Review of 'Head in the Cloud 2025' at mittwald

Jens Krumm

CEO of +Pluswerk and Digital Entrepreneur

Around 250 participants from the digital economy came to Espelkamp for the Head in the Cloud Summit on June 13, 2025. In the middle of East Westphalia, the open-air event on the Mittwald Campus developed into a real hotspot for current topics from the digital working world.

With its special atmosphere, the venue contributed greatly to the mood: Three open-air stages under a blue sky, shady spots under the trees, relaxed networking areas, cool drinks and the best food provided a pleasant festival atmosphere despite the summer temperatures. Between the presentations, panels and discussions, there was a personal and approachable atmosphere - perfect for an industry meeting of this kind.

Drei Personen stehen auf der Open-Air-Bühne in Espelkamp: links Mittwald Geschäftsführer Florian Jürgens, in der Mitte Janna Zapke (HR Mittwald) und rechts Martin Helmich (Head of Developer Relations). — mittwald Managing Director Florian Jürgens (left), Natalja Kliewer (Assistant GF mittwald, center) and Martin Helmich (Head of Developer Relations mittwald, right) on stage at almost 30 degrees in the shade.

Digitalization meets climate protection

One of the most sustainable thought-provoking impulses for us came directly in the morning. In the Web Sustainability Masterclass, Thorsten Jonas (SUX) and Marvin Hötger (mittwald) showed how web projects can reduce their carbon footprint through small measures. These include, for example, image formats such as WebP, high-performance code and clean data structures.

The information that 90% of data on servers is never accessed was particularly impressive. The server capacities and storage space required for this not only cost money, but also consume resources. It was also fascinating to compare the increasing energy intensity of AI-based search queries with that of traditional search queries.

Thorsten Jonas hält seinen Vortrag zur Web Sustainability Masterclass auf der Bühne des Head in the Cloud Summits 2025. — Thorsten Jonas during his presentation: "How much energy does our daily work really contain?"

Digital sovereignty: independence as a success factor for Europe

A second major topic was addressed in Jeffrey A. "Jam" McGuire 's keynote speech: digital sovereignty. His core message: if we want to secure our digital future in Europe, we need to become more independent of the few large US corporations such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft. Current examples such as the access conflict surrounding the International Criminal Court and Microsoft show that digital dependencies on companies outside the European Union are no longer a theory, but a reality.

McGuire therefore called for government and corporate IT investments to be directed more towards European and open source-based alternatives. Open source as a foundation for digital sovereignty - we at +Pluswerk share this conviction. With solutions such as TYPO3 or Pimcore, we enable our customers to achieve maximum independence and at the same time promote European economic power. Those who opt for such platforms are making a conscious decision for more digital independence and a strong Europe.

Jeffrey A. "Jam" McGuire spricht in seiner Keynote über digitale Souveränität und europäische Unabhängigkeit von US-Technologieanbietern. — Jeffrey McGuire during his keynote speech: "Digital sovereignty requires clear decisions.

Money or love? New Pay as a relationship model

Jens Krumm (CEO +Pluswerk) und Janna Zapke (HR Mittwald) sitzen gemeinsam auf der Bühne während ihrer Session zu New Pay und Gehalt als Beziehungsfaktor. — Jens Krumm and Janna Zapke on stage: "New Pay: How we need to rethink salary.

Under the title "Money or love? Why companies don't have to choose and why salary must be seen as a relationship builder" was about more than just numbers. The concept of "New Pay" does not view salary as an isolated cost factor, but as part of the relationship between the company and its employees. Salary is not only seen as compensation for work performed, but also as a means of strengthening trust, appreciation and motivation. A topic that is more topical than ever in view of the shortage of skilled workers.

But salary alone is not enough: The focus is on relationship quality, transparency and participation. Using practical examples, Jens Krumm and Janna Zapke (mittwald HR) showed how modern remuneration models can involve employees more closely, take individual needs into account and thus promote emotional attachment to the company. Appreciation is therefore not only reflected in benefits or incentives, but also in a holistic culture of fairness and openness.

Full presentation as PDF (German language)

"Money or love"

We will be back!

Away from the stage, the Head in the Cloud Summit also impressed with its personal atmosphere, many good conversations and valuable contacts. Jens Krumm took the somewhat adventurous journey by train from Munich to rural East Westphalia and was rewarded: "It was an absolutely worthwhile day full of inspiring encounters and valuable insights. We need more formats like this in the industry."

Many thanks to Florian Jürgens, Martin Helmich and the entire mittwald team for the invitation and the successful organization!

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