Scalo launches Strategic Forum series with inaugural discussion on digital sovereignty
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Scalo Strategic Forum panelists
The inaugural edition, held on March 18th in central Warsaw, opened with one of the most consequential debates facing modern enterprises: how to achieve genuine digital sovereignty in a landscape dominated by global hyperscalers.
Industry experts join forces for a critical conversation
The first event centered on the theme “Your data, your rules: How to build digital sovereignty in the era of hyperscalers.” As European companies increasingly depend on U.S.-based cloud and software providers, the discussion addressed questions surrounding data ownership, control of infrastructure, and technological risk.
The forum featured an interdisciplinary panel of leaders representing cloud, cybersecurity, AI, and strategic consulting:
• Maciej Szeląg, Central and Eastern Europe FinTech Lead, AWS Poland
• Katarzyna Kolczyńska, Strategy & Digital Transformation Manager, KPMG Poland
• Marcin Kaczmarek, Head of AI & Global Cloud Services, Beyond.pl
• Adam Grabek, Lead Solutions Consultant, Scalo
The session was moderated by Mariusz Lach, Business Unit Manager & Regional Manager – Warsaw at Scalo.
Sovereignty is a spectrum, not a destination
Panelists were clear: digital sovereignty cannot be reduced to a binary choice between isolation and reliance. Even organizations running fully on-premises infrastructure depend on external vendors and open-source communities. Modern digital ecosystems routinely span hundreds to thousands of dependencies - each one influencing resilience, control, and exposure.
The discussion surfaced a practical framework for digital sovereignty, built around data access control, infrastructure transparency, redundancy for mission-critical systems, team competence, robust documentation, and architectural flexibility across environments. Speakers agreed: true digital sovereignty is achieved through conscious engineering decisions, not technological isolation.
Local cloud, AI energy costs, and vendor lock-in
A notable trend discussed was the growing interest in local cloud solutions, driven by operational realities, regulatory needs, and latency-sensitive environments such as manufacturing or finance.
At the same time, panelists noted that the energy demands – driven largely by advanced AI model training - present a significant and often overlooked constraint - one that makes it difficult or impossible for most organizations to build adequate compute capacity internally.
On vendor lock-in, the panel's view was pragmatic: some degree of lock-in is unavoidable in any technology stack. The real risk emerges when organizations lack documented fallback procedures and continuity plans. Notably, the same vulnerability applies to custom-built software - losing key engineers without knowledge transfer in place can be as disruptive as any external dependency.
Competence as the foundation of sovereignty
The forum's strongest takeaway was that the biggest threat to digital sovereignty is not the technology itself, but insufficient organizational competence.
Limited architectural awareness and a narrow focus on tooling rather than context lead to unconscious lock-in, poor design decisions, and an inability to adapt when vendor terms shift. Organizations that invest in deep technical expertise and architectural literacy are better positioned to remain resilient and independent over time.
A successful launch and more events ahead
The event concluded with an extended networking session, generating the kind of cross-sector conversation that the Strategic Forum series is designed to sustain.
Scalo will announce upcoming editions of the Strategic Forum series in the coming weeks. Future events will continue to address defining challenges at the intersection of technology and business strategy.
About Scalo
Scalo is a trusted software development and technology talent partner with nearly 20 years of experience in delivering future-ready solutions. Headquartered in Poland, the company supports clients across the USA, Europe, and the Middle East, specializing in software development, system modernization, data management, and team augmentation. For more information visit www.scalosoft.com.
Natalia Gronowska
Scalo
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