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With our devicenow DaaS solution, we operate in a fast-moving, modern environment. Speed, performance, and efficiency are our standard. But let’s be honest: sometimes there’s just no time to step back and explore the ideas shaping our industry and discover the great minds behind them.
That’s why we’re launching “3 Questions to…”, a compact Q&A series with thought leaders from our partner network. Only three questions. Only three answers. But plenty of insight. Your knowledge snack for in-between.
Berlin Global Advisors is a leading independent advisory firm at the intersection of geopolitics, government affairs, and strategic business counsel. The firm helps companies, investors, and institutions navigate complex political and regulatory environments, manage geopolitical risk, and identify strategic opportunities in Germany, Europe, and beyond.
With a team deeply rooted in policy, diplomacy, and business strategy, Berlin Global Advisors translates political developments into actionable intelligence, helping organizations stay ahead of change rather than react to it.
Daniela Kluckert is an experienced political leader and strategic advisor at the intersection of politics, business, and innovation. As former Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, she helped shape key debates and policy decisions in areas such as digitalization, mobility, infrastructure, and future technologies. With many years of experience in the German Bundestag and deep expertise in regulatory processes, she brings a rare combination of political judgment, implementation experience, and strategic perspective. Today, she advises organizations on how to navigate political change, regulatory dynamics, and emerging opportunities in Germany and Europe.
1. Which developments in digitalization over recent years in Germany and Europe do you see as the most promising so far, and what lessons can businesses and decision-makers draw from them?
The most promising developments can be seen where Germany successfully combines its traditional strengths with digitalization. In other words, where engineering excellence, outstanding research, and brilliant ideas come together. In fields such as fusion technology or medical technology, Germany has the potential to be at the very forefront internationally. These kinds of highly digitalized cutting-edge technologies not only generate new economic momentum but also help address some of the defining challenges of our time in energy, healthcare, and industry.
The uncomfortable truth, however, is this: our greatest obstacle is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of implementation. Germany is strong when it comes to inventing, but too slow when it comes to scaling, approving, and applying innovations. We often spend longer debating new technologies than others spend putting them into practice.
The lesson is clear: we must not only defend our strengths, but translate them more decisively into application, speed, and the courage to embrace technology. Because the future is not created in the lab alone, but where innovation actually reaches the market and society.
2. When it comes to Germany’s digital infrastructure, what should be the top priorities, from your perspective, to make it truly future-ready and globally competitive?
Three priorities are decisive: speed, competition, and investment certainty. Germany needs a consistent fibre rollout, a reliable regulatory framework, and fair infrastructure-based competition. Because only where investments pay off and competition works will we see high-performance networks, innovation, and ultimately better services for consumers.
3. What framework conditions are needed to position Germany and Europe as leading hubs for digital innovation, and how can collaboration between government and industry accelerate progress?
To position Germany and Europe as leading hubs for digital innovation, we need above all more speed and a stronger willingness to implement. In Europe, we often spend too much time debating and too little time scaling. What matters is bringing innovation into practice faster while also completing the European single market so that we can truly make use of our size and diversity in global competition.
Equally important are competitive location conditions, especially when it comes to energy prices, taxes, and non-wage labor costs. If we want future technologies to be developed, produced, and retained in Europe, we also need to create an economically attractive environment for them.
And finally, the state itself must become more digital. Digital only and digital default in public administration must finally become the standard. That would speed up procedures, reduce the burden on businesses, and show that Europe is not only calling for digitalization, but actually putting it into practice.
In the end, progress happens where policymakers set the right framework conditions and businesses build on them with investment, innovation, and execution.
Listening to Daniela, one theme comes through consistently: Europe’s digital future will not be determined by a shortage of ideas or talent, but by the willingness to act on them. Germany has the engineering excellence, the research base, and the industrial heritage to lead. But leadership requires moving from debate to execution, from pilot to scale. For businesses and decision-makers, the message is practical: invest where framework conditions are reliable, advocate for regulatory environments that reward innovation, and don’t wait for perfect conditions. The companies that will shape the next decade are those that combine political awareness with the courage to move fast.
