Around 5,700 participants and 530 municipalities and institutions, three days filled with specialist events, discussions and encounters: KGSt-FORUM 2026 in Leipzig impressively demonstrated just how diverse the municipal landscape is.
Together with Cloud&Heat, UhuruTec was in Leipzig with a joint exhibition stand under the motto “Mission 2030.” It was an opportunity to talk to people from municipalities and public administrations, listen to them and gain a better understanding of the questions they are facing — and where we, as a provider of Open Source-based Private Cloud solutions, can contribute.
What is KGSt-FORUM?
KGSt-FORUM is one of the major professional gatherings for the municipal sector. Every three years, representatives from municipalities and institutions come together to exchange experiences, learn from one another and discuss the future of public administration. The program goes far beyond traditional IT topics. Digitalization and AI were just as much on the agenda as leadership, collaboration, organization, finance and the future of public administration.
One thing became particularly clear: digitalization is not a task that takes place in IT alone. It affects administrative processes, employees, citizens, organizational structures and, ultimately, the question of how a municipality can reliably fulfill its responsibilities in the future.
One of the great strengths of KGSt-FORUM is its ability to bring together people facing similar challenges. This network is particularly valuable for smaller municipalities: no one has to solve every challenge alone, and no one necessarily has to repeat the same mistakes others have already made. This mindset is something municipal work shares with the Open Source community.
Our joint Mission 2030
The mission of Cloud&Heat and UhuruTec can be described simply: municipalities should be able to shape their digital infrastructure independently and on their own terms. This requires choice when it comes to technology and operations, as well as clarity about where data is stored and who has access to it.
It became clear that our topic is highly relevant to municipalities and public institutions. At the same time, it was not always immediately clear what “Private Cloud” actually means. When we talk about running your own cloud in your own data centre, we can quickly find ourselves deep in the technical details. For many of our conversation partners, however, another question is much more important at first: What does this actually mean for us?
A simple example was often enough to start the conversation: “Your administration runs on a system. On servers. That is where your data is stored. Do you know exactly where your data is located and who has access to it? And what happens if a provider or technology changes? How easy would it be to switch infrastructure or service providers?”
One insight in particular repeatedly created an aha moment: A cloud can also run in your own data centre, on your own hardware.
A bottle with a message
Our water bottles at the water dispensers and at the joint Cloud&Heat and UhuruTec stand also created quite a few aha moments.
Disclaimer: May contain traces of Open Source.
The bottles were quickly gone and provided plenty of opportunities to start conversations. Because with a cloud, too, it should not only be clear what it says on the outside, but also what is inside.
What an Open Source Private Cloud can mean for municipalities
A Private Cloud of their own can be one building block towards greater digital sovereignty.
Municipalities process particularly sensitive data. That makes it important to know where this data is stored, who manages it and who can access it. An infrastructure operated in the municipality’s own data centre can provide a foundation for greater control and transparency.
At the same time, Open Source can help reduce dependencies. When an infrastructure is based on open technologies, it can, in principle, be operated and further developed by different service providers. This creates the ability to switch providers and gives municipalities greater room for manoeuvre in the long term.
And having your own cloud does not mean having to give up modern cloud capabilities. Self-service, automated provisioning, centralised management and modern operating models can also be implemented on your own infrastructure.
This is exactly where Cloud&Heat and UhuruTec come in. We see ourselves as bridge builders between these important questions and the technical solution. Digital sovereignty does not begin with a particular piece of software. It begins with answering fundamental questions about control, the ability to switch providers and data sovereignty.
Mission 2030: Making it concrete
At the joint Cloud&Heat and UhuruTec stand, one thing quickly became clear: digital sovereignty requires not only technology, but also education and understanding. Having your own cloud in your own data centre is not the answer to everything for every municipality. But it can be an important part of the solution when it comes to designing infrastructure in a self-determined and flexible way, based on open technologies. That is exactly what we want to continue discussing — with IT managers, public administration employees, decision-makers and, above all, with the municipalities themselves.
KGSt-FORUM opened up many new opportunities for us. It showed that there is a strong interest in digital transformation and that many people in municipalities are working with ideas and the willingness to drive change.
For us, Leipzig was therefore a valuable look at the reality of municipal practice — and at the same time an important impulse to further develop our own communication.
Mission 2030 has started. We are ready. Are you?
