Speaking at the Sovereign Cloud Day in Madrid 2026

I’m excited to share that I’ll be speaking at the Microsoft Sovereignty Day Madrid: Impulsando el futuro digital de Europa (Driving the Digital Future of Europe) — taking place on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM at the Microsoft Auditorium in Madrid, Spain.

This is one of the flagship Microsoft Sovereignty events in the EMEA region, bringing together business leaders, IT decision-makers, and technical experts from regulated industries to explore Microsoft’s strategic commitments to Europe in cloud infrastructure, AI platforms, cybersecurity, and data privacy. If you are working in a regulated industry or thinking about digital sovereignty for your organization, this is the event for you.

The event agenda spans from strategic keynotes on Microsoft’s European digital commitments to technical deep-dives on sovereign cloud solutions — making it relevant for both business decision-makers and architects alike.

My Session: Sovereign Private Cloud with Azure Local

I’ll be presenting alongside David Wahby on the topic of Sovereign Private Cloud with Azure Local, scheduled from 12:00 to 12:45.

In this session, we’ll dive deep into how organizations — especially those in regulated, hybrid, and air-gapped environments — can build a Sovereign Private Cloud using Azure Local. Here’s a preview of what we’ll cover:

• 🏗️ Reference architecture for Sovereign Private Cloud powered by Azure Local
• ⚖️ Connected vs. Disconnected operations — architectural tradeoffs and how to choose the right model for your scenario
• 🔧 Validated hardware selection using the Azure Local Catalog for predictable, supportable deployments
• 🛡️ Day-2 operations — governance, policy enforcement, security posture, and monitoring patterns
• 🔒 Data residency and sovereignty controls — keeping your workloads compliant and under your control

Whether you’re evaluating Azure Local for the first time or planning a full-scale sovereign private cloud deployment, this session is designed to give you practical, actionable guidance you can take back to your organization.

🌍 Why Digital Sovereignty Matters Now

In a world of rapid geopolitical change and evolving regulation — with new AI, cybersecurity, and data privacy rules emerging every few days — digital sovereignty has become a board-level priority. Organizations across financial services, healthcare, energy, and the public sector are asking critical questions:

• Where does my data reside?
• Who can access it — and under what legal conditions?
• How do I ensure business continuity if connectivity is disrupted?
• How do I maintain compliance with NIS2, DORA, GDPR, and emerging national regulations?

📅 Register Now

The event is available both in-person in Madrid (limited seats!) and virtually for those who can’t make it to Spain.

🏢 Register to attend in person: 👉 https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1049612579

💻 Register to attend virtually: 👉 https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1926757372

📅 Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 ⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM (CEST) 📍 Location: Microsoft Auditorium, Madrid, Spain (+ Virtual)

See You in Madrid! 🇪🇸

Whether you’re an architect, IT leader, CISO, or CIO looking to understand how Microsoft is enabling digital sovereignty across Europe, I’d love to see you there. Come say hello, join the conversation, and let’s talk about how your organization can take the next step toward a resilient, sovereign cloud future.

Feel free to connect with me on https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmaurer/ or reach out via https://www.thomasmaurer.ch — and I’ll see you in Madrid! 🚀