Last Updated on 28. April 2026
Digital sovereignty is not an end in itself. It is a prerequisite for ensuring that government agencies remain capable of acting, reduce their dependence on individual providers, and can continue to develop their own IT systems over the long term in accordance with their own requirements. In practice, however, the path from political demand to technical implementation is often more challenging than expected, especially since the federal government, states, and municipalities frequently still pull in different directions.
On May 12, 2026, Markus Michels, Senior Program Manager for Open Source at mgm technology Partners, will be a speaker at the live webinar “How Can the Federal Government, States, and Municipalities Achieve Sovereignty Together?” on eGovernment.de. The webinar will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will explore both the political and technical dimensions of the topic, featuring insights from business and government as well as an open discussion session.
Open Source Software Is a Key Building Block of Digital Sovereignty
A central building block of digital sovereignty is the consistent use of open source software. The difference from proprietary solutions is fundamental: open source code can be reviewed, adapted, and further developed without dependence on a single vendor. Government agencies retain control over their own infrastructure and are not reliant on an external provider to patch security vulnerabilities, maintain open interfaces, or keep licensing models stable.
This alone does not solve coordination problems between administrative levels. But it creates the technical foundation upon which a common platform strategy can function in the first place. The principle applies: One administrative level develops, all others can reuse.
A12: From Practice to the Open Source Community
In his keynote, Markus Michels will demonstrate what this approach looks like in practice. The A12 AI Low Code Platform from mgm has been in use in public administration for over 30 years and has been a central component of ELSTER for many years.
On May 27, 2026, A12 will be released as open source. This means: What has previously driven the core of one of Germany’s most widely used administrative portals is now also available to other agencies, states, and municipalities. Transparent, verifiable, reusable.
The platform meets the non-negotiable requirements of the administrative environment: It supports multiple languages, is accessible in accordance with current legal standards, and features native AI capabilities—controllable and without black-box mechanisms. Added to this is a modular architecture that allows components to be deployed and further developed independently of one another. With its inclusion in the Deutschland-Stack, A12 can also become part of the jointly supported digital infrastructure for public administration in Germany.
About the eGovernment webinar
The webinar “How Can the Federal Government, States, and Municipalities Achieve Joint Sovereignty?” will take place on May 12, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Participation is free of charge.
We look forward to your participation and the discussion.
Further information on the open-sourcing of A12 can be found here:
