This article was featured as the Topic of the Week in the 8th week of 2026 in the newsletter.

AI has firmly established itself in the daily operations of German companies, extending far beyond standard applications. According to the 2026 DIHK Digitalisation Survey, 41% of businesses utilising AI rate its impact on productivity as high, underlining its growing strategic significance.

Successful AI implementation requires a certain level of "digital maturity," a demanding goal for many businesses. For 58% of companies, time resources are a bottleneck on their path to deeper digitalisation. Additionally, nearly one-third of businesses cite legal uncertainty as a barrier to digitalisation. Bureaucratic hurdles and complex regulations often further exacerbate these challenges unnecessarily. 

Legal Uncertainty and Bureaucracy as Hindrances

To enable businesses to harness the potential of AI, it is crucial to limit bureaucratic burdens to essential levels and eliminate overlapping obligations and regulatory conflicts. Companies require greater freedom of action and legal clarity to drive innovation and enhance digital sovereignty.

Moreover, a majority of companies find themselves significantly or completely dependent on hardware, cloud services, or AI technologies from outside the EU. This dependency introduces considerable risks: political tensions or trade disputes could directly affect business operations. In this context, digital and technological sovereignty are increasingly critical.

A Digital Ecosystem as a Foundation for Sovereignty and Innovation

To address these challenges, nearly half of the companies surveyed in the 2026 DIHK Digitalisation Survey advocate for political measures to support shared open interfaces and standards. Further priorities for businesses include enhanced digital education and greater emphasis on fostering open-source solutions.

In the long term, building a robust digital ecosystem that fosters innovative and sovereign solutions from Europe or Germany is imperative. Realising this goal will require accelerated planning and approval processes and affordable electricity prices, for instance, by abolishing electricity taxes or reducing them to the European minimum.