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October 1, 2025 | 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Becoming a Frontier Firm: Becoming a frontrunner with integrated, secure AI

Dataciders @ Microsoft

Future-proof through responsible AI with Microsoft

How do companies become frontrunners in a world where AI makes the difference? Learn how frontier firms" combine human expertise and AI agents to achieve innovation, efficiency and sustainable growth. Exchange ideas with Microsoft expert*insidepractitioners*and C-level peers - practical, concrete and future-oriented.

Microsoft defines "Frontier Firms" as the next evolutionary stage of successful companies: Organizations that not only use AI, but fully integrate it into their value creation. Frontier firms create hybrid teams of people and AI systems, make faster, data-based decisions and develop new business models. Our event will show you how to shape this change responsibly and profitably.

This exclusive onsite event is aimed at management, board members and C-level decision-makers*insidewho want to strategically develop their organization towards an AI-driven future.

What you can expect

Microsoft strategy

Exclusive insights and background information on Microsoft's "Becoming a Frontier Firm" strategy

Best Practices

Companies report on how
they successfully integrate AI

Panel discussion

Opportunities, risks and governance-Issues for responsible AI

C-Level Networking

Intensive exchange with thought leaders, industry experts*inside and decision-makers on the roof terrace with BBQ and drinks

Our experts on site

Dr. Gero Presser

CEO
Dataciders GmbH

Dr. Gero Presser is co-founder and CEO of Dataciders GmbH, a leading IT service provider for data & AI with around 1,000 employees in Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. He holds a doctorate in decision theory, has been working with artificial intelligence since 2001 and is involved as a lecturer, at TDWI e.V. and organizer of a Data & AI Meetup with 1,500 members. He is a passionate skier, family man and broadly interested in everything from algebra to Zappa.

Dr. Gero Presser

CEO
Dataciders GmbH

Thomas Sigmund

Partner Solutions Sales Cloud
Microsoft + AI Platforms SMB D-A-CH

Thomas Sigmund has been with Microsoft for more than a decade and, as Partner Solution Sales Cloud + AI Platforms, supports leading partner companies such as Dataciders in the implementation of innovative projects in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Before joining Microsoft, the media economics graduate with a focus on business informatics worked in the research department of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, now the heart of RTL Data.

Thomas Sigmund

Partner Solutions Sales Cloud
Microsoft + AI Platforms SMB D-A-CH

Markus Kottwitz

Senior Microsoft Partner Manager
Dataciders GmbH

Markus Kottwitz has been working in the areas of data, business intelligence, processes and analytics since 2000 and has gained industry experience in defense, e-commerce and shipbuilding. He has worked in the IT services sector for ten years, including five years as a Microsoft Partner Manager with involvement in Microsoft communities and the IAMCP Partners German Chapter e. V..

Markus Kottwitz

Senior Microsoft Partner Manager
Dataciders GmbH

Andreas Gehre

Managing Director
Dataciders SD&C GmbH

Andreas Gehre is responsible for the Advisory Services, Application & AI, Workplace and Cloud divisions at Datacider's SD&C. He has more than 25 years of management experience in IT strategy, cloud and business transformation as well as managed services. Previously, the graduate engineer held management positions in the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and at a large IT service provider. In his spare time, he is an enthusiastic rower.

Andreas Gehre

Managing Director
Dataciders SD&C GmbH

Christian Schneider

Managing Director
Dataciders QuinScape GmbH

Christian Schneider is Data & Analytics Evangelist at Dataciders GmbH and CEO of Dataciders QuinScape GmbH. He worked for many years as a consultant on major international projects and knows the many challenges of digitalization projects and the development of data strategies from practical experience. As part of his strategic orientation in the field of data & AI, he works as an author and speaker on the topic of data excellence.

Christian Schneider

Managing Director
Dataciders QuinScape GmbH

Philipp Wiesauer

Head of Strategic Digital Projects
Grant Thornton AG

Philipp Wiesauer is Head of Strategic Digital Projects at Grant Thornton AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft in Germany. Together with his team, he is responsible for the central digitalization initiatives and at the same time drives the strategic IT development of the company. Before moving to the area of internal digitalization in 2018, he worked for over ten years as a consultant in the areas of IT security and IT forensics.

Philipp Wiesauer

Head of Strategic Digital Projects
Grant Thornton AG

Marco Rzeha

Project Manager and Compliance Consultant
SAT GmbH & Co. KG

Marco Rzeha is a project manager and compliance consultant at SAT GmbH & Co. KG. He is responsible for the further development of compliance services with a focus on legal registers and digital solutions. In addition to a Master's degree in Business Administration with a focus on Business Consulting & Digital Management, he is a certified Compliance Officer and a trained AI Compliance Officer. His expertise lies in the creation and implementation of legal registers as the basis for effective compliance management systems.

Marco Rzeha

Project Manager and Compliance Consultant
SAT GmbH & Co. KG

Herbert Pataky

Managing Director
Dataciders Paso GmbH

Herbert Pataky is the founder and CEO of Dataciders PASO. He has more than 20 years of experience as a principal consultant in various industries and company phases, including in the automotive, cleantech, intralogistics and supply chain sectors. The graduate computer scientist and information engineer (FH Upper Austria) is a recognized expert in business analytics, software solutions, computer vision and AI. He is also a lecturer at Hagenberg University of Applied Sciences. With his passion for data engineering and business intelligence, he drives innovative developments in the world of data and AI. In his free time, he is a family man and an enthusiastic sportsman and also goes from the mountains to some triathlons.

Herbert Pataky

Managing Director
Dataciders Paso GmbH

Here you could be

Oct.

Program

October 1

13:00 - 17:15

Microsoft Regional Office Cologne, Holzmarkt 2, 50676 Cologne, 5th floor

from 12:00 noon

Registration & Welcome

13:00 -13:15

Opening & Welcome

13:15 - 14:00

Microsoft Keynote: "Becoming Frontier"

14:00 - 15:00

Partner Impulse: "Becoming a Frontier Firm - Thoughts - Preparation - Implementation"

Self-Driving Organization: Shaping the future with AI and Microsoft

The world is changing rapidly - and we are right in the middle of it. With a clear focus on AI, co-pilot technologies and secure cloud infrastructures, Microsoft is defining the future of digital work in the new financial year. Sounds good? But how do you make the leap from idea to implementation? We show how companies can embark on the path to becoming a "self-driving organization" with Microsoft and a clear framework. From disruptive ideas to strategic preparation and concrete implementation. AI is not the goal - it is the lever. And Microsoft is the handle.

15:00 - 15:30

Networking

15:30 - 16:00

Customer Cases #1:
"We combine human expertise with artificial intelligence"

16:00 - 16:30

Customer Cases #2:
"Shaping the future: Compliance with AI as a precursor to the frontier firm"

16:30 - 17:00

Panel Talk: "What does Becoming Frontier mean for you and your company?"

from 17:15

Networking & expert exchange

Free registration

Registration for the event is unfortunately closed.
Would you like to get in touch with us? Then write to us or arrange a non-binding appointment directly with one of our data experts.