The Gaia-X Summit 2024 in Helsinki was themed “Empowering Global Data Spaces, Shaping Tomorrow’s Cloud Infrastructure” and marked a milestone in the development of sovereign and interoperable data ecosystems. With more than 600 participants from over 40 countries, the event showcased groundbreaking advances in Gaia-X’s mission to secure digital sovereignty and promote global collaboration. The summit was opened by Lulu Ranne, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications.
Gaia-X and souvenir data rooms are being implemented
One of the highlights of the summit was the presentation of the Loire Release Software components for the Gaia-X Digital Clearing Houses (GXDCHs). These open source components enable automated compliance compliance based on the Gaia-X Trust Framework and promote trust and interoperability between ecosystems.
A total of 3 billion euros is already flowing into a large number of data room projects from EU funding programs such as Horizon or the Digital Europe Program (DEP). Together with national investments by the member states, this will significantly advance the development of secure data rooms in Europe. In Austria alone, a total of around EUR 43.5 million has been made available for projects through tenders and funding since 2019.
The EU Commission also supports the development and procurement of special open source solutions such as SIMPL, a smart middleware platform that enables cloud-to-edge associations and thus optimally supports the creation of common European data spaces. In addition to the software, Gaia-X presented extensive collaborations and new initiatives. Based on European values such as data protection, data sovereignty and open standards, Gaia-X works together with organizations such as the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), the FIWARE Foundation and the EU Commission, through special funding programs supports the development of standards and technologies that support secure and sovereign data exchange and aim to reduce monopoly data management structures and the associated lock-in effects.
New Gaia-X Digital Clearing Houses have also been announced – Proximus (Belgium) and Neusta Aerospace (Germany) will be involved in the implementation and strengthening of the Gaia-X infrastructure in the future. Additions like these are important steps to enable reliable, secure and scalable data exchange within and outside Europe.
Gaia-X Hubs as drivers of innovation in the Member States
Gaia-X reiterated its commitment to the internationalization strategy by announcing new hubs in Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, which will sustainably expand the European initiative’s presence and promote local collaboration. These hubs play a crucial role in promoting regional innovation and supporting the Gaia-X standards, based on trust, innovation and European sovereignty. Ulrich AhleCEO of Gaia-X, emphasized that the Gaia-X Hub Austria makes a significant contribution to the development of national ecosystems as well as to networking with the other EU member states: “The Austria Gaia-X Hub shows in an exemplary manner how through a “An ecosystem for sovereign data spaces can be created through professional collaboration between politics, business and research.”
Technology as an inherent part of new EU regulations
The harmonized development of architectures, specifications and open source software modules is at the heart of Gaia-X’s work to support the technical implementation of sovereign data spaces, make it easier for companies to enter this new data economy and thus accelerate market dynamics. The Data Space Support Center (DSSC), an initiative funded by the EU, supports the harmonization of the numerous data space projects in a wide variety of domains in the various EU member states. In collaboration with Gaia-X, mechanisms such as authentication, security regulations and technical interoperability are optimized on this basis. These technologies enable companies to implement sovereign data spaces more easily, while ensuring that European regulations such as the Data Governance Act (DGA), the Data Act (DA) and the AI Act and the new obligations and rights defined therein are implemented accordingly design” on the technical platforms are taken into account and implemented effectively.
Ulrich Ahle summarized the importance of Gaia-X at the Summit: “Data spaces are rapidly evolving from concept to reality, and many of them are now fully operational. As part of Gaia-X’s globalization strategy, we are proud to see data rooms expanding beyond Europe to countries such as Japan and Korea, based on local legislation. This global reach demonstrates the universal relevance of Gaia-X’s principles and underscores our commitment to fostering trusted and interoperable data ecosystems worldwide.”
Gaia-X Hub Austria
The Gaia-X Hub Austria was founded in 2022 on the initiative of the BMK and the State Secretariat for Digitalization in the BKA and has since supported Austrian companies and public administration in the conception and implementation of federated data ecosystems.
Henriette Spyra, Head of Innovation & Technology Section at the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation & Technology: “Data ecosystems play a crucial role in artificial intelligence because they enable access to diverse and high-quality data. The Gaia-X Hub Austria brings Austrian and European activities together to make data exchangeable in a trustworthy manner. Making data accessible and usable for green and sustainable applications is in the particular interest of the BMK.”
Wolfgang Ebner, Section Head for Digitalization and E-Government in the Federal Ministry of Finance: “With the Gaia-X-Hub Austria, we have together sent a strong signal for our business location. We accompany and support our companies in recognizing the advantages of sovereign data markets and integrating them into their digitalization strategies and projects – for the future-oriented development of our economy and the benefit for their customers by applying European values.”
Helmut Leopold, Chairman Gaia-X Hub Austria: “Through the joint effort and close cooperation between research, business and industry as well as the public sector, we were able to initiate an Austrian ecosystem for the design of sovereign data spaces in a short time and successfully position ourselves in the EU.”
Further information: 4. Gaia-X Summit, Helsinki, 2024 , Gaia-X Hub Austria