In the natural world, evolution is a relentless, adaptive force—shaped by mutation, selection, and environmental pressure. But what does it truly mean when we say our IT architectures are “evolving”? In this keynote, we will explore the parallels—and the critical divergences—between biological evolution and the development of modern IT systems. We’ll revisit the core mechanisms of evolution in nature and examine how concepts like fitness, adaptability, and emergence are (or are not) meaningfully applied in engineering contexts. Far from being a definitive account, this talk will present speculative and unproven ideas with the goal of sparking thought and open discussion. Can infrastructure really evolve? Are we applying the metaphor too loosely—or not boldly enough? Join us to challenge assumptions and explore whether new insights from biology could guide us toward more resilient, adaptive, and sustainable digital ecosystems.

In this session, you will get the answers to the following questions:

• What are the fundamental mechanisms of biological evolution, and how do they compare to change and adaptation in IT systems?
• In what ways is the metaphor of “evolution” useful—or misleading—when applied to IT architecture and infrastructure?
• How can we identify and design for evolutionary forces within software ecosystems, such as selection pressures, mutation, and inheritance?
• What speculative or emerging approaches might help us build systems that are truly adaptive, resilient, and capable of evolving?

• What if we treated our IT landscape as a living ecosystem rather than a collection of static services—how would our design principles change?
• How do we recognize when we’re nurturing adaptive systems versus just propping up aging architectures?
• Is your team prioritizing short-term stability over long-term adaptability, and what are the trade-offs?
• What signs of evolutionary behavior can you already observe in your architecture (e.g., variation, selection, drift)?
• Could legacy systems be reframed not as dead weight, but as fossils, containing valuable genetic code for future architectures?

In der Harvesting Session fassen die Moderatoren die Ergebnisse der Diskussionen des Tages zusammen und zeigen die wichtigsten Erkenntnisse der World Cafés auf.