SysEleven & GAIA-X
As a member of Day-1, SysEleven is actively promoting the European GAIA-X project. Everyone who uses cloud technology knows that data should be processed securely and responsibly. However, service providers must also make sure that users do not become dependent on individual cloud providers or entangled in the economic or political interests of individual countries or governments.
GAIA-X
The GAIA-X initiative was founded in 2019 by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and is guided not only by politicians, but also by representatives from business, associations, and now 300 companies from across Europe. The goal of GAIA-X is to create a secure and networked data infrastructure that meets the highest standards of digital sovereignty and that promotes innovation. Two other important pillars of the project are the strengthening of European alternatives in cloud computing as well as the secure exchange of data between companies and organizations.
Goals of GAIA-X
Architecture of standards
GAIA-X aims to create an "architecture of standards" that aligns existing standards and codes of conduct while also extending data usage policies. It will create a uniform catalog of services with a unified and provider-agnostic interface that secures the identity and access management of GAIA-X objects.
Data sovereignty
Existing cloud products are dominated by non-European providers with rapidly scaling infrastructures, high market concentration, and large capital reserves. At the same time, we are experiencing growing international tensions and trade conflicts. In the long run, Europe must stand on its own digital feet.
Innovation
With GAIA-X, we will develop a digital ecosystem that creates innovative products, which in turn enable companies and business models to scale competitively worldwide from within Europe. GAIA-X will provide the foundation for this innovation.
Data availability
We need a data infrastructure with which we can exchange and process data in a trustworthy, secure, and transparent manner. This is the only way to leverage the scaling benefits of big data in Europe.
Architecture of standards
GAIA-X aims to create an "architecture of standards" that aligns existing standards and codes of conduct while also extending data usage policies. It will create a uniform catalog of services with a unified and provider-agnostic interface that secures the identity and access management of GAIA-X objects.
Data sovereignty
Existing cloud products are dominated by non-European providers with rapidly scaling infrastructures, high market concentration, and large capital reserves. At the same time, we are experiencing growing international tensions and trade conflicts. In the long run, Europe must stand on its own digital feet.
Innovation
With GAIA-X, we will develop a digital ecosystem that creates innovative products, which in turn enable companies and business models to scale competitively worldwide from within Europe. GAIA-X will provide the foundation for this innovation.
Data availability
We need a data infrastructure with which we can exchange and process data in a trustworthy, secure, and transparent manner. This is the only way to leverage the scaling benefits of big data in Europe.
By participating in GAIA-X, we want to make an important contribution to greater data sovereignty and security. What Europe needs is an ecosystem of providers from the cloud environment that offers both infrastructure and industry solutions, that come from Europe, and have internalized Europe’s legal and value system.
Why the European cloud is becoming indispensable
Events regarding data protection and data sovereignty make it imperative that we protect ourselves from the long arm of American IT corporations and thus from complete surveillance of our personal data. Because of the European Court of Justice ruling of July 16, 2020, the “EU-US Privacy Shield” is history and the so-called Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) are on the line. This means that new light must be shed on the trustworthiness of CDN-based IT security solutions from US manufacturers. This brings the European cloud into focus as an alternative for the EU cloud market.
Frequently asked questions about GAIA-X
GAIA-X is a project to build a high-performance, competitive, secure, and trusted data infrastructure for Europe. The name of the project is derived from one of the first Greek gods to emerge from chaos, Gaia, who in Greek mythology is the personified Earth or “the woman giving birth”. The project was first presented at the Digital Summit 2019 in Dortmund and has been continuously developed since then.
GAIA-X is characterized by the following core elements:
- GAIA-X aims to create the next generation of data infrastructure for Europe, its states, its companies, and its citizens.
This must meet the highest standards of digital sovereignty and promote innovation. - GAIA-X sees this infrastructure as the cradle of an ecosystem in which data and services can be made available, brought together, and shared with confidence.
- The concept focuses on the user’s acute needs and added value.
Today, more than 300 organizations from many countries are involved in GAIA-X. These include technology companies – both large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises – which are developing a technology proposal from a supplier perspective. User-driven demand is also and especially crucial to the success of the project. That is why companies and organizations from different fields are helping to shape the project. Trade associations such as BDI, Bitkom, eco, VOICE, VDMA, Cigref, and MEDEFF, as well as existing initiatives such as the International Data Spaces Association and Trusted Cloud, are also closely involved.
GAIA-X is intended to be an open and flexible networked data infrastructure. Therefore, cloud providers that have not been involved so far have the opportunity to participate at any time, provided they recognizably share the values and goals of GAIA-X – data sovereignty and data availability – and fulfill the uniform requirements for participation. On the one hand, the balance of interests is to be ensured by the organization of the entity as an honest broker. In addition, the GAIA-X guidelines, principles, and standards also express corresponding goals for maintaining neutrality, openness, transparency, and data sovereignty.
The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology has begun to support GAIA-X financially on a larger scale. Almost 190 million euros will be made available to support lighthouse projects in all sectors based on the Gaia-X infrastructure.
Individual projects can be funded with 10 to 15 million euros each as part of the funding competition that has been launched under the title “Innovative and practical applications and data spaces in the GAIA-X digital ecosystem”. Providers and users will develop and implement use cases.
