A quick overview of what’s currently going on: discover our latest news, events, and voices.
Latest News
-
Image AI generated © NooPaew – stock.adobe.com BWI builds on NeoNephos for its Open Defense Cloud
BWI – the German public IT services provider owned by the German Federal Ministry of Defence – is using technologies from the NeoNephos Foundation as it develops the Open Defense Cloud (ODC) for the German Armed Forces. This demonstrates how open-source technologies from the 8ra ecosystem can be applied in highly demanding operational environments.
-
© DLR Third Version of the IPCEI-CIS Reference Architecture Released
Version 3.0 of the IPCEI-CIS Reference Architecture (ICRA) is now live, a structured framework to guide the development of a federated Multi-Provider Cloud-Edge Continuum, capable of supporting the next generation of data-driven applications across sectors such as manufacturing, mobility, energy as well as the integration of AI.
-
© Andrea Podda, Luca La Brocca, Stefania Pilleri AI WEEK 2026: Bringing the 8ra Vision into the European AI Debate
At AI WEEK 2026 in Milan, the IPCEI-CIS project Villanova brought the 8ra perspective into one of Italy’s major forums for AI, innovation and digital transformation. Across the event, one message became clear: AI is increasingly understood as a strategic driver for business transformation, with a clear focus on concrete use cases and scalable adoption.
Current Events
-
© metamorworks – stock.adobe.com –8ra Initiative at GITEX AI EUROPE 2026
The 8ra Initiative will be represented at GITEX AI EUROPE 2026 in Berlin, one of the continent’s key forums for digital innovation. A central part of 8ra’s presence will be the panel discussion “From Vision to Reality – Deploying AI Across a Federated Cloud-Edge Continuum” on 1 July 2026.
-
© EUCNC –8ra and CISERO at EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026
At EuCNC & 6G Summit 2026, the 8ra Initiative and CISERO will contribute to the discussion on how Europe can build cloud-edge infrastructures that are open, federated and ready for future communication networks.
-
Image AI generated © deimos.az – stock.adobe.com –8ra at AI WEEK 2026: Villanova highlights European digital sovereignty
At AI WEEK 2026, the IPCEI-CIS project Villanova will highlight how the 8ra Initiative contributes to Europe’s digital sovereignty and to the development of an interoperable cloud-edge infrastructure. Villanova focuses on multimodal generative AI models tailored to European languages and regional needs. Meet us at Hall 13/15 at the Innovation Hub CDO stand.
Voices of 8ra
-
© Bull “The fact that so many European partners can work together is already a form of sovereignty”
E2CC is developing an end-to-end platform designed to connect cloud, edge and on-premises infrastructure. In this interview, François Exertier and Patrice Calegari explain how E2CC approaches vendor independence, how applications can be orchestrated across different infrastructures, why security is non-negotiable, and why collaboration is by itself a crucial part of European digital sovereignty.
-
© SICP – Software Innovation Campus Paderborn “The mindset is federated now”
In this interview, Dr Gunnar Schomaker explains, how a federated mindset helps to build a community that brings computing directly to the energy production site. He describes a key moment was when he was discussing a technical matter with a partner and then realised that they were facing exactly the same technical challenges.
-
© TIM S.p.A. „Federation is not just a technical matter“
In an ecosystem with around 120 partners, technology is just one piece of the puzzle. An equally important challenge is whether projects, providers and countries can align on how their systems should work together. That question is now central to Mauro Boldi, Chair of the IPCEI-CIS Facilitation Group.