The European cloud and data infrastructure project Gaia-X aims to create a secure and interconnected digital infrastructure at a European level. An open and transparent digital ecosystem will make data and services available, consolidate them, and share them with confidence. Startups can also contribute to this.
Gaia-X aims to lay the foundations for building a networked, open data infrastructure based on European values – with a focus on the strict EUData protection standardsTo this end, the project will enable providers of data centers, cloud solutions, high-performance computing (HPC), and sector-specific cloud and edge systems to coordinate with each other. At the same time, this will end dependence on individual providers and enable freedom of choice. User-friendly services will be developed to enable users to identify suitable providers and combine different offerings.
The aim is to enable both the digital sovereignty of cloud service users and the scalability of European cloud providers. In this way, Gaia-X aims to enable European companies and business models to be globally competitive.
The project The project was initiated by Germany and France, and now involves representatives from politics, business, and science from seven European countries. Gaia-X is open to national and European initiatives with similar goals. This gives the project decisive momentum for joint European cooperation. Building on existing solutions and their further development, the aim is to develop competitive offerings for the world from Europe.
The next steps of Gaia-X
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier and his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire presented the next steps of Gaia-X on 4 June, now that the project has left the concept phase. Peter Altmaier says on this occasion:
"The coronavirus crisis is demonstrating to the entire world how important digitalization is: in the healthcare sector, in schools, in businesses, and at home. Europe must emerge from the crisis stronger and drive digital innovations with all its might – for competitiveness and the jobs of the future. With Gaia-X, we are taking a major step into the data economy. The goal is a digital ecosystem in Europe that generates innovations and new data-driven services and applications. We invite all European and international partners who share our guiding principles of openness and transparency, trust, sovereignty, and self-determination to participate."
The French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, added:
"The shared commitment of France and Germany allows us to lay the foundations for a truly European data infrastructure. Building on the collaboration between eleven German and eleven French companies, Europe can advance a new culture of artificial intelligence based on the principles of openness, interoperability, transparency, and trust. The coronavirus crisis has shown that, thanks to our data, we can overcome epidemics more quickly and effectively, provided Europeans have confidence in data collection and storage. With Gaia-X, we can provide this prerequisite for a secure solution."
German associations praise the project
Associations in Germany have praised Gaia-X. For example, Bitkom President Achim Berg:
"The establishment of the GAIA-X organization is a milestone on the path to a European cloud and data infrastructure. We very much welcome the fact that Germany and France are taking the lead in establishing GAIA-X across Europe. The interest in the business community is there – now it's time to gain momentum. GAIA-X must bring its first offerings to market as soon as possible. This requires a viable and open GAIA-X organization to manage the cloud ecosystem and achieve its ambitious goals."
Also Tina Klüwer, board member of the AI Federal Association and expert in the German Bundestag's Enquete on Artificial Intelligence, welcomes the project:
"We welcome the fact that the German government is creating a foundation for European data infrastructures with Gaia-X. AI companies are increasingly demanding secure cloud and AI solutions from Germany and Europe from their customers, which is why Gaia-X is right and important. But it is at least as important that Gaia-X can withstand international competition. To reduce dependence on American and Chinese providers in the area of mission-critical cloud infrastructure, European cloud solutions must be competitive. Gaia-X must keep pace in terms of speed, price, customer focus, and international availability; otherwise, this good idea will not be able to establish itself in the market."
Non-profit organization
The idea for Gaia-X first emerged in February 2019 during the publication of a German-French manifesto on European industrial policy in Berlin. After further development of the concept in further meetings, it was presented publicly for the first time in October 2019. Gaia-X will be managed by a non-profit organization under Belgian law, founded by 22 companies from Germany and France. The 22 founding members include Amadeus, Atos, Beckhoff Automation, Bosch, the German internet exchange De-Cix, Deutsche Telekom, the Fraunhofer Society, the Friedhelm Loh Group, Plusserver, Orange, SAP, and Siemens. Representatives from around 300 European and international companies and scientific organizations are currently working on Gaia-X.
All interested parties who want to contribute their domain-specific and technical requirements and actively participate are invited to participate in Gaia-X: by contributing technical expertise, by submitting new use cases, and by actively and continuously participating in a working group. Further information is available online.
