In an era of growing geopolitical uncertainty and increasing demands around data protection, compliance, and business resilience, Microsoft has announced a set of major commitments to strengthen digital sovereignty, privacy, and operational continuity across Europe. This session provides an exclusive look at Microsoft’s five key assurances for Europe. We will explore how these initiatives are directly relevant to building and enhancing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategies that are secure, compliant, and future-proof. Learn how organizations can boost their digital resilience with a cloud that aligns with European values and is designed to support operations – even in times of crisis.

Gain insights into Microsoft's global Azure infrastructure. Igor Pavicevic starts with an introduction to the regional availability of the Microsoft Cloud and highlights the number of Azure regions, network PoPs, and data centers worldwide. Learn the fundamental concepts: from data center regions and availability zones to the specific terminology of the Azure infrastructure. Additionally, discover how Microsoft designs the infrastructure to provide maximum efficiency and reliability for critical services – focusing on high availability, disaster recovery, and backup scenarios. Microsoft's sustainability goals, such as carbon negativity by 2030, are also emphasized, along with innovative projects like Project Silica and DNA storage.

In a digital and connected world, continuous operational capability is a must. This presentation highlights how a solid strategy for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) is crucial to minimize corporate risks – whether from cyberattacks, natural disasters, or human errors. Learn which incidents trigger BCDR processes and which technologies Microsoft Azure provides for resilient business continuity. Modern approaches like Infrastructure-as-Code and automation are presented to implement BCDR efficiently and cost-effectively.

Ransomware attacks are one of the biggest threats to companies – in seconds, critical data can be encrypted and entire IT infrastructures paralyzed. This presentation shows practical steps for companies to remain operational in an emergency. Learn which data, documents, and services are essential in the first hours, how a crisis team becomes immediately operational and communicative, and how to ensure that no backdoors or persistences remain in the infrastructure. Additionally, the solution AzERE (Azure Emergency Response Environments) from glueckkanja is presented, which supports companies in dealing with ransomware attacks. A Q&A session follows for your questions.

What does a practical Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategy look like in the real world? In this session, Dandy Bräunlich, CIO of IGEFA, shares firsthand insights into the company’s journey toward greater operational resilience using Microsoft Azure and AzERE (Azure Emergency Response Environments).