspectives come from representatives of Dell Technologies, IBM, Amazon Web Services, T-Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and other major vendors.
An extensive exhibition area allows attendees to engage directly with solution providers demonstrating cloud platforms, AI tools, cybersecurity products, and compliance technologies. The format encourages peer-to-peer networking, with structured opportunities to exchange experiences across industries and organisational types.
Digital Sovereignty and European Cloud Strategy
Digital sovereignty has emerged as a defining theme for European organisations evaluating their technology dependencies. The festival dedicates significant attention to this topic, examining how enterprises can maintain control over data, models, and infrastructure while still benefiting from cloud-scale capabilities. Sessions explore sovereign AI environments, European cloud platforms, and alternatives to US-based hyperscalers.
DTU Computerome presents its experience building nationally sovereign cloud services over twelve years, including collaboration with Nextcloud as an alternative to American cloud solutions. T-Systems contributes perspectives on sovereign AI platforms and European cloud infrastructure. A political debate featuring former US Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford examines the intersection of foreign technology, democratic institutions, and Danish control over critical infrastructure.
Professor Jan Damsgaard from Copenhagen Business School addresses what genuine digital sovereignty requires organisationally and strategically, arguing that dependence and sovereignty can coexist with the right frameworks in place.
AI Adoption and Organisational Transformation
The festival moves beyond AI demonstrations to examine how organisations operationalise artificial intelligence at scale. Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck share their experiences using Danish AI supercomputing infrastructure to accelerate pharmaceutical research and development. Københavns Lufthavne and Danske Bank present concrete cases of AI deployment in operational contexts.
Several sessions address the organisational dimensions of AI adoption. Sofie Grue Haumann from Novo Nordisk discusses structuring AI capabilities close to business functions. Louise Harder Fischer from the IT University of Copenhagen examines leadership roles, learning strategies, and workforce development in an era of digital transformation. Professor Svend Brinkmann from Aalborg University provides a psychological perspective on maintaining human judgement, responsibility, and ethical decision-making as AI systems assume greater roles in organisational processes.
The programme also tackles practical implementation challenges, including AI governance frameworks, risk assessment methodologies, and the transition from experimental projects to production systems with measurable business impact.
Cloud Architecture and Infrastructure Decisions
Modern enterprise IT landscapes combine on-premise infrastructure, hosted solutions, public cloud services, and hybrid configurations. The festival addresses the strategic and technical considerations involved in navigating this complexity. Sessions on “rightsizing the cloud” examine when public cloud hyperscalers represent the optimal choice versus when private, hybrid, or on-premise solutions better serve organisational requirements around cost, security, and sovereignty.
Karen Rahbek, CIO of the University of Copenhagen, and René Overgaard Jensen, CTIO of Hempel, present contrasting approaches—one on-premise focused, the other cloud-first—documenting the advantages and challenges of each strategy. Their discussion covers how platform choices affect scalability, data access, and the ability to execute AI initiatives.
Cloud resilience receives dedicated attention following high-profile outages and geopolitical disruptions affecting major providers. ATP’s CISO Karsten Østnæs Rosgaard and Københavns Lufthavne’s CIO Christian Lyngaae Saugman discuss building redundancy and risk distribution across platforms, vendors, and data centres when cloud services alone no longer guarantee stable operations.
High-Performance Computing and Research Infrastructure
High-performance computing underpins many of the most demanding AI workloads, scientific simulations, and data-intensive analyses. The festival features Danish HPC initiatives spanning healthcare, energy, research, and industrial applications. SDU eScience Center and Danfoss present their collaboration scaling a national research cloud with documented sustainability practices. David Westergaard from Hvidovre and Amager Hospital demonstrates how AI supercomputing accelerates research in women’s health while maintaining data security and regulatory compliance.
Professor Peter Lodahl from the Niels Bohr Institute and Sparrow Quantum provides a forward-looking perspective on quantum networks and quantum computing, examining how photonic chips and quantum interfaces may eventually connect to cloud and AI infrastructure.
Compliance, Security, and Regulatory Developments
European regulatory frameworks increasingly shape what organisations can and cannot do with data, cloud services, and AI systems. The festival addresses GDPR requirements, the implications of Schrems rulings on transatlantic data transfers, and the emerging European AI Act. Sessions examine how legal developments will influence IT practices over the coming years and what compliance strategies organisations should adopt.
Cybersecurity content spans cloud-specific threats, hybrid attack scenarios, and the security implications of AI adoption. Kim Larsen, CISO at Keepit, discusses data governance and digital sovereignty as foundations for both resilience and AI readiness in an environment of geopolitical tensions and hybrid threats. WithSecure contributes perspectives on modern cybersecurity for managed service providers operating in increasingly complex threat landscapes.
Public Sector Cloud and AI Challenges
Public sector organisations face distinct constraints when adopting cloud and AI technologies, including tighter regulatory oversight, political scrutiny, and requirements for citizen data protection. A dedicated track examines how government agencies can advance digitalisation while navigating these constraints. Stig Lundbech, Director of Koncern IT at Rigspolitiet, and Michael Ørnø, Director of Statens IT, return for a candid exchange on IT project success and the direction of public sector technology.
Jacob Teudt Jørgensen from Copenhagen Municipality demonstrates how AI supports the processing of 30,000 annual employment cases while maintaining GDPR and AI Act compliance—an example of AI deployment in a complex, regulation-bound operational environment.
Who Should Attend
The festival targets IT decision-makers, project managers, enterprise architects, business developers, operations managers, technical leads, CIOs, CISOs, and CTOs involved in cloud and AI initiatives. Attendees typically come from finance, healthcare, public administration, manufacturing, energy, and technology sectors, representing both large enterprises and public organisations. The programme balances executive-level strategic content with technical deep dives, making it relevant for professionals across the seniority spectrum who influence or implement cloud and AI strategies.
Exhibition and Networking
The exhibition area features national and international vendors presenting cloud platforms, AI solutions, security products, and compliance tools. Sponsors and exhibitors include TDC Erhverv, Dell Technologies, Keepit, NetApp, DE-CIX, Cloudflare, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, T-Systems, Trustworks, Atea, Oracle, Lenovo, Canon, Knowit, WithSecure, and DTU Computerome, among others. Tech talks and demonstrations run throughout both days directly from vendor stands, offering focused fifteen to forty-five minute sessions on specific technologies and use cases.
Workshops provide deeper engagement opportunities, including sessions on AI prompting techniques, enterprise architecture in defence and security contexts, and enterprise architecture in public sector environments.