Swiss Software Festival 2025 – A Celebration of Software, Community, and Innovation

Wow – what a day! On June 24, 2025, the very first Swiss Software Festival took place in Basel – and it was absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere was inspiring, the conversations open and honest, and the program packed with top-tier content. At VSHN, we were proud to support the event as a Matterhorn Sponsor – and we’re already incredibly excited for the next edition! 🎉

Powerful Keynotes – Real Impulses for the Future

The two plenary sessions framed the day perfectly – with visionary perspectives on the future of software development and pressing questions around digital sovereignty.

Plenary 1 – The future of software development

• Beat Fluri (CTO, Adnovum)
  • Staying Relevant in the Age of AI-Native Software Engineering
  • How AI-native approaches are transforming software development practices.

• Egle Bronzini (Global Head of Informatics Chapters, Roche)
  • Future Skillset for Software Developers
  • What skills developers will need in the future.

• Claudio Hintermann (Co-CEO, Abacus / CEO, Deepcloud)
  • Creating a New Breed of Business Software for a New Generation of Users
  • What modern business solutions look like for today’s users.

• Marc Stöcklin (Principal Research Scientist & Head of Security Research, IBM Research)
  • Cybersecurity in the Age of Quantum Computing
  • What security risks emerge in the era of quantum computing.
• David Nüscheler (Adobe Fellow & VP Enterprise Technology, Adobe Systems)
  • Taking Digital Experience to a Next Level – Chat with David Nüscheler
  • How digital user experiences are evolving through new technologies.

Plenary 2 – Digital sovereignty versus global tech
This session explored the tension between local control and global technology dependence – and how Switzerland can secure its digital future through open standards, resilient infrastructure, and political will.

• Gerhard Andrey (Nationalrat, Grüne / Co-Founder & Verwaltungsrat, Liip)
  • The Importance of Digital Sovereignty for Democracy and the Economy
  • Why digital autonomy is strategically vital for Switzerland.

• Marcel Salathé (Professor & Co-Director, EPFL AI Center)
  • Open Standards and Open Source as Foundations of Digital Independence
  • How tech ecosystems must be built to remain sustainable, open, and independent.

• Safia Agueni (Präsidentin, Women in Tech Switzerland)
  • Sovereignty Begins with Diversity
  • Why true digital sovereignty is not possible without inclusion and diversity.

Panel Discussion with:

• Patrick Geiser (Managing Director, Phoenix Technologies AG)
• Özlem Civelek (COO, Basler Kantonalbank)
• Alain Gut (Public & Regulatory Affairs, IBM Switzerland)

The panel explored how businesses, politics, and society can jointly develop solutions for digital independence – and how realistic it is to establish Swiss alternatives to global platforms.

This session clearly demonstrated how Switzerland can shape its digital autonomy – balancing regulation, technological sovereignty, and international competition.

While Switzerland – like Europe as a whole – is unlikely to compete directly with hyperscaler clouds or global hardware and chip production in the next 5 to 10 years, our talent, innovative strength, and collaborative spirit can help us build focused, valuable alternatives.

Gerhard Andrey summed it up well – just like Airbus was Europe’s answer to Boeing’s dominance, ambitious visions can succeed when driven by cooperation.

Cloud Native Track – Curated by Aarno Aukia

We were especially proud of the Cloud Native Track, curated by our Co-Founder Aarno Aukia (VSHN) – featuring a strong program of real-world challenges and practical solutions.

Session 1 – Cloud-Native Software in Practice

• Aarno Aukia (VSHN) – Cloud Native in Switzerland 2025 – Definition, Benefits, and Outlook
• Corsin Decurtins (CTO, G+D Netcetera) – Business-Critical Applications in the Cloud
• Lena Fuhrimann (Founder, bespinian / Coalist) – Learnings from Ten Years of Cloud-Native and Serverless
• Andreas Ruppen & Daniel Hogg (Adnovum) – Application Modernization and Migration from Legacy Mainframes

Session 2 – Cloud Infrastructure and Organisational Transformation

• Mike Mannion (Senior Software Engineer, Karakun) – Organizational Shift to the Cloud
• Stephane Barbey (Head of Product Development & Partner, Opacc) – Cloud Platform Design for High Standards
• Michael Dudli (CEO, Xelon / Swiss Startup Association) – Swiss Cloud Sovereignty
• Ramon Bisswanger (Senior Software Engineer, Adobe Switzerland) – AEM as a Cloud Service – Seamless Upgrades at Scale

From platform building to sovereignty and modernization – these talks covered everything that truly matters in Cloud Native today.

Why VSHN Supported the Festival

At VSHN, it’s clear to us: the Swiss tech community is unique – and it deserves a stage like this. We had the opportunity to showcase VSHN, APPUiO, and Servala – Open Cloud Native Service Hub – while connecting with many inspiring new people. The Swiss Software Festival brings people together, sparks innovation, and strengthens Switzerland’s digital future. As a Matterhorn Sponsor, we were proud to support this mission – and thrilled by the energy, ideas, and open exchange throughout the event.

A Big Thank You ❤️

A huge thank you goes to the organizing team – you turned the Swiss Software Festival into a real highlight. From the carefully curated program to the smooth execution – everything was top-notch. The event clearly showed – there’s a genuine demand for formats like this.

We truly hope – and are confident – that there will be a sequel. Because when a premiere goes this well, the next step should be a no-brainer. 😊

Looking Ahead to 2026 – And Staying Involved 👋

Thank you to all the speakers, attendees, partners, and organizers – you made this day truly special. We’re already looking forward to the next edition of the Swiss Software Festival!

Let’s stay in touch

📬 Contact us if you want to learn more about our solutions
📸 Follow us on LinkedIn or other social media channels
📧 Subscribe to our newsletters
🧭 Learn more about VSHN and how we support teams on their cloud-native journey