This week, Martina and I had the pleasure of speaking at the European Collaboration Summit (ECS) and the European Cloud and AI Summit in Cologne, Germany.
With nearly 3,000 attendees, over 200 speakers, and around 300 sessions across multiple parallel tracks, the event once again demonstrated the scale and strength of the Microsoft community.
Community at the Core. What makes ECS unique is its community-driven nature. The event is built on openness, collaboration, and real-world experience, offered at a reasonable price compared to many other conferences.
Insights
Across our sessions and conversations, a few themes stood out:
- AI is now mainstream – Organizations are shifting from experimentation to scale
- Governance is critical – Security, guardrails, compliance, and control frameworks are top priorities
- Collaboration is accelerating innovation – The exchange of ideas directly drives better solutions
Our Sessions and Key Topics
Across both events, we focused on topics that are currently shaping organizations:
- From Innovation to Control: The Role of Guardrails in AI Operations (how Microsoft Foundry’s guardrails deliver operational resilience - Martina Grom, Toni Pohl)
- From Chaos to Clarity: AI in Document EvaluationReal (showcases an AI-powered solution that automates the comparison of supplier offers in procurement using Flows and Azure AI Foundry models - Martina Grom, Toni Pohl)
The session resources are available in the run.events app.
Martina also participated in two panel discussions:
- The Sovereign Cloud: Data Residency, AI Regulation, and the European Context (The EU AI Act, GDPR, and growing geopolitical pressure are reshaping how European enterprises approach cloud architecture and AI adoption - Mike Fitzmaurice, Stefan Weisenberger, Spencer Harbar, Martina Grom)
- Startup Pitches (Startups present their cutting-edge solutions - Carlotta Castelluccio, Damir Dobric, Martina Grom)
Impressions
Some of the most valuable moments happened outside the sessions through direct conversations, networking, and exchanges with peers, Microsoft experts, and fellow speakers. Here are some impressions.
Final Thoughts
ECS 2026 was more than a conference. It was a place to connect, share, and learn. A big thank you to the organizers and the entire community. If you are considering joining next year: tickets for the next edition are already available at a reduced community price.
Community rocks.