From Coal to AI: My Experience at the Microsoft AI Tour in Cologne

When I entered the Confex building at Koelnmesse on March 12, 2025, the excitement was palpable. The Microsoft AI Tour had made a stop in Cologne, and I was in the midst of one of Germany’s largest AI events. The transformation from an industrial location to an AI hub – “from coal to AI,” as Agnes Heftberger would later aptly put it – seemed particularly symbolic on this day.

The Keynote: An Initial Spark for Germany’s AI Future

After a relaxed networking breakfast, the main event began with the keynote by Agnes Heftberger, Microsoft’s CEO for Germany. Her message was clear and powerful: “We have all the ingredients for the AI catch-up race.” Germany was facing a once-in-a-century opportunity that needed to be seized, and today was the initial spark for it.

I was particularly impressed by her announcement of a 20 billion EUR investment in Europe. “We need a strong Europe,” she emphasized, underscoring Microsoft’s commitment to the region. As the “only end-to-end AI provider,” she positioned the company at the forefront of the AI revolution.

The insight into Microsoft’s own AI transformation was also interesting: The company was “Customer Zero” and thus the largest user of Copilot since its introduction. Concrete successes were already evident: Sales agents could independently close deals thanks to AI support, significantly increasing efficiency.

Inspiration from Industry Leaders

After Heftberger, Katrin Lehmann, CIO of Mercedes-Benz, took the stage. She drew a fascinating parallel between Bertha Benz, who once brought the new automobile technology visibly into the world with her young sons, and today’s task of advancing AI technologies. One remarkable number stuck in my memory: At Mercedes-Benz, 80% of standard processes should be handled with standard (“out-of-the-box”) AI abilities and only 20% with customized industry-specific solutions – an impressive example of successful AI integration.

Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub, brought a fresh perspective. “There is an app for that makes life more complicated than before,” he explained using the example of travel booking. You need multiple apps for one travel (plane, hotel, sightseeing, taxi). His vision: We need agents that improve processes end-to-end. A statistic that made me take notice: Developers spend only 20% of their workday actually coding – an enormous potential for AI support.

Edith Wittmann (General Manager Enterprise Commercial, Microsoft Germany) also shared valuable insights: Her Sales teams working with Copilot collaborate better with customers and achieve faster closings – a concrete example of the ROI of AI investments.

Best Practices and Learnings from the Field

In the subsequent sessions, I gained valuable insights from companies that have already successfully implemented AI. Siemens Energy recommended setting up prompt libraries and usage dashboards for successful user adoption – including the possibility of license revocation for non-use, an interesting approach to promoting acceptance.

I was particularly impressed by KUKA’s contribution to “KUKA GPT,” a Copilot for Kuka Robotic Language. The time savings of 50% through AI support is a convincing argument for the use of such technologies. At the same time, KUKA pointed out an important challenge: Only 27% of executives feel well-informed about AI, compared to 80% of employees – a discrepancy that needs to be addressed.

Hands-on with AI Technologies

After the presentations, I took the opportunity to participate in one of the four hands-on workshops. The session on “Learning how to solve complex problems with agentic patterns” was particularly enlightening and showed me practical application possibilities for my own company.

The three stages with their different focuses – Business Focus, Tech Focus, and Partner Showcases – offered relevant content for every participant. I alternated between the Business and Tech tracks to gain both strategic and technical perspectives.

Networking and Exchange

The “networking guarantee” at the food stations was not an empty promise. During lunch, I got into a conversation with few IT managers and Business Decision Makers from a medium-sized and Enterprise companies who has similar challenges with AI implementation as I do. We exchanged contacts and are already planning a follow-up meeting.

The partner exhibition also offered the opportunity to talk with providers and system integrators and we at Bechtle / HanseVision were grateful for attendees who came to our booth and shared their plans to start with Copilot or continue their AI journey. I can look up for you if you are eligible for a free Microsoft Copilot Workshop, here is my calendar.

Conclusion: An Initial Spark for My Own AI Strategy

As I looked back on the day around 7 PM during the “Time to talk” conclusion with a glass of alc free Kölsch in hand, it became clear to me: The Microsoft AI Tour was for me personally exactly what Agnes Heftberger had promised – an initial spark. The combination of inspiring keynotes, concrete application examples, and practical workshops not only opened up new perspectives for me but also showed concrete action steps for my company.

The transformation “from coal to AI” in Cologne symbolizes for me the structural change that we are all going through – away from traditional processes towards intelligent, AI-supported solutions. The once-in-a-century opportunity that Heftberger spoke of lies before us. After this day, I am convinced: With the right partners, technologies, and strategies, we can seize it.

The Microsoft AI Tour has shown that Germany has all the ingredients for a successful AI catch-up race. Now it’s up to us to make the recipe a success. For my part, I have already begun planning the first steps in our company – inspired by a day full of insights, innovations, and success stories in Cologne – and a very impressive Eye Catcher: a giant Surface Copilot+ PC (photo with Cara Gyoervari, Business Development Manager, Bechtle) & Julita Kamann (Marketing Manager, Microsoft for Modern Work & Surface)