IT Trends NRW 2026

IT Trends NRW is the future forum for digital security and transformation in North Rhine-Westphalia. IT decision-makers from SMEs, municipalities, and industry meet at the Starlight Express Theater in Bochum to discuss topics that specifically affect their daily work. credativ is participating as a Business Partner this year – with our own booth and a presentation by our CTO Alexander Wirt.

What IT Trends NRW is all about

Organized by networker NRW e.V., IT Trends NRW focuses on practice rather than theory: IT managers report on their projects, and the exchange takes place at eye level – not in an anonymous exhibition hall. The thematic areas range from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity to data and processes and digital infrastructure, i.e., cloud, network, and data center. This last area in particular has become significantly more difficult for many companies in recent years.

Presentation: “Digital Dead End: Why we must reclaim control over our infrastructure”

Many organizations have built their IT on single-vendor platforms over the years. This was convenient as long as prices, licensing models, and product strategies remained stable. In the meantime, many are experiencing how quickly these framework conditions can change – and how little room for maneuver then remains.

Alexander Wirt, CTO of credativ GmbH, shows in his presentation how such dependencies arise, how to recognize them in-house, and which paths lead out of the dead end. The focus is on the question of how companies and public institutions can regain control over their infrastructure: with open standards, open-source software, and a realistic view of effort, risks, and operations. Digital sovereignty is not an end in itself, but a prerequisite for being able to make IT decisions for oneself again.

Visit us at our booth

At the credativ booth, we would be happy to talk to you about your specific situation – for example, about these topics:

• Migration from VMware to Proxmox VE and the operation of open virtualization platforms
• Switching from proprietary databases such as Oracle to PostgreSQL
• Linux infrastructure and Kubernetes in your own data center
• Support, operation, and 24/7 care for open-source environments

Would you like to secure a fixed appointment in advance? Simply write to us, and we will take specific time for your questions on the day of the event.