Cloud & Cyber Security Expo Frankfurt 2025 brought together the cloud ecosystem’s most forward-looking voices—from platform architects and CISOs to AI and automation specialists. As part of the Open Systems team on the ground, I had the opportunity to engage in wide-ranging conversations with customers, partners, and peers about the evolving challenges and innovations shaping secure cloud infrastructure.

A Spotlight on Resilience and Human-Driven Security

One highlight of the event was a well-attended speaker session hosted by Open Systems, focused on resilience in distributed network environments—and how organizations can maintain performance and security even when things go wrong.

The session explored the role of Managed SASE architectures, powered by Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), and AI-driven monitoring, in detecting anomalies early, rerouting traffic intelligently, and enforcing policies under stress. What stood out was the emphasis on blending automation with operational expertise—leveraging human-in-the-loop decision-making for the kind of edge cases where context, prioritization, or creative problem-solving are needed.

“Systems that adapt and recover aren’t just automated—they’re guided by human judgment.”

It was a compelling discussion, grounded in decades of real-world operational experience, and it resonated with attendees navigating similar challenges in multi-cloud, hybrid, and high-availability environments.

Conversations from the Expo Floor

Beyond the speaker sessions, Cloud Expo provided a valuable platform for direct conversations—many of which centered on how enterprises are balancing automation, security, and control. The demand for real-world-proven, operationally mature solutions was clear. Whether teams were exploring SASE, Zero Trust, or AI-enhanced threat detection, one theme echoed consistently: outcomes matter more than features.

As one attendee put it: “We don’t just need technology—we need technology that works under pressure.”

Why Events Like This Still Matter

Despite a few quieter moments on the floor, the value of Cloud Expo lies in its ability to bring together cross-functional voices from across the IT landscape. As a sales manager, it’s invaluable to hear firsthand what challenges platform engineers are facing—and how strategic security investments are being prioritized.

Sessions on cloud-native security architecture and infrastructure automation offered actionable insights, while informal conversations gave a broader sense of where enterprises are in their digital transformation journey.

Three Words to Sum It Up?

Insightful. Practical. Connected.

We look forward to returning in 2026 to continue the conversations—and to support our customers in building secure, adaptive networks that don’t just recover, but continuously improve.

If you’d like to learn more about how Open Systems helps organizations design and operate secure global networks with Managed SASE, we’d be happy to continue the conversation.