The Smart Country Convention in 2025 will be marked by a special occasion: for the first time, the new Federal Ministry for Digital and State Modernisation will be acting as patron. Register modernisation is one of the key topics and will be covered in numerous sessions. There will be a particular focus on the topic of cloud registers.

All in all, this underlines the central importance of register modernisation for Germany's digital transformation.

Why cloud registers point the way to the future

There are over 350 different types of registers in Germany – spread across up to 5,000 instances. This fragmented structure causes redundancies, inconsistencies and considerable effort in terms of information security and data maintenance. A more efficient solution is essential for the success of register modernisation. It is clear that simply centralising municipal registers is not desirable for data protection reasons and in order to preserve the federal structure of digital administration.

Cloud registers offer the solution with standardised, secure and federalism-compliant data storage based on proven technologies. Cloud infrastructures, the application of zero trust and logical client separation enable modern data storage, increased efficiency and, at the same time, the strengthening of federal principles and strict data separation.

In addition, connection to the register modernisation infrastructures is facilitated, enabling data exchange between administrations: this creates a central basis for once-only. Cloud-based registers (also known as ‘register-as-a-service’) thus enable register modernisation in the truest sense of the word.

Not just technology: data storage and conceptual foundations of cloud registers

There is more to the concept of cloud registers than just a technical product. Clear data governance strengthens federal structures: data remains technically separate and the responsible authorities have full control over “their” data. With appropriate API-only solutions, the data can only be accessed via dedicated interfaces: the aim is to clearly separate register data and the technical procedures used to process it. In addition, a consistent open-source approach reduces dependencies on individual providers and strengthens the digital sovereignty of the administration. In concrete terms, this means encryption in a client context and no access without explicit authorisation – not even by the platform operator. Only through the interaction of architecture, data governance and operating infrastructure can data sovereignty remain more than just a promise.

Learn more about this topic at the Smart Country Convention:

30 September, 2:00–3:00 p.m. / IT Planning Council stage:
Data management and semantic interoperability

1 October, 10:45–11:00 a.m. / Arena Stage:
Modernisation of registers: Cloud registers as a blueprint for sustainable federal data infrastructures

2 October, 10:00-10:45 / Plaza Stage:
Register modernisation – Powered by NOOTS

2 October, 12:15-12:30 / Arena Stage:
Fit for register modernisation – How to prepare successfully

2 October, 1:00–2:30 p.m. / Room Gamma 9:
Workshop Ready for register modernisation: How to prepare successfully

2 October, 12:15-12:30 / Arena Stage:
Fit for register modernisation – How to prepare successfully

2 October, 1:00–2:30 p.m. / Room Gamma 9:
Workshop Ready for register modernisation: How to prepare successfully