• One voice and a common framework to make data spaces happen;
• Bringing together data providers, users and intermediaries, data spaces are key to driving businesses to competitively extract value out of data;
• Together, the Alliance’s founding organisations represent 1,000+ leading key industry players, associations, research organisations, innovators, and policy-makers worldwide; 
• With its combined cross-industry expertise, resources and know-how, the Alliance drives awareness, evangelises technology, shapes standards and enables integration across industries.

Brussels, Berlin, September 23, 2021 — Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL, the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), FIWARE Foundation, and the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) join forces to drive the adoption of data spaces across Europe and beyond. The new collaboration, called Data Spaces Business Alliance (DSBA), is the first initiative of its kind, bringing together the necessary industry players to realise a data-driven future in which organizations and individuals can unlock the full value of their data.

One voice and one common framework to make data spaces happen

Data spaces are viewed as key to achieving sovereign, interoperable and trustworthy data-sharing across businesses and societies – a key step to the data economy of the future. With its rich, complementary set of players and skills, the Alliance has the ability to pull multiple levers that can simultaneously drive awareness, evangelise technology, shape standards and enable integration across industries.

“We have proven that building data spaces is possible,” says Reinhold Achatz, Chairman of the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA). “Now we must do it. The Data Spaces Business Alliance has all the joint capabilities to successfully build and even run data spaces. The next step is large scale adoption to fully realize the economical potential. In this Alliance, we will act now and think big for the digital future that will benefit everyone.”

Data spaces are key to companies gaining value from their data

Whereas data sharing practice is gradually growing over time, organisations often face significant barriers that prevent them from leveraging direct benefits. Here, Data Spaces come into the picture, bringing together data providers, users and intermediaries. Data spaces play a key role in helping businesses to competitively extract value out of data also through Industrial AI, based on interoperability, portability, sovereignty, and trustworthiness.

Francesco Bonfiglio, Gaia-X CEO, concludes: “We are converging the best skills, assets and experience in data spaces into a single view. This Alliance builds a one-stop-shop in Europe for data spaces, from inception to deployment. One voice, one framework and one joint mission to move the future of the digital economy from theory to market, in a faster manner. This Alliance is a must.”

The value of collaboration – the time to team up for data spaces success is now

“Secure and reliable data infrastructures, data spaces and data sovereignty must be the standard and will activate the creation of value out of the data. This is essential for improving businesses and processes, and supporting new opportunities” says Thomas Hahn, President of BDVA. In his view “with a powerful network, a deep knowledge pool – from the research to the industry field, and the willingness to do this together, the Data Space Business Alliance, set up by major European organisations, will have a significant impact on industries and lead to a successful data economy including the use of Industrial AI”.

Dario Avallone, FIWARE Foundation Board of Directors’ Chairman, reinforces the unique value of this collaboration: “BDVA, FIWARE, Gaia-X, and IDSA – with long-established and renowned ecosystems in their respective fields – establish at the right point in time an Alliance that realises federated data ecosystems and growing marketplaces by the implementation of data spaces in specific verticals such as health, manufacturing, finance, agriculture, utilities, mobility, tourism, the public sector, to mention but a few.” Dario is convinced that the Alliance “delivers towards the goal of a seamless integration of all required components, assets and expertise that are necessary to build an end-to-end user-driven value chain.”

Having over 1,000 members combined, the Alliance’s founding organisations represent leading key industry players, associations, research organisations, innovators, and policy-makers from local, national, European level, and beyond.

The one-stop-place for everything data spaces related

The Alliance is working together in three major areas:

​​1) Technology and architecture: The Alliance defines a common reference model, based on existing architectures and models, leveraging each other’s efforts on infrastructure and implementations. It drives interoperability by harmonising technology components and other elements.

2) Support: The Alliance assists the existing organisations and data spaces by pooling their tools, resources and expertise in a focused way. The support includes handbooks, roadmaps, individual evolution plans, access to Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs), acceleration programmes etc. and includes a go-to-market toolkit to make data spaces happen.

3) Identification and characterisation: The Alliance establishes a ‘Data Spaces Radar’ to actively scout potential data spaces. It provides a unique overview on data spaces evolution on a global level, thanks to an enormous network and unprecedented expertise. The Alliance also promotes frontrunners and identifies best practices used by them, for the benefit of all.

Engage with the Data Spaces Business Alliance in upcoming events  

The latest advances and outcomes of this collaboration will be first presented at the virtual IDSA Data Spaces Dialogue (October 07), followed by the in-person trade show ITS World Congress 2021 (Hamburg, October 11-15), the Gaia-X Summit (November 18-19), the European Big Data Value Forum (November 29 – December 03), the FIWARE Global Summit (Gran Canaria, January 19-20), and other major trade shows and events of the four founders.

About Big Data Value Association (BDVA):

The Big Data Value Association – BDVA (from 2021, DAIRO – Data, AI and Robotics AISBL) is an industry-driven international not-for-profit organisation with more than 230 members all over Europe and a well-balanced composition of large, small, and medium-sized industries, as well as research and user organisations. BDVA/DAIRO focuses on enabling the digital transformation of the economy and society through data and Artificial Intelligence by advancing in areas such as big data and AI technologies and services, data platforms and data spaces, Industrial AI, data-driven value creation, standardisation, and skills. BDVA/DAIRO has been the private side of the H2020 partnership Big Data Value PPP, it is a private member of the EuroHPC JU and is also one of the founding members of the AI, Data and Robotics Partnership in Horizon Europe.

Press contact:
Jaakko Karhu
BDVA/DAIRO Communications Manager
communications@core.bdva.eu

About FIWARE Foundation:

FIWARE Foundation is a non-profit organisation that drives the definition and encourages the adoption of open standards – based on Open Source technologies, reference architectures and over 800 Smart Data Models – to ease the development of portable and interoperable smart solutions in a faster, easier and affordable way, avoiding vendor lock-in scenarios. Founded in 2016, the foundation has Atos, Engineering, NEC, Red Hat, Telefónica and Trigyn Technologies among its 430+ members. For further information, refer to FIWARE’s Press Kit and follow FIWARE on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

Press Contact: 
Cristina Brandtstetter
Chief Marketing Marketing (CMO), Member of the Board of Officers
cristina.brandtstetter@fiware.org

Val De Oliveira
Press Officer and Marketing Manager
valdirene.deoliveira@fiware.org

About Gaia-X:

Gaia-X is a digital ecosystem regulated by its members. The initiative works to create an environment in which data can be made available, collated, and shared in a trustworthy environment. The users always retain sovereignty over their data. So, what emerges is a federated system that links many cloud service providers and users together. To learn more, visit the website. 

Press Contact:
Dr. Vassilia Orfanou, Post-Doc
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
vassilia.orfanou@gaia-x.eu

About International Data Spaces Association (IDSA):

IDSA is on a mission to create the future of the global, digital economy. Its 130+ member companies and institutions have created the International Data Spaces architecture (IDS): a secure system of sovereign and trusted data exchange in which all participants can realise the full value of their data. IDS enables new smart services and innovative business processes to work across companies and industries, while ensuring that the control of data remains in the hands of data providers. We call this data sovereignty. Please visit the website for more information.

Press Contact: 
Nora Gras
Senior Communications Manager
nora.gras@internationaldataspaces.org