Interview: Cyberattacks Are Impacting Core Business Operations

E3 Magazine: In your new role, you deal with cyberattacks, geopolitical risks, and new regulations on a daily basis. To what extent is cybersecurity an economic factor for companies today?

Josko Jeraj, Manage Now: Cybersecurity has long been more than just an IT issue—it is a central aspect of business risk. Attacks are organized, internationally networked, and increasingly automated. At the same time, digital attack surfaces are growing due to cloud architectures, mobile work, and interconnected production systems. A successful attack can paralyze IT systems, disrupt supply chains, and cause significant reputational damage. For many companies, this carries immediate economic consequences, such as production downtime or a loss of trust among customers and partners. At the same time, regulatory requirements are becoming stricter—making security a management responsibility and a prerequisite for stable business processes and digital innovation.

E3 Magazine: Manage Now talks about sovereign, integrated IT. What does digital sovereignty mean for businesses?

Jeraj: Organizations must retain control over their information, IT architectures, and business-critical processes. This includes data sovereignty: Where is the data stored, who has access to it, and under what legal framework is it processed? Furthermore, digital sovereignty means avoiding dependencies on individual platforms. Hybrid and multi-cloud architectures therefore play a central role. Manage Now, for example, operates its own data center in Germany and enables customers to flexibly combine cloud services, managed services, and their own infrastructure. However, one thing is also clear: complete independence is unlikely to exist in practice. What is far more crucial is that companies can flexibly manage their platforms and shift workloads between different environments. This creates additional room for maneuver, including with regard to regulations, performance, and costs.

„When on-premises systems, private clouds, and hyperscalers
When these are combined, there is often a lack of transparency regarding
”Data Flows, Access Rights, and Security States"

Josko Jeraj,
CEO,
Manage Now

E3 Magazine: Hybrid IT architectures are a commonly chosen model—where do the greatest risks lie?

Jeraj: The growing complexity is difficult to manage. When on-premises systems, private clouds, and hyperscalers are combined, there is often a lack of transparency regarding data flows, access rights, and security statuses. Identity and access management is particularly critical: Different systems often lead to overprivileged accounts—a typical entry point for attacks. In addition, many companies underestimate their responsibilities in the cloud model. Misconfigurations are among the most common security vulnerabilities. The focus should be on comprehensive control of hybrid IT environments—with centralized monitoring, unified identity management, and clear governance structures.

E3 Magazine: How will the managed services market evolve?

Jeraj: The market will continue to grow because IT landscapes are becoming more complex, and companies must operate their infrastructure in a way that is stable, secure, and flexible. I see three trends: First, automation in IT applications is increasing significantly, in part due to AI-powered analytics. Second, security is becoming more closely integrated with managed services—customers expect integrated solutions encompassing operations, the cloud, infrastructure, and security. Third, digital sovereignty is gaining importance. Companies are looking for partners who can combine the deployment and further development of their IT. For service providers, this entails a shift in role: away from being mere operators and toward becoming integrators of complex environments. In the future, what will matter most is not so much the tool stack used, but rather architectural expertise, governance, and reliable operations—along with the ability to stably orchestrate complex hybrid platforms. (Source: Manage Now)