The most relevant environmental, economic and social determining factors – like global warming – including related legislation (e.g., the climate agreement) y Governmental funding and initiatives y New technical needs (in ICT, e.g., in data centers) and innovations and developments (e.g., in recycling) y General economic framework (e.g., exchange rates, inflation, Trade wars) y Media perception and support y Respective strategy, actions and performance of the competition In the external analysis, the perspectives of relevant interest groups are also used to evaluate the aspects examined.