Digital sovereignty in SMEs

Press release | iTeam

Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock, July 2, 2025 – Whether wars, tariffs, or trade conflicts: The need for digital sovereignty for German and European IT solutions is growing. In response, iTeam – the IT cooperation within the Schloß Holte-based IT network SYNAXON – is bridging the gap between research and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): Last week, the 380 affiliated IT service providers were given the opportunity to participate in a webinar with Fraunhofer IAIS, where an AI language model made in Germany was presented to the participants. Further events of this kind are planned.

Technical webinar: Open-source artificial intelligence

The timing is no coincidence: The discussion about digital independence is gaining relevance – due to geopolitical uncertainties, import dependency, and new legal requirements. According to a Bitkom study on digital sovereignty, over half of companies expect negative impacts from international politics. US and Chinese providers dominate, particularly in software and cybersecurity. 

Against this backdrop, the call for alternatives is growing louder. More and more stakeholders – including public institutions – are relying on open-source technologies from Europe to reduce dependencies. The AI language model Teuken 7B was developed jointly with partners within the framework of the OpenGPT-X research project, led by Fraunhofer. The goal was to offer a high-performance and trustworthy AI alternative of European origin. With the iTeam webinar, an important player enters the picture: German SMEs for its implementation in their operations.

A data-secure AI model – also for SMEs

Dr. Christoph Schmidt from Fraunhofer IAIS summarizes: »Teuken 7B is optimized for the 24 official European languages and offers SMEs complete data sovereignty as well as compliance with all German and European data protection standards. Teuken 7B is already being offered to companies for operation by Telekom and IONOS. The model offers concrete application possibilities for SMEs, particularly for IT service providers within the iTeam cooperation.«

Above all, digital sovereignty is what makes the project so valuable for SYNAXON and its iTeam partners: "For IT service providers, it is becoming increasingly important not only to understand AI theoretically, but also to be able to use it practically and responsibly in customer projects," comments Nicole Bade, Managing Director of the iTeam system house cooperation. "Through the webinar with Fraunhofer, our partners gained insights into an AI solution within their own companies that is truly made in Germany. The data of the system houses and their customers therefore remains where it belongs: in their possession."»

Idea generators for new paths

»Both the iTeam cooperation and the entire SYNAXON group are aware of the importance of digital sovereignty in Europe. We see it as our responsibility to leverage our connections to more than 3,300 IT system houses in Germany to future-proof them and provide them with concrete options. Through these and many other measures, we are fulfilling our mission as the largest IT network: to inspire, forge connections, and open up growth opportunities that benefit the entire German economy,« concludes Mark Schröder, CEO of SYNAXON AG.