The Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud AISBL, the Big Data Value Association (BDVA), the FIWARE Foundation and the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA) are now joining forces to drive the adoption of data spaces in Europe and beyond. The new collaboration, called the Data Spaces Business Alliance (DSBA), is the first initiative of its kind to bring together the necessary industry players to realize a data-driven future where businesses and individuals can unlock the full value of their data.

Together, the Alliance's founding organizations represent more than 1,000 stakeholders from industry, associations, research institutions, innovators and policy makers worldwide. With their collective cross-industry expertise, resources and know-how, the Alliance promotes awareness, technology diffusion, standards creation and integration across industries.

The data economy of the future

Data spaces are seen as the key to achieving sovereign, interoperable and trustworthy data exchange between companies and societies - an important step towards the data economy of the future.

"We have proven that building data spaces is possible," says Reinhold Achatz, Chairman of the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA). "Now we have to do it. The Data Spaces Business Alliance has all the skills to successfully build and even operate data spaces. The next step is to roll it out at scale to realize its full commercial potential. In this alliance, we will act now and think big for a digital future that will benefit everyone."

Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO of Gaia-X, adds: "This alliance creates a single point of contact for data rooms in Europe, from inception to deployment. One voice, one framework and one common mission to bring the future of the digital economy from theory to market faster. This alliance is a must."

Three main areas

The alliance works together in three major areas:

• Technology and architecture: the alliance defines a common reference model based on existing architectures and models and leverages each other's efforts on infrastructure and implementations. It promotes interoperability through the harmonization of technology components and other elements.
• Support: The Alliance supports existing organizations and data spaces by pooling their tools, resources and expertise. The support includes handbooks, roadmaps, individual development plans, access to Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) and acceleration programs, and also includes a go-to-market toolkit to make data spaces a reality.
• Identification and characterization: The Alliance is setting up a "data space radar" to actively identify potential data spaces. It provides an overview of the development of data spaces on a global scale, thanks to a vast network and expertise. In addition, the alliance promotes pioneers and identifies the best practices they apply for the benefit of all.

More information on this topic will also be available at the Edge&Cloud Control Forum on October 20/21.