The Flagship Event is Back on Course: 5 Key Insights from it-sa 2023

November 17, 2023

By Thomas Wethmar - Regional Director DACH, Skyhigh Security

For many years, the it-sa conference has been the undisputed flagship event of the German-speaking cybersecurity industry. Since its inception in 2009, manufacturers, system integrators and cybersecurity managers have been meeting in Nuremberg, Germany every October to discuss security topics ranging from Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) to zero trust services. Skyhigh Security was there for the first time this year—but certainly not for the last.

With the successful trade fair premiere in Nuremberg, this event quickly became a highlight of the year for our Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) team. Conversation flowed over three long days and we were able to glean a number of insights, in addition to many exciting connections.

Here are our most important takeaways:

1. Live events are trending—and it-sa is among the winners
   While the pandemic still overshadowed the past three years, the industry has undoubtedly rediscovered its enthusiasm for live events in 2023. The event had 19,449 trade visitors—over 30% more than last year—from 55 countries and 795 exhibitors from 30 countries; this year’s it-sa set a whole series of new records.
2. The most important topic this year: artificial intelligence
   There’s no question about it: generative artificial intelligence (AI) dominated the discussions at the trade fair this year like no other topic. Security teams are well aware of the implications of this exciting new technology and are keeping a very close eye on new developments in this area. AI is perceived both as a potentially powerful weapon in the fight against cybercrime and as a dangerous new attack tool. This is why the topic came up in almost every conversation at our booth—and I think we were able to score many points with our innovative approach and clear positioning.
3. Data leak prevention is rapidly gaining in importance
   At Skyhigh Security, we have long been convinced that cybersecurity is ultimately about protecting data—and the majority of visitors at our booth shared this view. Many companies complained about a lack of transparency and visibility in today’s open and decentralized architectures and are looking for intelligent solutions to protect sensitive customer, employee and application data on-premises and in the cloud. Our philosophy of using the potential of the cloud to protect data exactly where it is located was well received and is perceived as a unique selling point.
4. Hybrid truly is the new normal
   This is no new insight—but there was a common mantra repeated for security managers today: no company can claim that its entire data inventory is on-premises, and conversely, no company can claim that all of its data has been moved to the cloud. Critical information is always distributed across a large number of hybrid systems, and the security strategy must take this into account. In plain language, this means that the cybersecurity infrastructure must cover both on-prem and cloud systems equally reliably, and also protect not only stored data but also the data that is currently being processed or transmitted. This requires holistic solutions that use the enormous power of the cloud to stop threats from the server to the service edge.
5. The European Union Network and Information Security Directive (NIS2) has significantly raised the bar
   The most frequently heard acronym at this year’s it-sa? NIS2, which will be implemented in the national laws of the member states next year and which now requires significantly more companies to sustainably optimize their cybersecurity. Even if most companies do not yet know the exact extent to which they are affected, the legislator leaves no doubt as to where the journey is heading: after all, in addition to critical infrastructure or Kritische Infrastrukturen operators, entire supply chains are now included in the requirements with fines drastically increasing. This will create the need for action in many companies and the industry is gearing up for a hectic final spurt.

We’ll be back

In view of so many exciting topics, our conclusion is clear: we could hardly have chosen a better year for our trade fair premiere in Nuremberg. It was great to talk to our customers and partners live and on-site again, and I am convinced that we sent a strong signal in the DACH market with our presence.

I can’t wait to see you all again next year, in our much larger booth!

To learn more about Skyhigh Security’s on-prem, zero trust and cloud solutions, request a demo today.